Gold Card application with a criminal record

Legal Visa & Residency
1

Hi everyone,

I applied for a Gold Card as an expert in the science & technology area.

Unfortunately, I have a criminal record, of a regulatory nature and not one involving moral turpitude. With my Gold Card application, I declared it and included the summary of the court’s findings in my case - person of good character, no criminal intent and a conditional discharge sentence (no jail time or fines).

Because of how my case was handled (such as lying police officers in sworn statements, smashed up/broken valuables and valuables from my house missing after a police search), I have no interest whatsoever in contacting the police for any certificates from them. In short all I have are the court papers.

I have two questions:

  1. Will my Gold Card application likely be accepted/rejected without any further documents from my country’s police?
  2. Is there any quiet flexibility here? I am willing to do a variety of things: good character references from very respectable people, deposit a large amount of money as a Good behavior bond, etc. I just have no interest in contacting my previous government.

Furthermore in my view the certificate from the police would just say I have a criminal record, and for details of it the court papers would surely be the authoritative source.

2

Why wouldn’t you just get a pardon or record suspension before applying? Then you wouldn’t have to declare something like that.

3

Hey Marco, I tried appealing without success. Regulatory offenses are hard to appeal, because to obtain a conviction, no criminal intent is required to be shown.

(Not my case) But for example driving with an expired drivers license. No criminal intent needs to be shown, just that 1. You were driving 2. Your license had expired.

So the fact is that there will be no pardon or record suspension :cry:

4

But Pardons aren’t appeals. Appeals are…appeals to have it overturned.

Pardons are still possible after some time.

And conditional discharges should have it wiped as well with good behaviour. Why not wait until you can avoid disclosing it?

Knowing the country of conviction can help greatly with answers.

1 Like
5

OK my mistake for misunderstanding. You’re right that pardons are not appeals.

However it is fait accompli - I already submitted my Gold Card application with the aforementioned paperwork.

6

I don’t know the details so I can’t help much. I can send you to a lawyer perhaps if you want to discuss with him if you feel the details are too private for a forum.

7

OK thanks. Please feel free to send the details of the lawyer.

For now I am just keeping my fingers crossed the Gold Card application will be approved.

Anyone else have any experience or stories from others about the Gold Card process? Is the existence of a criminal record an automatic bar, or do they look at the big picture? Like what the applicant has to offer, circumstances of conviction, sentence imposed, time since conviction, etc.

8

Here you go! He is named Kuo Houchih

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1 Like
9

Great! Thank you.

1 Like
10

You didn’t say what country you are from, I’m assuming the US?

In the US “pardons” or expungements are extremely hard to get, involving expensive lawyers and all that. Even then they don’t even do any good in some cases (this doesn’t matter if the offense is moral turpitude or not).

I think Taiwan is kinda lax with criminal offenses that aren’t moral turpitude and did not occur in Taiwan, but I don’t know.