Does your police certificate from the Australian Federal Police (AFP) or an overseas country have a conviction listed?
If yes, you will be asked to explain and there is a possibility the visa will be refused if your explanation is not good enough.
Sponsors for partner and other family visas also need to follow this process. Some convictions for sponsors will cause the visa to be refused or held up for 1-3 years.
What should happen? You must disclose all convictions. The Department has information from many other countries and may already know of the conviction, so you MUST not try to hide it.
Will the visa automatically be refused? No, it is very possible to overcome the problem. This is a specialist piece of work and needs an expert to help you.
Examples:
- UK police certificate with 3 year sentences for family violence. This was a partner visa with children involved. An assessment of the case showed that the applicant did NOT go to jail and there were important factors that helped get the matter approved for the visa.
- Vietnamese police certificate with 2 convictions, 6 months and 12 month sentences. These were 20 and 28 years ago and the applicant had a clear record since. We were able to show that the early sentences were far above what Australia would give for similar issues, Australia would inly give a fine. We also showed very strong family and community support for the applicant and he was able to visit for his daughters wedding.
- New Zealanders cannot get a visa on arrival if they have a significant conviction. We have obtained visas for a number of New Zealanders after an assessment and making a strong case to the Department.
What do we do?
We know how to assess a conviction and look for mitigating factors. We know how to present a strong compassionate argument. Each case is very different and we have good experience at looking for the best approach in each case.