What constitutes a criminal offence?

[DavDrop]

Hey peeps, hoping someone can answer a quick question in relation to the Form IMM1295E as part of stage 2 in the IEC working holiday visa.

One of the questions is: “Have you ever committed, been arrested for, been charged with or convicted of any criminal offence in any country?”.

I was charged with a minor non traffic infraction (smoking within 25 feet of a trolley station) when in the US in 2008. Should I be disclosing this or just answer no? I'm not sure if it would be classed as a criminal offence given it's along the same severity as a parking ticket but I don't want it to come back to haunt me in the future.

 

[zardoz]

Hey peeps, hoping someone can answer a quick question in relation to the Form IMM1295E as part of stage 2 in the IEC working holiday visa.

One of the questions is: “Have you ever committed, been arrested for, been charged with or convicted of any criminal offence in any country?”.

I was charged with a minor non traffic infraction (smoking within 25 feet of a trolley station) when in the US in 2008. Should I be disclosing this or just answer no? I'm not sure if it would be classed as a criminal offence given it's along the same severity as a parking ticket but I don't want it to come back to haunt me in the future.

The rule of thumb is, "if in doubt, declare it". That way, if the Visa Officer wants have a chuckle and ignore it, at least it's out in the open. If you get found hiding one thing, it will cause them to start looking for other stuff that was "omitted". If nothing else, it could cause a delay...

 

[DavDrop]

Ya that's what I was thinking alright. They would hardly refuse me for something so trivial but my fear was more that it would be an automatic refusal for selecting yes to the question, regardless of the incident. My police checks are clean so hopefully I'll be okay. Cheers for the reply.

 

[zardoz]

The judgement is made by comparing to an equivalent crime as defined by the Criminal Code of Canada.

For example, in Uganda, the "crime" of "homosexuality" carries a potential death sentence. In Canada, you are welcomed with open arms... It's all subjective, and Canada uses it's own measuring stick.

So, a "yes" is not automatic refusal.