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mexico & dominican republic advice needed please

Hayley85 — Tue, 27 Aug 2019 10:51:11 GMT

Hello,
i have a 1 year 6 month suspended sentence for possession of class A drugs in spain- which does show up on my uk crb check by the way.
By the time i want to travel to either mexico or Dominican republic my suspended sentence will be over with.

will i have trouble getting into either of these countries? i cant seem to find any good information on the matter :/

has anyone here got experience of travelling to these places with drugs convictions?

many thanks

RE: mexico & dominican republic advice needed please

BenS — Tue, 27 Aug 2019 10:51:11 GMT

[quote]

[b]RMUK - 26 Aug 19 10:12 PM[/b]

Well here I am at the pool in Dominican sipping my cocktail. I was a nervous wreck all the way there on the plane and at the customs (quite intimidating now, they have lots of glass booths and they were scanning everyone's passport and taking everyone's fingerprints) but when the lady scanned my passport she didn't even bat an eyelid and stamped it no problem so I suspect there was absolutely no notice sent out by UK NCB.

Now I can relax and enjoy my holiday!

Just to note though that I asked my PPU officer about the notification he submitted for this trip and he actually confirmed to me in writing by email that he submitted me as a LOW risk with "no specific intelligence) so obviously if you are a medium or high risk then the dominican republic could still be dodgy.

Hope this helps anyone planning to go there!

[/quote]

Thanks for the really helpful update, and have a fantastic holiday!

RE: mexico & dominican republic advice needed please

RMUK — Mon, 26 Aug 2019 22:12:10 GMT

RE: mexico & dominican republic advice needed please

AB2014 — Tue, 11 Jun 2019 12:10:44 GMT

[quote]

[b]RMUK - 11 Jun 19 12:04 PM[/b]

BenS, thanks for the information. Starting to feel a bit more relaxed now.

Although things could have changed since 2015, I think there would be definitely stories on here or other places about UK citizens being refused in Mexico or DR. There are plenty of posts from Americans who have been rejected, but then again they have that intrusive Megan's Law thing, and also when you read these posts there is no context to the person's conviction so you never know whether they were convicted of something really serious or not.

I think common sense should prevail. Fingers crossed!

[/quote]

I hate to rain on your parade, but common sense is not always used in these cases. :angry: It will come down to what the police decide, so let's hope they do a proper risk assessment, which is all any of us can really ask.

RE: mexico & dominican republic advice needed please

RMUK — Tue, 11 Jun 2019 12:04:51 GMT

RE: mexico & dominican republic advice needed please

BenS — Tue, 11 Jun 2019 08:08:34 GMT

I went to Mexico in 2015 while on the SOR. I had no problems on entry, no questions or anything, very quick and treated like any other passenger.

I would of course advise against transiting through the US. Either get a direct flight or go through somewhere like Madrid, or even Canada (where I have been on the SOR and also had no problems).

Enjoy your trip!

RE: mexico & dominican republic advice needed please

RMUK — Mon, 10 Jun 2019 09:55:00 GMT

[quote]

[b]Hola - 9 Jun 19 4:22 PM[/b]

[quote]

[b]RMUK - 8 Jun 19 4:21 PM[/b]

[quote]

[b]marcovanba - 6 Jun 19 5:08 PM[/b]

[quote]

[b]RMUK - 6 Jun 19 3:43 PM[/b]

Has anyone been to Mexico or the Dominican Republic in the last 5 years? Have there been any changes to their attitude?

I'm booked to go to DR in August and would be a nightmare to get turned back. My MAPPA social worker says I am low risk so he doesn't think a green notice will be issued. He said then again, the police sometimes do what they want...

I'm just hoping that the green notice is not issued!

[/quote]

I visited Mexico for 2 weeks in April no problems

My conviction was for fraud however. 2 year suspended sentence in 2015

[/quote]

Ah yes, forgot to mention that I am on the SOR for 3 years. It was a sexual offence. Maybe this is the wrong forum?

[/quote]

It will all come down to whether they issue a green notice - maybe ask them ?

[/quote]

They won't give me a straight answer. My OMU officer is either clueless or just pretends to be clueless on the travel side of things. He said he just fills in a form and passes it to the international unit in the Police Scotland force. He did say I am low risk though and should be fine. I assume I'd only get a green notice put out if they thought I was gonna be a risk while travelling?

