Help Needed : Tier 1 general extension

I was caught while doing a shoplifting in UK. I know I did a stupid thing and I am reallly guilty for that. But I need a advice, When I was caught, the police was called and police handed over me a panelty slip worth £80 , since I did not have any criminal record before.

Instructions on the slip say that I need to pay the amount within 21 days and If I agree to pay this, this wil not result in the record of criminal conviction against me.

I will be applying for the Tier 1 visa extension in 6 months time. Do I need to mention this in the visa form as a criminal conviction against me, as the penalty slip says that if you agree to pay the amount, than this will not result in the record of criminal conviction against you.

Please advice......

Did they obtain your details like your DOB,your address, names and so on? If yes, you have to mention it and were you given a caution?

The fixed panelty notice has all my details like DOB and address and I just received that notice and paid the panelty of £80 .

Is caution something different from this ?

And if i decalre this, will this affect my visa outcome ?h

Well, I could not really say if you will be affected and also depends on case worker. Have you ever applied for a CRB after the incident? I will advice you to apply for one and see what it contains. If your CRB is clean, then you have good chances and try to consult citizen ad B or solicitors for proffessional advice. best of luck...............

Can i get the CRB check sone by myself ? or do i need some organization to initiate this for me ?h

That is a serious offence, whether its a caution or not, you have to declare it while applying. If you fail to do so and it shows up in your record, you will be declined. Explain the incident under the notes that it was not intentional but a mistake..... but failing to declare it might be the worst option.

Biggy01 wrote:Well, I could not really say if you will be affected and also depends on case worker. Have you ever applied for a CRB after the incident? I will advice you to apply for one and see what it contains. If your CRB is clean, then you have good chances and try to consult citizen ad B or solicitors for proffessional advice. best of luck...............

If you have paid within 21 days. Then It's not a criminal conviction and NO NEED TO DECLARE ANYWHERE WHETHER on VISA OR JOB APPLICATION. It's simply a fixed penalty fine. Only convictions in court of law are required to be declared.

It's best to have a CRB check for personal satisfaction & keep record straight.

Cheer up!! If police would have taken you to court, you could have been in trouble.

agree with silverline. its just a fixed penalty you dont have to mention it in visa application.

silverline wrote:

Biggy01 wrote:Well, I could not really say if you will be affected and also depends on case worker. Have you ever applied for a CRB after the incident? I will advice you to apply for one and see what it contains. If your CRB is clean, then you have good chances and try to consult citizen ad B or solicitors for proffessional advice. best of luck...............

If you have paid within 21 days. Then It's not a criminal conviction and NO NEED TO DECLARE ANYWHERE WHETHER on VISA OR JOB APPLICATION. It's simply a fixed penalty fine. Only convictions in court of law are required to be declared.

It's best to have a CRB check for personal satisfaction & keep record straight.

Cheer up!! If police would have taken you to court, you could have been in trouble.

"Only conviction in court of law are reuired to be declared"? Are you sure about that? I have heard instances where people fail to declare cautions or fines and they get into more trouble. I may be wrong but this does not look like something you brush under the carpet. Its shoplifting and its a criminal offence, even though he has not be convicted but he has be warned and fined and I think he should declare it whether or not it shows in his CRB...

If i decare it and even though it is not a conviction.....will this declaration create issues with my visa extension ??

urfrndnc wrote:If i decare it and even though it is not a conviction.....will this declaration create issues with my visa extension ??

As long as you were not convicted and you don't have a criminal offence, it should not be a problem, but not decalring it to me may seem that you are hiding something and the case worker might interpret it otherwise.... but make sure you explain it was a mistake and the police only gave yopu a fine or a caution...

I hope following will satisfy your query
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/briti ... character/

farhan_tai wrote:I hope following will satisfy your query
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/briti ... character/

Following is the explanation on homeoffice site..........

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Good character requirement
Eligibility

This page provides details about the good character requirement that must be met by anyone applying for British nationality unless:

* they are under 10 years old when making the application; or
* are stateless and are applying on application form S1, S2 or S3; or
* they are a British overseas citizen, a British subject or a British protected person and are applying on application form B(OS).

