Partner visa with criminal record.

[ybbil]

Hi there - my partner had a driving conviction from 6 years in spain. He had been out the night before. The next day he drove in his car and cut someone off by accident overtaking them and not seeing them, this was 11am. The guy fell off his bike and broke his collabone. Due to him been out the night before - he was over the limit.

Nothing happened for 4 years no peep from spain. Then in 2009 - he went to court where he was given 18 months and a fine.

The fine is been appealled currently by the insurance company for the car. Once this is over (2 years later since court it is still going on!!), then the prison sentence will be automatically suspended.

This is the law in spain if you have no record, the civil liabilities are paid and the sentence is under 2 years it is automatically suspended.

However I want to go home. My partner is from the UK and I want to take him with me. There is no doubt the sentence will be suspended - but I was wondering where it would leave me visa wise - getting him a partner one?

Considering this was 6 years ago! it is very annoying!

Thank you in advance!

:-)

[JandM]

Hello and welcome.

I'm afraid it doesn't look good from the written instructions, as things stand. The prohibitions are set out in Section 5.20 of the INZ operations manual, here http://www.immigration.govt.nz/opsmanual/, and it includes this.

at any time within the preceding 10 years (whether before or after the commencement of the Immigration Act 2009), has been convicted of any offence for which that person has been sentenced to imprisonment for a term of 12 months or more, or for an indeterminate period capable of running for 12 months or more;

and

Paragraphs (b)(i) and (ii) above apply:

Whether the sentence is of immediate effect or is deferred or is suspended in whole or in part

You say the law is rather different in Spain, so MAYBE there is some loophole you could argue for, but it's a very particular query you have. I doubt anyone here has relevant experience. You may need to find an immigration lawyer to advise you.

[Origems]

Hi ybbil,

I really feel for you. It seems ridiculous how long the case took to go to court as well.

Spain seems to be particularly strict on drink driving but you are right that if you have a clean record then any sentence in Spain under two years will usually be suspended.

Unfortunately in many jurisdictions suspended sentences tend to be treated the same as actual prison time for good character requirements. The ten year rule will be particularly harsh if it starts from 2009 and not from when the incident took place. Maybe NZI can apply some flexibility under the circumstances if all else fails.

As JandM advises this is definitely one for the experts. The only thing I can think of is appealing the sentence but I imagine this could take ages if your original experience is anything to go by.

Really hope things work out for you. All the best

Tim

[santhoshworld]

Considering this was 6 years ago

I do think consulting with immigration lawyer is a good idea