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Solicitors have always told me that minor traffic violations like speeding and parking tickets do NOT need to be reported on an ILR application, but WILL need to be reported on a Citizenship application.

First, is this correct?

Second, when it comes to a Citizenship application, how am I to report speeding tickets that I got in America that may be 25-35 years old?

I am from America originally (but have lived overseas in various countries for nearly 20 years), and I remember in my youth getting parking and speeding tickets. However, I don't know what years I got these, or what the specific violations were for.

I have run both criminal background checks on myself and requested my traffic violation records from every US State (all 4 of them) where I had a driver's license from in America. All criminal and driving records come back completely clean--showing no parking tickets or speeding tickets. This is despite my remembering paying some speeding and parking fines.

I suspect they no longer show on my record because in America minor traffic violations in most states are removed from your permanent records after about 3-5 years (major violations like DUI, hitting someone, or leaving the scene of an accident are more serious offenses and stay on your records).

So, I guess my third and final question is, do I need to report my decades-old speeding and parking tickets on my ILR application? And when it comes to my Citizenship application (eventually), how will I report these past speeding/parking tickets if no records exist?

Other info: I have never received a speeding/parking ticket in the UK.

Overseas traffic, parking fines/tickets have no relevance for ILR or citizenship in the UK. No need to declare anything.

You do NOT need to declare anything for your ILR unless the rules view it as part of your criminal record. Parking tickets and fines are often not even issued under someone's name in the UK, so they cannot be traced back to you unless you refused/failed to pay them, so there is no point in declaring. The general rule is that only serious crimes will affect your ILR. The grounds for refusal guide even tells you that FPNs or PCNs in the UK do not affect your criminal record:

Fixed penalty notices, penalty charge notices and penalty notices for disorder are
imposed by the police or other authorised enforcement officers for traffic rule,
environmental and civil violations. They enable the criminal justice system to dispose
of certain minor offences without the need for a person to attend court, and do not
form part of a person’s criminal record.

For visa or ILR applications, you should look at general grounds for refusal when it comes to criminality: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... nality.pdf

British citizenship is a totally separate process under nationality law and its grant is fully discretionary. It has stricter requirements for character and criminality known as the 'good character' requirement: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... racter.pdf

Even then, you generally do not need to declare parking tickets or minor offences (often enforced by local authorities) particularly if there is no trace of them anymore. Just exercising common sense is good enough and there is no need to be paranoid.

zimba wrote: ↑

Mon Aug 19, 2024 3:40 pm

You do NOT need to declare anything for your ILR unless the rules view it as part of your criminal record. Parking tickets and fines are often not even issued under someone's name in the UK, so they cannot be traced back to you unless you refused/failed to pay them, so there is no point in declaring. The general rule is that only serious crimes will affect your ILR. The grounds for refusal guide even tells you that FPNs or PCNs in the UK do not affect your criminal record:

Fixed penalty notices, penalty charge notices and penalty notices for disorder are
imposed by the police or other authorised enforcement officers for traffic rule,
environmental and civil violations. They enable the criminal justice system to dispose
of certain minor offences without the need for a person to attend court, and do not
form part of a person’s criminal record.

For visa or ILR applications, you should look at general grounds for refusal when it comes to criminality: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... nality.pdf

British citizenship is a totally separate process under nationality law and its grant is fully discretionary. It has stricter requirements for character and criminality known as the 'good character' requirement: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... racter.pdf

Even then, you generally do not need to declare parking tickets or minor offences (often enforced by local authorities) particularly if there is no trace of them anymore. Just exercising common sense is good enough and there is no need to be paranoid.

So then I do not need to report old speeding tickets in America on my ILR application?

No