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I am a non-EU person and a few months earlier, I was accused of a criminal offence of drink and riding a bicycle (the event was only for 2-3 minutes, no one hurt, police caught me immediately). After some days of this charge, I have received a letter stating: if I agree to pay a fine all the legal proceeding against me will be discontinued without any further notification to me. And, there will be neither an entry in the federal central register nor in the registry of fitness to drive. I will be deemed to have no criminal record. I have fulfilled the obligations in a timely fashion.

At present, I am searching for a job and this week I have received a job offer from Finland. So to proceed further, I need to apply for a Finnish visa. In the visa form, there is a section of criminal history and certain questions were asked, for example,

  1. Have you ever been convicted of an offence and sentenced to punishment?
  2. Do you consent to the Finnish migration authorities obtaining a criminal record extract or similar report from foreign authorities?

In my case, I could not able to make up my mind. What should I write in the form? Should I mentioned about the incident of drink and riding a bicycle or not (although in the letter it was mentioned that if I pay the fine then there will be no record against me)?

I will be grateful if anyone can give some information on this.

Glorfindel
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Aragorn
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3 Answers3

39

Fact 1: You haven’t been convicted. Fact 2: You have been fined. Fact 3: You have committed an offence (that’s what you told us). Fact 4: There is no record in Germany that you were even accused of an offence. Fact 5: You have never been charged of an offence.

You should answer the exact questions that you were asked truthfully. The truthful answer to question 1 is “no”. You took the offer to get rid of the matter by paying a fine, therefore no charge, no conviction, no punishment, no record. Good move on your side.

The second question: If you don’t agree, I bet you won’t get a visa. On the other hand, there will be no record of the matter in Germany so a search will turn up nothing.

(Other countries may ask different questions, like “were you ever charged...” and you would have to answer “yes” if you were charged even if you were later proven innocent. In such a situation lying will most likely give you more trouble than saying the truth. But in your case: You were not charged. ).

gnasher729
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39

Depends on the fine print.

German law has something called a Strafbefehl, a non-negotiable, court-approved offer of a plea bargain. One can take it or request a full court case. The Strafbefehl is only possible for a misdemeanor, and differences between a crime and a misdemeanor are problematic when it comes to translations.

It could also be a simple fine for a public order offense, which is not a crime.

o.m.
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-1

OK. Literal interpretation. You can truthfully answer no even if you do not intend to pay the fine. You have not been convicted.

But... if you don't pay the fine and you are ever asked again, such as upon entry, you might have to answer yes. So yeah, answer quickly and pay the fine.

mckenzm
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