What you need to know, in brief.
- Overseas travel is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act. If you need to apply for a visa to travel you will need to disclose both spent and unspent cautions and convictions. You may be asked to provide a police certificate as documentary evidence of your criminal record.
- There is no link to your criminal record from your passport. The chip on a biometric passport only stores your photograph and the biographic details which are printed in the passport.
- If you on are on Sex Offenders Register (SOR) you will need to notify the police of your intention to leave the UK. The police may ‘flag’ your passport with an Interpol Green Notice alerting overseas immigration of your SOR status.
- Anybody travelling to the US for less than 90 days can travel under the Visa Waiver Programme. If you’ve been arrested or convicted of certain offences you will need to apply to the US Embassy for a visa.
- If you are on licence you will need to get permission to travel outside the UK. This will be given only in exceptional circumstances.
Information & Advice Articles
Can I travel abroad if I'm on licence or on a community order?
Standard licence conditions usually state that you must not travel outside the UK without the permission of your supervising officer. There are no general exclusions for travelling abroad while serving a community order.
Does my passport have a link to my criminal record?
No. Biometric passports include a microchip which stores a digitised image of your photograph as well as your biographical details which are printed in your passport.
I'm looking to travel overseas but have an unspent conviction. Will my criminal record stop me from entering certain countries?
A lot will depend on the country you wish to travel to, the nature of your offence and the sentence/disposal you received.
I'm on the Sex Offenders' Register (SOR), will this cause me any problems when travelling abroad?
If you’re on the SOR you will need to notify the police of your intention to leave the UK for any foreign travel. Once you’ve notified the police a ‘Green Notice’ may be issued and ‘flagged’ via your passport.
Can I travel to the USA if I have a criminal record?
People with a criminal record are not automatically excluded from travelling to the US. If your offence is deemed to be a Crime Involving Moral Turpitude (CIMT) then you may need to apply for a visa from the US Embassy.
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