China are not required to follow the ROA, and therefore you will need to answer the question by disclosing all convictions.

It may be that China has some kind of rehabilitation law which sifts old convictions, however I cannot seem to find much about this. I would suggest you contact the Chinese Visa Application Service Centre on T: 0207 842 0960 or at www.visaforchina.org.uk

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Completely agree, but the process is as it is at the moment. Anybody who fails to disclose is potentially committing a criminal offence - that's not a road I would want to go down.

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Biologist,

I completely respect your opinion on this, and of course you are free to make an informed decision, hence why I go the information from the Home Office last year on this matter.

However, it cannot be ignored that anybody who attempts to travel to the US and hides their criminal record when asked (for example, by travelling under the VWP and confirms that they have never been arrested or convicted) is liable to prosecution. Personally, that isn't a risk I would be willing to take.

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All I'll say is "treat others as you wish to be treated". You cannot base our countries actions on those of others.

And, although I take your point that it is good that we have a system, I would hardly say it was "fair" as it is, but it is indeed an important recognition. Unfortunately, it has been gradually eroded over time, and "spent" is pretty limited nowadays.

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I heard the other day (and I admit here that I am, strangely for me, indulging in rumour) that, whilst access to foreign convictions (and therefore, for China, people from the UK) is limited, and can only really be done on individual request from Interpol, many countries compile their own databases of people with convictions (I suspect, given my presence on this forum is full name, I may be on a few if they do exist), although I doubt how much this is true.

Nevertheless, it is worth considering that lying on an application form will potentially constitute a criminal offence. Having looked into this for the US, the maximum penalty under US Immigration law was 11 years. Whilst this can seem like scaremongering, I know many UNLOCK members wouldn't want to take the risk, but the practical reality of access is pretty clear.

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I went on my own. It ain't easy all this. The person who checked my form just glanced at my form and ticked all my answers and said I could collect it 4 days later which I did. let's know what you decide and the outcome!

the china visa application has a q 'have you ever been convicted of a crime in china or any other country'. what to do????

I told the truth on my application and much to my relief it was granted. If I'd lied i'd have been worried about it all holiday[if they'd let me in!].

as per comments elsewhere in the forum re the USA, how would they know any information if I didn't tell them?