Hypothetical question based on my own circumstances, the answer to which may actually benefit fellow forum members:

I'm a UK citizen, but hold and Irish passport (for context, I have a spent conviction for an SO). Do you think it will be easier to travel seeing as I have a passport from an EU member state? If so, I wonder whether changing passports might be an option for some forum members (I'm sure some of you have parents or grandparents from EU member countries)

If you have the right to live in the UK and have an Irish Passport you would be permitted to travel to EU member states as normal.

Applying for a passport based on parentage is not as straight forward as people think. If you have a significant offence, there is a chance that the application will be denied.... I've checked!

If you have an Irish passport then you can live and travel freely around the EU and would not need ETIAS if such a system is implemented in future. Irish citizens also have unconditional right of abode in the UK and have exactly the same rights as UK citizens, separately from the EU freedoms (British citizens have the same rights in Ireland - the only difference being British citizens cannot vote in Irish presidential elections or referendums, whereas Irish citizens can vote in all UK elections). This mutual freedom dates back to a 1922 agreement and is unrelated to the EU.

As I've pointed out on a couple of other threads (or maybe earlier on this one), an EU citizen cannot be denied entry into another EU country due to having a criminal conviction. The reasons for denying EU citizens entry to foreign EU countries are incredibly limited, basically if there is suspicion that you will commit a terrorist offence or if you have a serious communicable disease that is on the list of diseases qualifying for barring entry.

As far as I'm aware (though I could be wrong), if you are eligible for citizenship of another country by descent, it is usually an unconditional right, and convictions don't come into it. Maybe certain countries have exceptions, but in general a right to citizenship based on your parents' nationality is unconditional and has nothing to do with convictions or anything else. The only restriction is if either your current country of citizenship or your prospective one has limitations on dual nationality, but this does not apply to the UK (or Ireland). It's if you apply for naturlisation (e.g. by living in a country for a certain period of time, or by marrying a citizen of that country) that the country concerned may include good conduct as a prerequisite for granting citizenship.

I know for a fact that Ireland has nothing about convictions when getting citizenship by descent, as my wife has done just this by virtue of a grandparent born in Ireland.

I suspect this will all come down to the definition of 'serious criminal offences' or 'good character' and how EU immigration policy evolves.  The positive is that the EU has been far more lax/liberal previously than the UK and far less intrusive. The negative is that similar authorisation schemes elsewhere seem to define 'serious' in relation to the sentence not the offence, with 12 months custodial often the cut off.

Regardless of the above, I suspect anyone who has to notify travel will have a bigger challenge - if we remain part of the security framework, details will be on SISII by way of alerts.  The definition of the alert (even for the discreet check) is someone where:

• there is a clear indication that a person intends to commit or is committing a serious criminal offence or

• they assess a person, in particular regarding their past criminal offences, and believe that the person will commit serious criminal offences in the future.

Unfortunately, UK police do not undertake any form of individual risk assessment for ViSOR nominals (still issue the alert even when someone low risk and no threat...).

We're in for an interesting ride...

The EU definition of 'serious crime' is quite specific and is set out in their documents (I don't have time to find the passage currently). Essentially it is the usual list of offences where the maximum punishment in the issuing state is not less than 3 years. Based on sentencing guidelines that includes anyone with a sexual offence.

Hi there,
Let me first explain my position.  I recieved a caution for a SO 12 years ago.

Like many people, I have been reading with interest and scaring myself with the repercussions of this with regards to travel, specifically to the US as I anticipate happening at some point in the future with my family who are all unaware of events 12 years ago.
However since Brexit, Im now aware that potential issues with travelling to the US are the least of my worries, as I have a family holiday booked to Europe in August 2019 and I now may face issues with trying to travel here too.

I appreciate that Brexit negotiations are changing daily, and no one really knows the outcome of how easy it will be for people with criminal records to travel to the EU, however, based on the news reports and research I have so far concluded a few possible scenarios.

1)  The ETIAS doesnt come into effect until 2020, and I understand that this will only ask of any "serious convictions in the past 20 years". I hope that I can confidently answer no to this as my caution is not a conviction?
2)  If we leave the EU in March 2019 with a deal, then I understand that current arrangements for freedom of movement will remain during the 2 year transition period?  After which we will possibly fall into the ETIAS application?
3)  If we leave the EU in March 2019 without a deal, then there may be a requirement for British citizens to obtain an EU Visa.  From research, the current EU visa application doesnt enquire about criminal history?  Are there any questions relating only to criminal convictions rather than criminal records so that my caution doesnt need to be declared?

The saying goes, "you've made your bed now lie in it", so dont expect this to be a comfortable ride for me as a result of my actions.
Any help appreciated, and I wince with anticiapation of anything that I may not want to hear.
Thank you.






 

Hi Tom,

You're right in saying that if we leave in March 2019 without a deal then everything is up in the air. I would find it highly unlikely that uk citizens would need to obtain a schengen visa (many countries currently do not, including the USA), it is likely that they will need an ETIAS when that comes into force though.

However, I must thank you for something in your post. I have been following the ETIAS saga for a couple of years and it has filled me with absolute dread. I thought you were mistaken regarding the time limit on convictions but I have just looked up the document as agreed by the European Council a few days ago and it states:

"In addition, the applicant shall provide answers to the following questions: (a) whether he or she has been convicted of any criminal offence listed in the Annex over the previous 10 years and in the case of terrorist offences, over the previous twenty years, and if so when and in which country;"

Obviously, it is still not perfect but does at least provide some concept of time passed for rehabilitation.

Thanks for the info.

I only heard about the timeframes on the ETIAS from a speculative newspaper report, so to see that there seems to be an agreed EU document only requesting info on a 10 year timeframe for any convictions is encouraging for me because a) I don’t have a conviction b) it was over 10 years ago.

That still leaves the uncertainty over whether a visa will be required in the interim before the ETIAS comes in 2020, and what questions it asks regarding criminal history?

It's unlikely. Also, the current Schengen Visa application does not ask any questions regarding criminal convictions so if we had to use that you'd be ok too.