Tier 4 Student Visa Criminal Conviction

Hey guys,  I am applying for a tier 4 student visa to study in Scotland but need some advice.  I have been accepted into the school and have all of my necessary documents and financial information worked out.  The problem is that I got a dwi on 3/8/15 and was finally finished with the process and plead guilty on 11/9/15.  The judge only issued me a $500 fine and i was good to go.  Im wondering how this will affect my application or if anyone has had any experience with this?  any help would be appreciated!

Unfortunately, if the conviction happened less than 12 months before you apply for the visa, it's likely to be an automatic visa refusal.

However, once 12 months have passed then you can apply and they can't refuse the visa.

Which sadly means that if you apply before 11/9/2016 you're not going to be able to get the visa.

Can you defer your study instead so that you will be able to apply when more than 12 months have passed?


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Thanks for the advice, I wont be able to delay my studies but i guess i could try if i really needed to.  I might try to hire an immigration lawyer.  I just think its crazy that a misdemeanor that is all taken care of can hold someone back from studying in the UK.  fingers crossed

The U.K. treats convictions resulting in fines pretty leniently now than they did previously...a couple of years ago you would likely have had to wait 5 years from the conviction to be able to get a visa to enter the UK.

You could try hiring a lawyer, but the rules are pretty clear - if the conviction happened less than 12 months ago they are instructed to refuse the visa. It does say that there can be some discretion used, but I've never heard of them actually doing that.


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It does say that there can be some discretion used, but I've never heard of them actually doing that.

I think that "discretion" is usually reserved for when someone commits an offense that isn't one in the UK, such as countries where homosexuality is a crime. That clause exists to allow for cases like that, but with you don't expect a DWI to be subject to that discretion (since drinking and driving is illegal in the UK as well as the US).

I think that "discretion" is usually reserved for when someone commits an offense that isn't one in the UK, such as countries where homosexuality is a crime. That clause exists to allow for cases like that, but with you don't expect a DWI to be subject to that discretion (since drinking and driving is illegal in the UK as well as the US).

Yeah, exactly. If it's a simple DWI, I don't think there's going to be any discretion used... it'll be a straight refusal.

The official guidance on this states:

RFL10.3 When can I refuse on the basis of non-custodial sentences?

Paragraph 320 (18A) and S-EC.2.5.(a) in Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules provides for a discretionary refusal of entry clearance where a person has been convicted of or admitted an offence for which they have received a non-custodial sentence or other out of court disposal that is recorded on their criminal record within the preceding 12 months of submitting their application. Examples of non-custodial sentences may include fines, Cautions, Warnings and Reprimands or suspended sentences.

I have a DWI/DUI myself. It's not a trivial thing at all... and it can have a big impact on immigration and visa eligibility. It happened in the UK (I'm a UK citizen) just before I was due to apply for a student visa for the US, and I had a massive panic that the visa would be refused and that I had just ruined my future career (thankfully I discovered they couldn't refuse the visa unless I was either an alcoholic or a danger to society). 

Having the DUI on my record means that I am banned from entering Canada for 5 years from the end of the sentence - because it's considered a felony there. After 5 years (which was 2013), I can apply for rehabilitation to enter, but it costs over $200 and takes about a year to be processed. Alternatively, once 10 years have passed, I can travel to Canada without a visa (however, I believe I'm only allowed to do that once and then I have to get a visa).

I also have to apply for visitor visas to enter the US, because I was told by the US Embassy that any arrest, even if you were not convicted, makes you ineligible to travel without a visa (whether that's actually true or not, is debatable, based on the ESTA questions, but I've erred on the side of caution). I also believe I will need to apply for a visa if I want to enter Australia as well, as they take convictions pretty seriously too.

Question: did you end up getting the visa?