Spent conviction

[nithinr98]

hi,

i was charged with a drink driving offense back in 2003. Now i need a letter from the relevant authorities saying that my conviction has been spent. How do i do that? Any links or phone numbers will be appreciated.

thank you in advance,

craig

[BazzaS]

hi,

i was charged with a drink driving offense back in 2003. Now i need a letter from the relevant authorities saying that my conviction has been spent. How do i do that? Any links or phone numbers will be appreciated.

thank you in advance,

craig

 

You say you we're charged in 2003 : the key issue is not if you were charged, but if convicted.

You say you need a letter saying your conviction is spent : so, it appears you were convicted.

 

When were you convicted, and what sentence/ punishment was imposed?.

 

Lastly, who is asking for such a letter?. It may be difficult to obtain one, but it may be possible to get the court to confirm the date of conviction, punishment given, and then refer the person asking to e.g. http://www.yourrights.org.uk/yourrights/privacy/spent-convictions-and-the-rehabilitation-of-offenders/how-a-conviction-becomes-spent.html

[nithinr98]

thanks, yes i was convicted. got a fine and 1 yr ban..i believe it gets 'spent' after 5 years? i need it for home office as im applying for citizenship

[BazzaS]

thanks, yes i was convicted. i believe it gets 'spent' after 5 years? i need it for home office as im applying for citizenship

 

The Home Office should know the RoO act period.

 

Did you get a ban only?. A ban and a fine?. Any imprisonment? (If so, suspended sentence or not?)

Edited: as your post now edited too, to say ban and a fine.

 

 

From: http://www.nacro.org.uk/data/files/nacro-2007031500-181.pdf

Disqualifications

The rehabilitation period for a disqualification is the length of the disqualification. If a person is disqualified at the same time as receiving another penalty, such as a fine, the longer rehabilitation period applies. For example, if a motorist is banned from driving for two years and fined – which takes five years to become spent – the rehabilitation period would be five years, not two years.

 

Endorsements

An endorsement cannot affect the rehabilitation period of a motoring conviction. For example, if a motorist is fined and has their licence endorsed, the rehabilitation period would be five years (the length applying to the fine) rather than 11 years (the length of time before a driver convicted of drink-driving is entitled to a clean driving licence).

 

I'd suggest confirmation from the court of the punishment and refer the Home Office to the fact it is spent based under the legislation.

I've no idea who could issue such confirmation of "spent" status if the Home Office don't already know.

 

Might NACRO (see above) be able to advise?

Nacro’s Resettlement Plus Helpline, 169 Clapham Road, London SW9 0PU. Telephone 020 7840 6464.

Edited January 30, 2013 by BazzaS

[nithinr98]

i recieved a fine and one year ban. no imprisonment. home office didnt ask for such a letter..on the application i have to disclose all spent and unspent convictions so i thought i might be able to get one rather than me just saying it has been spent. so from what i learned from you, i probably dont need a letter and just fill it in saying it has been spent? thanks a lot for your help

[BazzaS]

i recieved a fine and one year ban. no imprisonment. home office didnt ask for such a letter..on the application i have to disclose all spent and unspent convictions so i thought i might be able to get one rather than me just saying it has been spent. so from what i learned from you, i probably dont need a letter and just fill it in saying it has been spent? thanks a lot for your help

 

Declare it, with the details (offence, court & date, sentence)

The home office will have access to the information anyway (via PNC/'Phoenix' or the DBS), but:

a) it is an obligation to disclose it on an immigration application,

b) disclosing it shows that you aren't trying to hide it.

 

Your original post said you needed a letter, while the post above says they haven't asked for a letter and "so i thought i might be able to get one" : it is often easier to answer what has actually been asked for, rather than you embellishing their request!

 

It did seem a bit unusual, the Home Office asking for confirmation of their own scheme : yet, sometimes the "left hand" doesn't know "what the right hand is doing" !

[nithinr98]

sorry if the post confused you..but great help thanks

[nithinr98]

another problem is i dont remember the exact date and which court i went to..that was the main reason for asking to find out about the letter..

[BazzaS]

another problem is i dont remember the exact date and which court i went to..that was the main reason for asking to find out about the letter..

 

Do you have your license again?.

Will the date be on there (+\- conviction code), and if so : is the court on there too?

[nithinr98]

i was driving with my international licence back then..no u.k licence..i only took provisional licence recently as i was not driving at all since 2003..

[BazzaS]

i recieved a fine and one year ban. no imprisonment. home office didnt ask for such a letter..on the application i have to disclose all spent and unspent convictions so i thought i might be able to get one rather than me just saying it has been spent. so from what i learned from you, i probably dont need a letter and just fill it in saying it has been spent? thanks a lot for your help

 

Curiouser and curiouser. The UK Border Agency website seems to suggest that for citizenship applications, spent convictions don't have to be declared.

