The thing to think about in this case is the possibility of obtaining a foreign visa with felonies on your record. Having experience with the NZ consulate, you would not be allowed a visa to study/work/live with a felony record. I don’t know about other countries, though.
Gosh darn it - this was supposed to be a reply to whuds in DRDOUGS thread!!! I guess I hit the wrong button.
Can a mod move this over?
- megboo Said:
The thing to think about in this case is the possibility of obtaining a foreign visa with felonies on your record. Having experience with the NZ consulate, you would not be allowed a visa to study/work/live with a felony record. I don't know about other countries, though.
Meg,
If DRDOUG's charges were expunged, would they still show up on a NZ background check for visas? Are background checks for visas automatic/federal, or do applicants submit 'police certificates' from local jurisdictions?
They are federal checks. I had to get fingerprinted and a background check by the FBI.
I do believe an “expunged” record would show up.
You make an important point about the possibility of obtaining a foreign visa. All countries with similar FBI checks would be effectively ruled out for someone with a criminal background. I wonder how much variation there is in CBCs for visa purposes? I think I remember reading somewhere that for a visa to go to school at Ross in Dominica, the only CBC required is a ‘police certificate’ from a local jurisdiction. Ross does have clinicals in the US though, so anything that would be a “hit” for US medical school clinicals would be a “hit” for Ross clinicals in the US.