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Spent convictions

Answer

The USA have a visa waiver programme for any person holding passports from certain countries (British passports are included) as long as that person has never been arrested and/or convicted.

If you have been arrested you must declare it whether or not that arrest resulted in conviction. The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 does not extend to the USA so you must declare all convictions regardless of whether they are classed as spent or not.

Most minor road traffic offences that were dealt with by way of fixed penalty (i.e. no arrest or court appearance) do not count and you will be eligible to travel under the visa waiver programme.

If you have been arrested/convicted then you must apply for a visa from the US Embassy in London before you travel to the USA. Failure to have a visa means that you could be refused entry and returned home at your own expense. Have a look at the Visa Waiver Wizard (first link in related information) which only takes a minute to complete - it is just a guide for your own information, you do not have to enter personal details.

A conviction could mean that you are classed as permanently ineligible to travel to the USA, however, you may be able to apply for a waiver of permanent ineligibility from the Department of Homeland Security. This is not automatic and depends on several factors depending on the nature of the crime and when it was committed.

If you are unsure it is always better to check as you could be refused entry to the USA. In the current climate, it is highly likely that the USA authorities will be aware of your personal details before you travel to the USA.

Also see the websites in Related Information for more details.

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Answer

A spent conviction is a conviction, which under the terms of Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 can be effectively ignored after a specified amount of time. The amount of time for rehabilitation depends on the sentence imposed, not on the offence. This act aims to rehabilitate offenders by not making their past mistakes affect the rest of their lives if they have been on the right side of the law for some time. This means that a person who has spent convictions does not have to disclose the conviction to prospective employers, and employers cannot refuse to employ someone on the basis of spent convictions.

You have to tell employers about all your convictions if you want to work with children or vulnerable adults or if you are applying for certain professions such as law, health care, pharmacy, senior management posts within certain sectors, and employment where matters of national security are involved.

If you have received a prison sentence of more than four years your convictions will never become spent.

The more serious the conviction the longer the period of rehabilitation.

If you were 17 or under when found guilty the rehabilitation period is usually half the time it would be if you were 18 or over. For example if the sentence imposed was a community service order then for the younger person the period is two and a half years whilst for the person 18 or over it is five years.

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