Visa options and traffic offense risks - Australian

[magicj13]

Hello,
I am currently in Canada on a Visitor visa as I am still awaiting my WHP permit to come through. I have some concerns though as it has been some time since I applied and I think it may have something to do with my traffic history.
I don't have any convictions or arrests nor have I ever had to attend court for any of the traffic offenses however, below is a list of the offences;

•Driving unsupervised on a learners permit
•Excessive noise and acceleration
•Speeding fines - Highest 20klm over speed limit - 6 in total over a 10 year period
•Driving with recently expired registration/insurance

I am currently looking down the route of contacting an immigration consultant to assist as my partner already has a work permit with a job that falls under classification "0". I am hoping that this means that I can get a spousal permit should I get a rejection from WHP.

Does anyone have any advise as to what I should actually do or if I am along the right path? Also do any of the above traffic offenses usually spring alarm bells for CIC when granting work permits?

Your help would be very appreciated, thank you.

 

[gogagig]

Are any of those offenses punishable by jail time in Australia (even if you did not actually receive jail time as a punishment)?

Even if these violations are potentially punishable by jail time in Australia, to your benefit, I dont believe any of those issues are punishable by jail time in Canada. They are mainly concerned with those crimes that are punishable by jail time, if the same crime was committed in Canada. In Canada the traffic violations that get you in jail are drunk driving, hit and runs, etc.

Be honest, I doubt there would be trouble.

 

[magicj13]

No none of these offenses lead to jail time in Australia nor do they need you to attend court either.

Thats fantastic news if that is the case, just frustrating it is delaying the process.

Thanks for the reply gogagig.

 

[simonvee]

It takes 8 weeks for them to finish. It says so on the website

 

[magicj13]

Thanks for your reply simonvee however it has now been 10 weeks and their response to why this has taken longer is because I answered yes to teh question b) Committed, been arrested or charged with a criminal or traffic offence in any country?
Seemingly I misunderstood this question as I was responding yes to this question for the offenses I listed, non of which I have attended court or been arrested for.

 

[simonvee]

The question 'Have you ever committed an offense in any Country?'
Offense is an act that has been recorded in your criminal history.
If your ciminal history is clean, you should have answered no.

I'm stressed out too, stage 2 is a killer! We're on the same boat

 

[magicj13]

Yeah that makes a lot more sense now....no criminal just a guy that wants to work in Canada.

 

[simonvee]

Just out of curiosity, what field are you planning on working in here in Canada?

 

[magicj13]

I have an opportunity with the company I worked with in Australia, Flight Centre. This is part of what has been making things confusing as I could technically apply for any one of three different ways.

Spousal (as my partner has a 3 year permit with classification "0")
Intra company transfer
WHP program. (I was hoping this would be the easiest)

All very confusing and not a lot of people to get advise from.

 

[simonvee]

The IEC Sydney office used to take phone calls last year, but not anymore. I guess they're bombarded with questions.
Now you can only email, but emailing takes a week for them to reply.
They also said on the website that the more emails we send the more it hinders their time in processing the visas. They're quite shortstaffed.
The best thing to do is to prepare everything well in advance

 

[magicj13]

Is there anyone locally to speak to and try and get advice on this?

 

[simonvee]

Not according to my knowledge. I tried calling CIC, but they wouldn't have a clue on what you're talking about.

 

[gogagig]

This should not disqualify you, but it might delay you even more. It is highly unlikely that CIC will reject your application outright because of this.
If you are very lucky, you will simply get your work permit without any issues. 8 weeks may be the norm wait time, but perfectly normal routine applications can certainly take longer.

I think the worst case scenario is that they might ask you for the the official certificate of disposition of your traffic cases. In most countries, this is obtained at the local courthouse. If you want to save time, and be prepared in case they ask you for this, I would start working on obtaining the necessary paperwork now. Once you submit the official disposition showing the charges and your punishment, they should be satisfied, since they would see that are all non criminal violations.

The other potential issue I can think of is- you say you are already in Canada in a visitor visa. You would have been asked the same question about your past offenses on your visitor visa applications? Did you answer no back then?

If you are an Australian citizen, you typically do not require visitor visa to come to Canada. However, if you have criminal convictions, you do require permission in advance to come to Canada. They may also be looking at whether you violated any regulations in entering Canada.

Don't mean to scare you- because the bottom line is that none of your traffic violations are considered criminal offenses. But because you answered yes to the criminal background question, you might be delayed.