We consider you to be of good character if you show respect for the rights and freedom of the United Kingdom, have observed its laws and fulfilled your duties and obligations as a resident.

We will check with the police and may contact other government departments as part of our character check. By signing the application form you are giving your consent for us to contact these organisations to obtain information about you.
Changes to good character policy

On 5 December 2007 the Home Secretary announced changes to the way that an applicant's good character will be assessed for the purposes of naturalisation and registration as a British citizen.

The changes took effect as from 1 January 2008. This page has been updated to include the changes.

Applications made on and after that date will normally be refused if the applicant has been convicted of a criminal offence and the conviction has not yet become 'spent' in accordance with the provisions of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.

Application forms and guides will be updated in due course.
Your financial background

We will check that you pay income tax and National Insurance contributions. We may ask HM Revenue & Customs for confirmation of this. If you do not pay income tax through Pay As You Earn (PAYE) you should send a Self Assessment Statement of Account with your application.

If you have been declared bankrupt at any time you should give details of the bankruptcy proceedings. Your application is unlikely to succeed if you are an undischarged bankrupt.
Your criminal record

We will carry out criminal record checks on all applications from people aged 10 and over.

You must also provide details of all civil proceedings which have resulted in a court order being made against you.

You must give details of all unspent criminal convictions. This includes road traffic offences but not fixed penalty notices (such as speeding or parking tickets) unless they were given in court. You must include all drink-driving offences. An explanation of unspent convictions is given below.

If you have an unspent conviction, your application for citizenship is unlikely to be successful. You should wait until the end of your rehabilitation period before applying.

...............................................................................

I didnt received penalty notice from court....still do i need to bother about disclosure......reallly confused...

farhan_tai wrote:I hope following will satisfy your query
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/briti ... character/

My friend the link explain the good character requirements for applying British Citizenship !!! not T1 extension

litu1 wrote:

farhan_tai wrote:I hope following will satisfy your query
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/briti ... character/

My friend the link explain the good character requirements for applying British Citizenship !!!

But my application is not for citizenship.....this is for tier1 general extension

urfrndnc wrote:

litu1 wrote:

farhan_tai wrote:I hope following will satisfy your query
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/briti ... character/

My friend the link explain the good character requirements for applying British Citizenship !!!

But my application is not for citizenship.....this is for tier1 general extension

thats what i was saying to Mr. farhan_tai.. he is misleading

i think you should never mention it. In case if they refuse your visa you can still apeal it attaching your penalty receipt that you ve paid the amount before 21 days and its clearly mentioned in the recept that its not a criminal offence before that.

salmanzz wrote:i think you should never mention it. In case if they refuse your visa you can still apeal it attaching your penalty receipt that you ve paid the amount before 21 days and its clearly mentioned in the recept that its not a criminal offence before that.

Well...I just had a word with customer service in Manchester City Megistrate court, where I did paid the penalty and they confirmed that If the penalty was paid within 21 days and if you have not heard anything after that, than it is not a registered criminal conviction and was just a spot fine.

This is sure that I can say no to the question in the visa form, where it says Do you have any criminal conviction ?

But what about the question of good character and finally do I need to disclose the incident in the covering letter ?

I wont mind disclosing it, as long as it does not affects the outcome of the visa ?

Please advice guys

Guys...I called CRB check helpline and they said that you cannot get this check done by your own ?

Any pointers ??

urfrndnc wrote:

salmanzz wrote:i think you should never mention it. In case if they refuse your visa you can still apeal it attaching your penalty receipt that you ve paid the amount before 21 days and its clearly mentioned in the recept that its not a criminal offence before that.

Well...I just had a word with customer service in Manchester City Megistrate court, where I did paid the penalty and they confirmed that If the penalty was paid within 21 days and if you have not heard anything after that, than it is not a registered criminal conviction and was just a spot fine.

This is sure that I can say no to the question in the visa form, where it says Do you have any criminal conviction ?

