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Hi all,

I just spent the last hour or so searching the forum for answers to many questions I had regarding my EEA FP permit and the VAF5 form itself, and was able to find the majority of them. Thanks for the resource.

My question is regarding the fact that, as I've discovered by reading the forum, the UKBA request / want to give the impression that they require far more supporting documents on the VAF5 than is deemed legally necessary by EU law.

My question is specifically about section 6.9: Do you have any criminal convictions in any country (including traffic offences)?

I had seen this question before and was prepared to answer it, as the answer is yes, I have had what I assume the UKBA would consider to be a conviction for a traffic offence. 7 years ago I was found at fault for an accident - no one was injured or harmed, but I had to appear in court and pay a small fine (around 50 pounds) for failure to control and reckless operation of a motor vehicle.

My problem isn't with disclosing this information per se, but with the fact that while reading the 'Supporting documents checklist', as well as the VAF5 Guidance notes, I came across this: If you have answered ‘Yes’ to this question you must submit, with your supporting documents the official record of the conviction, detailing the crime you were convicted of and the sentence you received.

I had planned on submitting my EEA FP application as soon as possible, but if I need to provide an official record for the conviction and supporting documents, it could easily add a 2 or 3 week wait while I wait for my family to obtain these documents in my home country and send them to me.

I'm unsure how to proceed as I don't want my application to be denied for falsely claiming no criminal convictions, and I'm afraid that if I check Yes and do not provide the supporting documents, I'll be told to come back with those documents. The application must be submitted in person in my current country of residence, and it's a long and expensive trip to get there.

Any advice, suggestions or anecdotal information would be appreciated!

fml81 wrote:I had seen this question before and was prepared to answer it, as the answer is yes, I have had what I assume the UKBA would consider to be a conviction for a traffic offence. 7 years ago I was found at fault for an accident - no one was injured or harmed, but I had to appear in court and pay a small fine (around 50 pounds) for failure to control and reckless operation of a motor vehicle.

You should check whether this offense would be consider spent under UK law. I think the period for minor offenses is 6 years, so it may well be, and you may not have to disclose it.

If in doubt, just provide as much detail as you can, including all resulting fines and bans. You could be lucky and it may be deemed so insignificant that no paperwork is required.

In the mean time you can ask for the court documents, so you have them if you do need them.

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction. For the record, what I was able to find was

Under the ROA, after a certain period of time all convictions (except those involving prison sentences of over 30 months) are deemed to have been "spent".

Rehabilitation periods

* Imprisonment of between 6 months and 2 years - 10 years
* Imprisonment of up to 6 months - 7 years
* Borstal training - 7 years
* A fine or (in the case of adults) probation - 5 years
* Conditional discharge, binding over, care or supervision order - 1 year or the duration of the order, if longer
* Disqualification from driving - period of disqualification
* Absolute discharge - 6 months

Personally, I wasn't sure if this applied in my case as the 'conviction' took place outside of the UK. Also, while in my home country the question on the application would be worded something along the lines of 'Do you have any convictions for a minor offence within the last 5 years', on the VAF5, the UKBA simply ask 'Do you have any criminal convictions in any country (including traffic offences)?', nothing specifying spent/unspent.

I found further information here and here.

The UKBA themselves state that they don't require spent convictions to be disclosed for those seeking citizenship.

I'm still not sure how to proceed - it's unclear if spent convictions need to be disclosed and if mine even qualifies for being spent bearing in mind it took place outside of UK law, etc. If this took place on UK soil, it would be considered spent, and wouldn't be necessary to disclose if I were applying for citizenship - surely the guidelines wouldn't be harsher for an EEA FP?

Anyone care to weigh in?

fml81 wrote:Personally, I wasn't sure if this applied in my case as the 'conviction' took place outside of the UK.

Hm, there is a rather complicated test for this, I think. You have to look at the penalty for the corresponding charge in the UK, and that determines when it would be spent. Given that you only got a small fine, I would assume that it is now spent. Usually spent convictions do not have to be stated (that is the whole point of rehabilitation), but the form should be a lot clearer on this.

If in doubt, you can ask the European Signpost Service for a free legal opinion - or of course you can ask an immigration solicitor.

Read this link to caseworker instructions....it is as clear as day........ http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/en/ecg/refusa ... onvictions

Here is the paragraph........

RFL10.5 When is a conviction spent?

When considering whether or not the offence is spent, rehabilitation periods are based on actual sentences received. The purpose of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (“ROAâ€

Hi
My husband going to apply for EEA2. He had 2 times fine

1. Seat belt
2. Road tax

Shall i mention it????

thanks

fml81 wrote:My question is regarding the fact that, as I've discovered by reading the forum, the UKBA request / want to give the impression that they require far more supporting documents on the VAF5 than is deemed legally necessary by EU law.

My question is specifically about section 6.9: Do you have any criminal convictions in any country (including traffic offences)?

Any advice, suggestions or anecdotal information would be appreciated!

You are exactly right: all VAF forms are way over the top with utterly foolish questions. Does UKBA really believe that somebody would ever answer yes on questions like: Are you a terrorist or war criminal?
Visa application forms for most countries are one or two pages, for the UK ten or more! It is anyway impossible for UKBA to check foreign convictions, so just don't disclose them and don't bother.