T5 Youth Mobility Visa - Criminal Record

Hi All,

14 Months ago, I got convicted of a DUI Misdemeanour in the USA while on Tourism. I am a Canadian and the record did not follow me back home. I had no days in jail, but I did do 70 hours community service (which replaced jail time). I refused the breath test so they do not have a BAC, but no harm was caused.

I am planning on applying for the T5 Youth Mobility Visa this month and was wondering if I will have any problems. I do plan on disclosing it, but am getting really bad anxiety as my plans revolve around this.  I know it has been past 12 months, so it would mean discretionary right?

I know other visas with DUIs got approved, but I am not too sure how they view the youth mobility one.


Thank you in Advance.

It's not so much about the type of visa you are applying for (unless it is a visitor visa or valid less than 6 months), it's about the immigration rules surrounding criminality. The immigration rules regarding criminality changed on 1st December 2020, so what applied in previous years (i.e. other people's DUI visa situations on this forum), no longer applies now.

- Before December 1st 2020, a non-custodial sentence was only discretionary if the conviction happened less than 12 months ago... if it happened more than 12 months ago, there was no grounds for refusal, so it wouldn't affect the application.
HOWEVER
- Since December 1st 2020, any non-custodial sentence is now discretionary regardless of when it happened, so they may or may not refuse the visa because of it.

So, for your application, they will look at the following to decide whether or not use discretion:

Where a person has been convicted of an offence in the UK or overseas for which they have received a non-custodial sentence or an out-of-court disposal you may exercise discretion in deciding whether to refuse their application (apart from Visitors and those seeking entry for less than 6 months). You must consider the individual circumstances of the case; what may be appropriate for one case will not be appropriate for another.

The following, non-exhaustive, list of factors must be considered when assessing whether it is appropriate to exercise discretion:
• whether the person already has permission
• whether the person is making a first-time application
• if the person already has permission, did they start offending soon after they arrived in the UK?
• there is more than one instance of criminality and/or offending so that refusal is appropriate on the grounds of persistent offending, or the person should be referred for deportation consideration
• whether the sentence is very short, such as detention at court under section 135 of the Magistrates Court Act 1980 for a single day
• the length of time passed since the offence was committed, including whether any other entry clearance or permission has been granted since the offence
• the relevance of the offence to the application
• any ties the person has to the UK

See: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/965508/grounds_for_refusal_criminality_casework_guidance.pdf

Thank you for your quick answer. So for "whether the person is making a first-time application", is this in my favour since I am making a first time application?

The same applies for" whether the person already has permission", since as a Canadian, we are allowed without visas.

Also, in regards to the rules changing as of December, do you believe they are more strict?

Thank you for your quick answer. So for "whether the person is making a first-time application", is this in my favour since I am making a first time application?

No idea, I'm afraid - I just copied and pasted from the guidance. I don't know how they consider each factor when making their decision.

The same applies for" whether the person already has permission", since as a Canadian, we are allowed without visas.

You don't have permission.

By 'already has permission', they mean someone who is already living in the UK with a valid visa and are applying to extend that visa.

Also, in regards to the rules changing as of December, do you believe they are more strict?

No idea - I only found out 30 minutes ago that the rules had changed.

Also, in regards to the rules changing as of December, do you believe they are more strict?

Robust is the word they use. But the timing suggests it is mainly to do with the UK ending free movement to the UK for the EEA citizens and the non-EEA citizens using EU regulaltions/EU court rulings for new routes, to live in the UK. The EU allowed people to live in the UK who would have been refused entry under UK immigration rules, including some the UK had already deported.Those living in the UK under EU rules used to be hard to deport, compared to those under UK immigration rules (although that comes under other UK laws). 

It might be a case of applying and see what happens? Make sure you don't hide anything as deception is very serious and is a mandatory refusal.  Deception used in applications, can later cause Brtisih citizenship to be revoked or removed when discovered, as there is no time limit and they do not get their ILR back.

So you believe that the new rules were more directed towards EU and not much has changed for the ones outside of the EU?

So you believe that the new rules were more directed towards EU and not much has changed for the ones outside of the EU?

No, the new rules apply to everyone equally (EU and outside the EU).


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So you believe that the new rules were more directed towards EU and not much has changed for the ones outside of the EU?

There are some changes under the criminality laws for those using UK immigration rules. Mainly it seems to have added that as the UK has left the EEA,   EEA/Swiss citizens and all the non-EEA citizens using EU regulations/ECJ rulings to live in/wanting to move to the UK, will now be under the much stricter UK criminality laws as there no more "EU rights" in the UK.
 
It's just part of the many changes to laws the UK has made to end the special treatment in the UK, of EEA/Swiss citizens and non-EEA citizens using EU regs, as the UK has ended the EU's Free Movement to the UK.
 e.g. The NHS regulations have also changed too as these can no longer use the NHS for free from 1 January 2021, unless they are protected by the withdrawal agreement and can prove they reside in the UK. These now have to pay the IHS, or pay the NHS up front for treatment, or their own EU country pays.
The same with the benefit rules (no UK public funds for 5 years now) and the immigration rules (must have a visa, can now only bring a partner and children under age 18, must pay visa fees, no more self employed) etc.