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Hi JohnM,
I've read through all your threads since I have a similar situation with you but it was keeping a SORN vehicle on public road and didn't receive relevant letters until an enforcement letter found me.

I paid the fines and is confused with terms of "criminal conviction", "court conviction", "court fines", and "court sentence".

I really appreciate your effort on this case which may help a lot of people like myself. As I cannot see any solutions from these threads, may I ask you what did you do in the end and what happened?

Thanks a lot.

Best regards,
Tim

Post split to your own topic.

Please do not dig and tag onto topics that are more than 6 years old and whose members are no longer active on the forum.

That is not a conviction

Dear all,

I am applying for ILR and really struggling at the page asking if I have had a "criminal conviction". Could you please give me some advice in case any of you had experience on this? I spent a lot of time but couldn't find an exactly answer on this. Meanwhile, I found a lot of people having a similar situation like me but don't know what to do. I'm hoping by opening a thread on this case would help myself and benefit others who may have the same issue.

My case is:
I kept my unused old car (with a SORN) on a public road (which is a narrow road that all residences use for parking everyday). Last year, DVLA clamped the car and I paid the release fee and taxed the car.

Later on, DVLA issued me a fine via post which I didn’t receive due to failing to update my car’s address (I know it is my fault but I didn't know it at the time and thought all I need to do is to update my driving license address which I did). Then DVLA put this to Brighton Magistrates Court (I also didn’t receive any letter from the court, if there is any), then I received a letter from Marston enforcement agent a year later (this August) saying that they have been given "warrant of control" in a court order and asked for a massive fine. I was then aware of the whole case and paid the fine immediately.

I understand I could have made a statutory declaration to the court stating that I wasn't aware of the fine and the court process, but I was told via phone by a court staff that this is not a crime so I didn't make the declaration because I don't want this case to become more complicated. Some people says it is not a criminal or unrecordable. But DVLA says it is a criminal offence, however, I heard that DVLA is good at “inventing laws” and misled people. Recently I asked two solicitors found from the internet, they both suggest this is a criminal conviction.

So now my question is:
(1) In law, is it actually a criminal conviction for me? Was the fine asked by Marston a sentence of fine by the court or is it just fine from DVLA? Or is it called the "non-custodial sentence" which is mandatory to be refused in ILR application if it is unspent?
(2) If it is a minor and unrecordable criminal conviction, should I tick "I have had a criminal conviction" in ILR application? If I tick that I guess it will be refused for sure because it is unspent, according to (page 49-50 of reference (a) below) and what is the chance to win an appeal afterwards?

I still can't believe that I might be a criminal now after 6years doing research at university, living in a quiet town and not involving in any harmful thing. Any suggestions from solicitors or people who had similar experience would be much appreciated! For personal opinions that not from a solicitor or your own experience, please would you kindly indicate it so people don't get misled. I would definitely post the result of this afterwards so that more people could benefit from this thread.

Thanks a lot everyone!

Best regards,
Tim

P.S. Here attached a few searching results I had.
References:
(a) Home office Guidance for refusal: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... .0-EXT.PDF

(b) DVLA enforcement regulation saying it is a criminal offence:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... vised_.pdf

(c) Magistrate’s possible actions at a hearing:
https://www.nationaldebtline.org/EW/fac ... tdebt.aspx

(d) Discussion on a similar case but without a final conclusion:
indefinite-leave-to-remain/question-to- ... l#p1703631

(e) List of UK driving offence:
https://www.lawdonut.co.uk/personal/tra ... lty-points

(f) Motor offence for untax:
http://www.motordefenceteam.co.uk/offen ... ad-Tax.htm

(g) Different criminal record databases:
https://www.gov.uk/criminal-record-checks-apply-role

This is an immigration forum and therefore discussions on other legal matters is largely out of the scope of of this forum.
However I quickly checked the given legislation on the subject and the enforcement action expected given the offence you commited. I can see that this is a motoring offence that is the prosecutable by DVLA. The good news is that given you cannot be imprisoned for such offence, it is NON-recordable. So it is not recorded on PNC and will not form part of your criminal record, so it will NOT have any effect on your ILR

Thanks very much for your kind advice, Zimba. Much appreciated! May I ask you one more question:

If I tick the box of "had a criminal conviction", then my main concern is according to the Home office refusal Guidance [1]: if Convicted of a non-custodial offence, unless it is 2 years old, the refusal is mandatory. What should I do regarding this..?

[1]Page 39-40:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... .0-EXT.PDF

Many thanks and best regards,
Tim

You certainly need to read the same document again:

Non-custodial sentences
If a person has been convicted of, or admitted to an offence for which they have received a non-custodial sentence or other out of court disposal recorded on their criminal record, you must refuse indefinite leave to remain under ..... unless the conviction in question occurred more than two years ago

So the refusal will happen if a conviction is a recordable offence. Also declaring something on the form does not automatically means admission of guilt or an offence. So you can declare this and the case worker will check if this was recorded on PNC, otherwise it will be ignored

Dear Zimba,

Thank you so much for pointing out - this really made me feels better. I have re-read the document.

I ticked the box of "had a criminal conviction" and have drafted the following in the application form. Do you think it is ok for what they asked? Thank you so much for all your patient suggestions and kind replies!

What crime were you convicted of?
I kept my unused car (with SORN) on a public road

Give details about your sentence:
I kept my unused old car (with a SORN) on a public road (next to my place) which I thought is a "private/local drive" at that time. DVLA issued me a fine but the letters were sent to my previous address and I didn't receive them. Therefore I wasn't able to pay the fine to DVLA for "out of court settlement". I was only made aware of this case until I received a fine notification letter from the Marston enforcement agent on 07/08/2018. I then paid the fine immediately.