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Travel to N.America (USA or Canada) while ON SOR but ticking "no" to convictions

Stersco83 — Tue, 24 Mar 2026 10:47:25 GMT

Has anyone here travelled to North America (USA or Canada) while still ON the Sex Register but ticking "no" to convictions?

I've looked at the various sub threads but oddly enough can't find a clear instance of this.

Has anybody done this and if so what were the circumstances (how closely were you being monitored and how highly rated as a risk) and what was the result?

I already pinned my colours to the mast by ticking "no" to convictions for Canada ETA, and cops visit me 2x per year -- don't treat me with suspicion.
My excuse is that my conviction itself is spent, so force of habit: I treated the ETA like an employment application.
The ETA is successful as of now - I am allowed to enter.
I am off the register in August anyway.

My thinking is, a discrepancy between ETA and reality might be highlighted by a Green Notice if there is one. But I don't know that here will be one.

In my recent travels to Europe I was waved through, very quickly as if there was no notice to get the guards' attention, although earlier in 2018 (before Brexit and also perhaps when I was higher risk and newer to the register) they took a long hard lingering look at the screen after scanning my passport.

RE: Travel to N.America (USA or Canada) while ON SOR but ticking "no" to convictions

punter99 — Tue, 24 Mar 2026 10:47:25 GMT

Green notices are visible to every country that is signed up to Interpol. There is something called a green diffusion as well, which is issued to specific countries only.

If you went to Europe with no issues, that would suggest there is no green notice in place.

RE: Travel to N.America (USA or Canada) while ON SOR but ticking "no" to convictions

Dharma — Mon, 23 Mar 2026 21:06:51 GMT

I don't have any firsthand experience with this, but even if someone else has had a positive experience, it may not be the same in every case. Also, if you risk it then you're refused entry, it'll make it harder/impossible to try again in future as I believe being refused entry stays with you forever, even when your conviction is completely spent.

RE: Travel to N.America (USA or Canada) while ON SOR but ticking "no" to convictions

Stersco83 — Mon, 23 Mar 2026 16:21:42 GMT

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[b]AB2014 - 23 Mar 26 2:05 PM[/b]

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[b]Stersco83 - 23 Mar 26 11:52 AM[/b]

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[b]AB2014 - 23 Mar 26 11:25 AM[/b]

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[b]Stersco83 - 23 Mar 26 11:06 AM[/b]

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There is always the risk that the police will probably realise that you haven't disclosed if you have an ESTA and issue an Interpol green notice. That decision is not taken by your local officers, so it's out of their hands. Of course, if you're not planning to travel before you come off the SOR in August, you won't have to notify the travel to the police and they won't be involved. The earlier thing in 2018 would probably have been because in those days, anyone on the SOR who notified a passport was automatically added to the Schengen system, but all those entries were deleted as part of the Brexit agreement.

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That's the nature of my concern yes.

I was also thinking, maybe I have a long holiday in Ireland with a spontaneous detour to N. America?

The nature of my job offers sufficient pretext for that pattern of movement. Conferences etc. The nature of my job is also one reason why I filled i a blanket ETA at beginning of the year, not for a specific trip.

What does that mean for the Green Notice? Are Green Notices issued to individual countries, or is it like the bat signal , visible to everyone?

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Green notices are issued to specific countries, not generally. There are other notices for people who are of interest worldwide. Once again, I'd say just wait until you're off the SOR, because then you're just someone who wants to travel, not the "person of interest" you were while you were on the SOR. You could travel via Ireland before then, but why go to the trouble? There is no other way for the US authorities to find out, as the UK doesn't routinely share criminal record information with other countries, except for those people of worldwide interest. There is no link between your passport and your record, so why not just wait until The Big Day and then go travelling?

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Oh I have my reasons for wanting to go earlier, combination of personal and professional.

Obviously waiting till the Big Day solves the problem from one angle, just trying to do risk analysis of earlier.

Gets me into the weeds over overspending on late ticket buying tho.

A good tiebreaker would be if I knew if anyone actually did it.

RE: Travel to N.America (USA or Canada) while ON SOR but ticking "no" to convictions

AB2014 — Mon, 23 Mar 2026 14:05:44 GMT

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[b]Stersco83 - 23 Mar 26 11:52 AM[/b]

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[b]AB2014 - 23 Mar 26 11:25 AM[/b]

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[b]Stersco83 - 23 Mar 26 11:06 AM[/b]

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RE: Travel to N.America (USA or Canada) while ON SOR but ticking "no" to convictions

Stersco83 — Mon, 23 Mar 2026 11:52:03 GMT

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[b]AB2014 - 23 Mar 26 11:25 AM[/b]

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[b]Stersco83 - 23 Mar 26 11:06 AM[/b]

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RE: Travel to N.America (USA or Canada) while ON SOR but ticking "no" to convictions

AB2014 — Mon, 23 Mar 2026 11:25:17 GMT

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[b]Stersco83 - 23 Mar 26 11:06 AM[/b]

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