RE: mexico & dominican republic advice needed please

Hola — Sun, 09 Jun 2019 16:22:08 GMT

[quote]

[b]RMUK - 8 Jun 19 4:21 PM[/b]

[quote]

[b]marcovanba - 6 Jun 19 5:08 PM[/b]

[quote]

[b]RMUK - 6 Jun 19 3:43 PM[/b]

[/quote]

I visited Mexico for 2 weeks in April no problems

My conviction was for fraud however. 2 year suspended sentence in 2015

[/quote]

Ah yes, forgot to mention that I am on the SOR for 3 years. It was a sexual offence. Maybe this is the wrong forum?

[/quote]

It will all come down to whether they issue a green notice - maybe ask them ?

RE: mexico & dominican republic advice needed please

RMUK — Sat, 08 Jun 2019 16:21:11 GMT

[quote]

[b]marcovanba - 6 Jun 19 5:08 PM[/b]

[quote]

[b]RMUK - 6 Jun 19 3:43 PM[/b]

[/quote]

I visited Mexico for 2 weeks in April no problems

My conviction was for fraud however. 2 year suspended sentence in 2015

[/quote]

Ah yes, forgot to mention that I am on the SOR for 3 years. It was a sexual offence. Maybe this is the wrong forum?

RE: mexico & dominican republic advice needed please

marcovanba — Thu, 06 Jun 2019 17:08:50 GMT

[quote]

[b]RMUK - 6 Jun 19 3:43 PM[/b]

[/quote]

I visited Mexico for 2 weeks in April no problems

My conviction was for fraud however. 2 year suspended sentence in 2015

RE: mexico & dominican republic advice needed please

RMUK — Thu, 06 Jun 2019 15:43:33 GMT

mexico & dominican republic advice needed please

BenS — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 22:57:48 GMT

Hi and Happy New Year all.

I just returned from Mexico. Had a wonderful time. Great country, great food and amazing, welcoming people.

I know this thread is old but just thought I would update to say the landing card is as basic as it's ever been and does not ask about convictions. The "check" with the border agent is non-existent, they just robotically stamp your landing card and passport without even a glance, and without asking any questions. Maybe it helped that we landed very late at night and they seemed half asleep.

Obviously I did not go through the US. Sorry to hear about the difficulties some have experienced, seemingly thanks to the US. Annoying that you would have permission from the UK authorities to go to Mexico but then the US decide that you should not go to Mexico and dob you in to them despite it having nothing to do with the US. Luckily there are plenty of direct flights from Gatwick/Heathrow or alternatively stopovers via other European airports like Paris and Madrid.

My conviction is not drug-related.

mexico & dominican republic advice needed please

Bornunlucky — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 22:57:48 GMT

HELP
Has anyone else been caught out travelling to any destinations AFTER being denied a US travel visa?
This is VERY concerning for me as I have recently been permanently denied entry to USA (cost me £500 to find out from US London Embassy) and I am now very scared to go anywhere if the info is shared by US.
To apply to every country to see if you can go there for work or holiday is not possible

mexico & dominican republic advice needed please

Mirrorman — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 22:57:48 GMT

USA and Canada share data so it would directly affect entry into Canada.

Other than that I don't think so.

mexico & dominican republic advice needed please

Victor H — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 22:57:48 GMT

It is a mystery but this is all internal work which no department would usually discuss. It could have been your PPU/Manager if you have one or something flagged up and set the alarms for them to starting 'working' and checking into your back ground.

It would not shock me if UK>US are working together secretly given the nature of the spying countries they both are.

In my opinion its unlawful the way border staff work since they say you provided false evidence or lied on your form etc but then if you had told the truth they would have rejected it a horrible spot to be in which is no different from applying for a job role.

This is why jobs will have to come and go and same applies with flying to destinations, some things will just not be possible.

mexico & dominican republic advice needed please

Victor H — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 22:57:48 GMT

interesting news I agree I think its just the US and mexico sharing the data since they are neighbors.

stuart82:

Can't be 100% the way these guys work at the border control the staff are basically like the police so can call up your home turf and find out x z y on you, but if you filled out the visa application process and already informed them then most likely they shared this intel with mexico.

US is still the worst place to visit yet the most popular one sadly and maybe mexico also!

If you do have a job which has travel then perhaps a word with the boss in regards to only us/mexico ? this is only a suggestion mind and worst case scenario and perhaps only do so if push comes to shove and your booked to go to US/Mexico etc...otherwise you will know whats best if you have not declared anything to the boss and this has allowed you to carry on with your job then so be it why rock the boat I guess keep my suggestion only as a last resort.

