My girlfriend and I were recently looking into applying for a spouse visa. She is Dutch and lives in Amsterdam and I am an America in Boston. We're both professionals with substantial means for living and qualify in almost all ways for this visum.
The area of concern that has been causing us a lot of stress is that I made a foolish mistake 3 years ago and drove under the influence. I was convicted in January of 2016. I've since made ammends, paid off all my fines, gone through the processes of clearing everything up, but this DUI still remains on my record. As she was reading through the documentation for the Visum, she saw that this could affect our application and/or approval as it could mean I would be seen as a threat to "social order".
Will a DUI prevent me us from getting this visum? Is there a way to make an appeal if it does? Has anyone else experienced something similar and had success with obtaining a Visa? If so, how?
Spouse Visa Application Acceptance with a DUI
Hi and welcome to the Forum:
The "mistakes" you are declaring are those that meet the following conditions:
Antecedents Certificate wrote:• I have never been sentenced to imprisonment or a custodial measure for committing a crime;
• I have never been sentenced to perform community service for committing a crime;
• I have never been imposed an unconditional fine for committing a crime;
• I have never accepted an out-of-court settlement for committing a crime;
• I have never been imposed a penalty order by a public prosecutor for committing a crime;
• I am currently not subject to prosecution for committing a crime;
• I have never been responsible for one of the following categories of acts as referred to in Article 1F of the 1951 Refugee Convention: a crime against peace, a war crime, a crime against humanity, a serious non-political crime (for example murder or terrorism), or acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations (for example terrorist acts); and
• I am aware of the fact that a sentence for committing a crime may result in a refusal or termination of the right of residence.
• I have not submitted any incorrect data during earlier residence procedures;
• I did not reside in the Netherlands illegally in the past;
• I am not subject to any entry ban.
I couldn't find a specific answer to your question, but I did find that when Holland issues antecedent certificates to their own citizens, they would not include a DUI conviction. So, my opinion is that if your DUI does not fall into those categories, you should be OK.
Late addition to above:
I've just read on another Forum that a guy that was coming to Holland to work as a Taxi driver did have his application denied, so if you're coming to do anything motor trade-related, you may have some issues.
If you want to be sure, get your girlfriend to phone the IND and ask them.
Hope this helps.
Cynic
Expat Team
Thanks for the response. I haven't had a chance to log back in to say that. But it did prove useful.
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