Your post says they do. You've already once said "the home office have asked for a letter" and then said 'they didn't ask for a letter but I decided one was a good idea' : are you SURE this is a citizenship application, and that they want 'spent' convictions too?

 

Is this definately for citizenship, or for a new visa, or 'indefinite leave to remain'?

 

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/britishcitizenship/eligibility/goodcharacter/

 

What is an unspent conviction?

If you have been convicted of a criminal offence you must declare your unspent convictions but do not need to declare ones that are spent. A conviction becomes spent after a certain period of time has passed (we call this the rehabilitation period). The length of time it takes for a conviction to become spent will depend on your sentence. It starts from the date on which you are convicted. The period may be shorter if you were aged under 18 at the time of your conviction.

[Conniff]

Moved to motoring section

[Tony P]

Just guessing, but the requested 'letter' could be this -

 

http://content.met.police.uk/Article/Making-a-subject-access-request/1400005855548/1400005855548

 

I needed this (among a ton of things!) to get my own Residency in Russia.

 

If this sounds like it, but you are not in the Met area, ask at your local Police Station for where to apply.

 

I applied through the Met and the reply come back within 3 weeks from ACPOA.

[citizenkain]

its 11 years for drink driving to be spent anyway....

[Tony P]

its 11 years for drink driving to be spent anyway....

 

Yep! That may appear on the Records Check, as the case was 2003.

 

But the OP needs to produce a letter.

Many burocracies are more concerned with ticking boxes that a letter was produced, rather than its content.

[Kiki1]

its 11 years for drink driving to be spent anyway....

 

It's also 11 years from the date of conviction, not from the time you were caught/charged.

[Aretnap]

its 11 years for drink driving to be spent anyway....

No it's not - the endorsement is irrelevant to the rehabilitation period. Power v Provincial Insurance refers.

[BazzaS]

It's also 11 years from the date of conviction, not from the time you were caught/charged.

 

The endorsement stays on the license for 11 years from conviction. The rehab period is 5 years for a fine & ban of 5 years or less.

 

I posted above (14.37 30th January) the link to Nacro's source for this.

 

I also posted above to highlight:

a) the Home Office never insisted on a letter : the OP decided he needed a letter

b) the OP wants to declare his spent conviction : the guidance notes from the UKBA say spent convictions don't have to be declared.

 

I concluded that something was curious : the OP wants a letter he doesn't need, to give details of something he doesn't have to declare : I wonder if we are getting the full story.

[nithinr98]

ok let me make it clear. they asked to declare any spent or unspent convictions including traffic offences in the application form. i dont remember the exact date of conviction.so my solicitor advised if i can get a letter stating the details of conviction and declaring its spent, then there are 2 advantages- 1.They dont get a bad impression that i dont even remember the date of conviction and 2.It is declared on the letter that the conviction is spent so they dont have to look into it further. And its for indefenite leave and not citizenship.i mixed it up. here is the application form http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/applicationforms/settlement/forseto04091.pdf

[Tony P]

Looking at the form page 15, you must declare ALL convictions, spent or otherwise.

So do EXACTLY that.

Having a past conviction will not in itself give a refusal. Not declaring it is far more likely to do so!

 

O/T - not motoring matters.

We got involved with Limited Leave to Remain, Indefinite Leave to Remain and eventually British Citizenship for my Partner. She succeeded at every step at first time.

 

Now we are doing the similar process (different names) for me in Russia.

I am now at the equivalent of Indefinite Leave to Remain - again succeeding at every step first time.

 

We did it all ourselves without any outside assistance or Solicitor - saving us many thousands of Pounds then Rubles.

 

Our advice is to be completely open and honest and provide information required - in exactly the manner they require it. Additional information and documents are ignored and could raise suspicions as to why we are offering them.

Good luck.

[BazzaS]

Our advice is to be completely open and honest and provide information required - in exactly the manner they require it. Additional information and documents are ignored and could raise suspicions as to why we are offering them.

Good luck.

 

I absolutely agree that it is wise to provide what they want in the format they ask for.

 

The OP was originally saying the home office was asking for a letter, then posted that the letter was his idea.

The OP posted that it was a citizenship application which is why I queried it as the UKBA says spent convictions don't need to be declared for citizenship applications.

 

For the OP:

 

Now it transpires it is for indefinite leave to remain, not citizenship.

 

I reiterate the above advice : make sure you give them what they are asking for in the format they want.

 

Similarly, if asking for advice, the validity of the answer you get will depend on you asking "the right question".

If you ask the wrong question ("I need a letter" or "citizenship") when it is actually "no letter needed" and "indefinite leave to remain" : you might get an answer correct for what you asked but wrong for the actual question, as well as wasting the time of respondents answering "the wrong question"

Edited February 6, 2013 by BazzaS

[nithinr98]

i know..i dont know why i wrote citizenship..sorry about not being clear..appreciate the response.

[NE1advice]

If you need the date of conviction/ which court, contact the DVLA. They will have the conviction recorded whether or not it was on a UK licence.