Post Edited (Damag3d) : 31/07/2014 12:13:19 (GMT+2)

mexico & dominican republic advice needed please

stuart82 — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 22:57:48 GMT

I can tell you from experience in Mexico only a couple of months ago that they knew about my conviction BEFORE they scanned my passport. I was pulled out of line before I even got to the desk.

They received a report about my conviction which was 2/3 pages in length with my photograph at the top. They knew about my arrival before I got there - most likely through checking names from the advance passenger information list against a database. What that database is however is an unknown. My situation is as described in the links above where US citizens have been denied entry. Perhaps this is because the US have shared the info they have on me with Mexico, or they found out via other means.

Is anyone aware of a any way to obtain how information about you is being shared cross-borders? I contacted Interpol about this and asked for all information they held about me and the response suggested nothing!

mexico & dominican republic advice needed please

EUlaw — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 22:57:48 GMT

Mirrorman - operation Guardian Angel seems to be a an initiative between Mexico and the USA. The article that you linked us to doesn't mention the nationality of the people but the Mexican news says that the majority were from USA (although perhaps this is not suprising being that the USA is it's neighbour...): https://noticias.terra.com.mx/mexico/estados/pederastas-son-deportados-gracias-a-programa-en-jalisco,84c36c4da30b5410VgnVCM4000009bcceb0aRCRD.html

En 2013 only 1004 green notices were made world wide. Therefore it clearly isn't standard practice for the UK to make green notices whenever someone with convictions travels.

mexico & dominican republic advice needed please

stuart82 — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 22:57:48 GMT

This would certainly explain my recent denial in Mexico.

What is very worrying however is how this information is being shared with foreign countries. As I understand it, an Interpol notice has to be initiated by a local authority for each trip. I've had confirmation from my local police force that they didn't do this, so how/why was I 'flagged'? I suspected the US may have done this as I've been going through the visa application process, however I'm now wondering if this perhaps isn't the case.

I have to travel abroad as part of my job. If I'm denied entry when I'm travelling on business, I will lose my job. How are we supposed to get on with our lives when all of this uncertainly hangs over us each time we dare to leave our country.

mexico & dominican republic advice needed please

Mirrorman — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 22:57:48 GMT

It is true.

Read this.

mexico & dominican republic advice needed please

Victor H — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 22:57:48 GMT

Mirrorman said...
If you were convicted of a sexual offense and the Mexican authorities are alerted to your arrival, most likely by Interpol through a green notice you will be denied entry and sent home within a matter of hours.

So you must by law tell the authorities you will be leaving, they will pass this info onto Interpol who in turn will issue a green notice to the destination country where you will be denied.

This will not happen for other offenses.

First I have heard of this I thought interpol only showed the most serious and wanted criminals ie the ones on the run and trying to escape the country?

mexico & dominican republic advice needed please

forever changes — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 22:57:48 GMT

not true

mexico & dominican republic advice needed please

Mirrorman — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 22:57:48 GMT

If you were convicted of a sexual offense and the Mexican authorities are alerted to your arrival, most likely by Interpol through a green notice you will be denied entry and sent home within a matter of hours.

So you must by law tell the authorities you will be leaving, they will pass this info onto Interpol who in turn will issue a green notice to the destination country where you will be denied.

This will not happen for other offenses.

mexico & dominican republic advice needed please

lin — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 22:57:48 GMT

Hi , I went to Mexico a few years ago loved it , never had any trouble , I was sentenced to 4 years in 1970s and served 1 year after an appeal and parole , I did wonder and was a little nervous when I entered the country but nothing was ever said , I fact I have been to many many places and never everhad any mention of this good luck .

mexico & dominican republic advice needed please

Victor H — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 22:57:48 GMT

OneMistake said...
That is worrying that the US share information with god knows who. I think I'll carry on ticking no to the "ever been arrested" question on the ESTA, i was considering going to the embassy in London to sort a Visa. Not any more.

Does it not say have you ever been arrested or have criminal convictions though ?

Kinda strange argument since it ask for 2 things and one can always say a caution or warning is not a criminal conviction so the answer is no, or if its spent under the ROA you can tick no but of course the US see once a criminal always one etc

I have often wondered if someones lie has been caught out and they claim the ROA law and that my time is spent thus no disclosure not sure that would fly withe the US border staff exactly !

But let us know how your trip was and if any issues arrived best advise is don't draw anything to your attention if your sweating or looking suspicious they will always investigate so just go and have fun like a normal person but do come back and let us know !