bad credit history, please heeelp!!

[xen400]

When I left the UK 2 years back as a student I had some unpaid student credit card debt (around 1500GBP)

Of course I will pay it off once I get there, but I'm not sure how I can declare this in my TIER 1 application

What sort of an impact will this have on my application?

Please advice .......................

[bani]

Pay it off now if you can. It doesn't look good when you have to show maintenance funds that you have that much debt in the UK.

[Frontier Mole]

They do not do a credit check in the UK as part of the application checks unlesss there is some very good reason usually based on information held. It is unlikely that any action was taken to recover the debt in your absence as the credit conpany would not be able to trace you. You would be bad credit listed and that is about it.

I think is is highly unlikely that it will have an impact on getting a visa.

What it will do is muck up any attempts to get credit in the UK. It may well stop you getting rented accommadation as it is more common to check credit references before allowing you a rented property. Times are getting harder in the UK so getting credit is hard for all but the well off. Your outstanding debt will have been written off long ago but your credit history will still dog you for another 3 to 5 years.

[xen400]

They do not do a credit check in the UK as part of the application checks unlesss there is some very good reason usually based on information held. It is unlikely that any action was taken to recover the debt in your absence as the credit conpany would not be able to trace you. You would be bad credit listed and that is about it.

I think is is highly unlikely that it will have an impact on getting a visa.

What it will do is muck up any attempts to get credit in the UK. It may well stop you getting rented accommadation as it is more common to check credit references before allowing you a rented property. Times are getting harder in the UK so getting credit is hard for all but the well off. Your outstanding debt will have been written off long ago but your credit history will still dog you for another 3 to 5 years.

Thanks a lot for your replies, it does give me some peace of mind.

Would it be wise to just mention the bad credit history in the Additional information section
rather than just leaving it out?

[GIMS]

Personally i would leave it out.
Is there somewhere in the guidance form where it explicity states that if you have a credit history, mortgage, isas, or investments in the uk (or other countries) you should mention it?
It all depends on you in the end.

[Frontier Mole]

The application does not ask for this information. If you mention the point it invites further enquiry. Your choice.

[gordon]

But if your unpaid credit-card debt resulted in a civil judgment, then that should be disclosed. And being unaware of a civil judgment possibly issued in absentia, may not be considered an acceptable reason for nondisclosure. AG

[sri_sunny]

I feel that UK Government or the org which had lend you would want you to come back and pay rather than denying visa.

If the default is intentional and with many banks then its a serious issue.

When I said intentional, I meant borrowing with an intention to flee. This would be evendential with the borrowing date and the visa expiry date.

[xen400]

But if your unpaid credit-card debt resulted in a civil judgment, then that should be disclosed. And being unaware of a civil judgment possibly issued in absentia, may not be considered an acceptable reason for nondisclosure. AG

But the visa application form (vaf9) asks
"Do you have any criminal convictions in any country (including trafic offences)?"

Does even a civil judgement fall under this category?

[gordon]

See p20 of the Tier 1 application:

E1. Has the applicant had any criminal convictions in the United Kingdom or any other country (including traffic offences) or any civil judgments made against them?

But if your unpaid credit-card debt resulted in a civil judgment, then that should be disclosed. And being unaware of a civil judgment possibly issued in absentia, may not be considered an acceptable reason for nondisclosure. AG

But the visa application form (vaf9) asks
"Do you have any criminal convictions in any country (including trafic offences)?"

Does even a civil judgement fall under this category?

[xen400]

As I will be applying from outside the UK I will be using the vaf9 http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/resources/en/ ... 03073/vaf9 application form (page 9, section 6.9) on which they seem to have missed the Civil judgements part which is present in the application form you are referring to (for in-country applicants).

But in any case to be on the safer side I will mention it in the Additional information part of the application about the bad credit as I am not even aware of any civil judgement passed.

See p20 of the Tier 1 application:

E1. Has the applicant had any criminal convictions in the United Kingdom or any other country (including traffic offences) or any civil judgments made against them?

But if your unpaid credit-card debt resulted in a civil judgment, then that should be disclosed. And being unaware of a civil judgment possibly issued in absentia, may not be considered an acceptable reason for nondisclosure. AG

But the visa application form (vaf9) asks
"Do you have any criminal convictions in any country (including trafic offences)?"

Does even a civil judgement fall under this category?