But what about the question of good character and finally do I need to disclose the incident in the covering letter ?

I wont mind disclosing it, as long as it does not affects the outcome of the visa ?

Please advice guys

If I were you, I would never disclose it. It is NOT a criminal conviction. End of the story. (Look at it like this, NO ONE declares the fixed penalty if you parked in stupid private parking spaces, do you ... or anything similar, coz thats a FINE, no court conviction)

Get over it. Do not mention it anywhere. (NOT even cover letters!)

urfrndnc wrote:

salmanzz wrote:i think you should never mention it. In case if they refuse your visa you can still apeal it attaching your penalty receipt that you ve paid the amount before 21 days and its clearly mentioned in the recept that its not a criminal offence before that.

Well...I just had a word with customer service in Manchester City Megistrate court, where I did paid the penalty and they confirmed that If the penalty was paid within 21 days and if you have not heard anything after that, than it is not a registered criminal conviction and was just a spot fine.

This is sure that I can say no to the question in the visa form, where it says Do you have any criminal conviction ?

But what about the question of good character and finally do I need to disclose the incident in the covering letter ?

I wont mind disclosing it, as long as it does not affects the outcome of the visa ?

Please advice guys

Why did you have to pay the fixed penalty notice in a court? or is that where they are paid..... I don't think it will affect your application but not declaring will affect you more....remember its shoplifting, you were arrested and fined. Its is called a caution or warning and I know stuff like these show up in CRB. I hope I am not scaring you but please seek legal advice if you are still worried.

lesbere wrote:

urfrndnc wrote:

salmanzz wrote:i think you should never mention it. In case if they refuse your visa you can still apeal it attaching your penalty receipt that you ve paid the amount before 21 days and its clearly mentioned in the recept that its not a criminal offence before that.

Well...I just had a word with customer service in Manchester City Megistrate court, where I did paid the penalty and they confirmed that If the penalty was paid within 21 days and if you have not heard anything after that, than it is not a registered criminal conviction and was just a spot fine.

This is sure that I can say no to the question in the visa form, where it says Do you have any criminal conviction ?

But what about the question of good character and finally do I need to disclose the incident in the covering letter ?

I wont mind disclosing it, as long as it does not affects the outcome of the visa ?

Please advice guys

Why did you have to pay the fixed penalty notice in a court? or is that where they are paid..... I don't think it will affect your application but not declaring will affect you more....remember its shoplifting, you were arrested and fined. Its is called a caution or warning and I know stuff like these show up in CRB. I hope I am not scaring you but please seek legal advice if you are still worried.

Hi lesbere,

Thanks for the advice.

Penalty notices are paid in the courts, but u dont need to go to the court, u can pay it online.
And I also had a word with homeoffice helpline and the lady suggested me to disclose the things and she also said that it should not really affect the outcome as this is not a conviction at the end of the day.

NeoZ wrote:

urfrndnc wrote:

salmanzz wrote:i think you should never mention it. In case if they refuse your visa you can still apeal it attaching your penalty receipt that you ve paid the amount before 21 days and its clearly mentioned in the recept that its not a criminal offence before that.

Well...I just had a word with customer service in Manchester City Megistrate court, where I did paid the penalty and they confirmed that If the penalty was paid within 21 days and if you have not heard anything after that, than it is not a registered criminal conviction and was just a spot fine.

This is sure that I can say no to the question in the visa form, where it says Do you have any criminal conviction ?

But what about the question of good character and finally do I need to disclose the incident in the covering letter ?

I wont mind disclosing it, as long as it does not affects the outcome of the visa ?

Please advice guys

If I were you, I would never disclose it. It is NOT a criminal conviction. End of the story. (Look at it like this, NO ONE declares the fixed penalty if you parked in stupid private parking spaces, do you ... or anything similar, coz thats a FINE, no court conviction)

Get over it. Do not mention it anywhere. (NOT even cover letters!)

Spoken like a true veteran. I would agree.
You interpreted the letter of the guide line in good faith.
Even if quizzed you have a clear come back.

Why risk it by muddying the water?