Criminal Background Check and Elite Visa

[JessabellHeart]

Greetings before I begin this process of the Elite Visa. I understand it’s stated “clean background check” 

In my early 20s I collected a few misdemeanors. I’ve never spent a night in jail. I’m 40 now. I’m home honestly not sure how far back a FBI background check goes (American Citizen) 

 

When they say no criminal record, does charges from close to 20 years ago really matter?

 

Thanks!

[Jingthing]

I assume those misdemeanors would show up. Juvenile records shouldn't.

[HuskerDo2]

Some background checks only go back 7, 10, 20 years. I doubt the background check will be for your entire lifetime.

[ozimoron]

Is there a US equivalent to the Australian expiration of offenses act where non violent misdemeanors over ten years old can't be used for any purpose other than sentencing?

[Gottfrid]

Depends on the kind of charges.

[JessabellHeart]

At a party, Aquired all 3 at same time.

Underage Consumption

Contributing to Minors

Unlawful Acts to a person (I punched someone)

 

Paid a fine and never served time or probation

[biervoormij]

I would recommend just do the background check and see if anything is reported.

 

I did one in 2019 to get my O-A retirement and it was simple and don't think it cost much. I think it took 2 or 3 weeks to receive the report in the mail.

[BostonJoe]

16 minutes ago, JessabellHeart said:

At a party, Aquired all 3 at same time.

Underage Consumption

Contributing to Minors

Unlawful Acts to a person (I punched someone)

 

Paid a fine and never served time or probation

Unfortunately when a background  check is done in America it's going to show up   Did you plead guilty ?  Was the Judge kind enough to give you a continuance with out a finding if you stayed out of trouble fir 6 months 

[JessabellHeart]

I can’t remember what I plead, honestly. I went to the court house and met with the judge in her office. It was me and her and maybe my mother. I was told what my charges were I was then told what those charges would cost me. It was pretty straight forward. 

[CartagenaWarlock]

Who does these background checks? Are these done by the Thail elite company or it has to be done by you and sent the report to them. I got my elite but I used an international agent to buy me a (Antigua & Barbuda's) passport and then get an elite on that passport. So, not sure about all the paperworks required. And I did all these even before visiting Thailand in my life. I hired the agent to hide my whereabouts from patent trolls who were after my 3 million USD for "alleged" violation of their purchased patents. The agent suggested to buy a new passport and get an elite to hide in Thailand for three years. 

[BostonJoe]

22 minutes ago, JessabellHeart said:

I can’t remember what I plead, honestly. I went to the court house and met with the judge in her office. It was me and her and maybe my mother. I was told what my charges were I was then told what those charges would cost me. It was pretty straight forward. 

Do you have any cop friends who can run your info  

[ozimoron]

5 minutes ago, BostonJoe said:

Do you have any cop friends who can run your info  

I don't know about the US but don't try that in Australia. Instant charge and dismissal for accessing any personal records not in the course of duty.

[ChrisP24]

Having a cop friend or private investigator run a report is a good idea, or even a law firm or other company with access to a public records search.    In the U.S., agencies and companies with access are subject to an array of "fair use" restrictions to ensure that they have a legitimate reason to run the info, but if the person is requesting it on themselves there is no problem.

 

Before retiring I had access to a couple of these public record search tools through work, and of course it was common for people with access to run background checks on ourselves and on co-workers if they asked, just to see how much info was there.  It's surprising how much can go into one report, for example all of your past addresses, cell phone numbers, e-mail addresses, all of the vehicles, boats or trailers that have been licensed to that person, professional licenses such as nurse or pilot, bankruptcies, judgments, etc. in addition to the criminal info.   For me there were a couple of speeding tickets from the 1980s that never made it onto any of the reports, I'm guessing that info from minor events from before such data was being electronically compiled and shared was not worth the effort of having someone manually enter it.  But also I was surprised to find that a lien had been recorded against me in 2005, it was for around $600 by an HOA on a property that was for sale for almost a year, I had moved out of state and had neglected to keep track of when the annual HOA payment was due.  The lien got paid directly out of closing when the property eventually sold, and I had never noticed it.  

 

There are some national online companies that purport to run background checks, but I've never used any of them.  Maybe some are legit but frankly they look kind of scammy to me.   It will be best of course to try to run your report through the same system that will be used for the visa application.  Are you using an agent?  If so they will know and possibly they might even be the ones to run the report -- I'm not sure about that.  This site:  Thai Elite Visa | Apply Now | ThaiEmbassy.com says that "the agent will work with the Thailand Elite Office, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Immigration Bureau to do immigration and criminal background check. The process may take 1 month for most nationalities and up to 3 months for special countries."

 

An agent can also advise you on whether something that minor from that long ago would be any cause for concern. 

 

[ozimoron]

1 minute ago, ChrisP24 said:

Having a cop friend or private investigator run a report is a good idea, or even a law firm or other company with access to a public records search.    In the U.S., agencies and companies with access are subject to an array of "fair use" restrictions to ensure that they have a legitimate reason to run the info, but if the person is requesting it on themselves there is no problem.

 

Before retiring I had access to a couple of these public record search tools through work, and of course it was common for people with access to run background checks on ourselves and on co-workers if they asked, just to see how much info was there.  It's surprising how much can go into one report, for example all of your past addresses, cell phone numbers, e-mail addresses, all of the vehicles, boats or trailers that have been licensed to that person, professional licenses such as nurse or pilot, bankruptcies, judgments, etc. in addition to the criminal info.   For me there were a couple of speeding tickets from the 1980s that never made it onto any of the reports, I'm guessing that info from minor events from before such data was being electronically compiled and shared was not worth the effort of having someone manually enter it.  But also I was surprised to find that a lien had been recorded against me in 2005, it was for around $600 by an HOA on a property that was for sale for almost a year, I had moved out of state and had neglected to keep track of when the annual HOA payment was due.  The lien got paid directly out of closing when the property eventually sold, and I had never noticed it.  

 

There are some national online companies that purport to run background checks, but I've never used any of them.  Maybe some are legit but frankly they look kind of scammy to me.   It will be best of course to try to run your report through the same system that will be used for the visa application.  Are you using an agent?  If so they will know and possibly they might even be the ones to run the report -- I'm not sure about that.  This site:  Thai Elite Visa | Apply Now | ThaiEmbassy.com says that "the agent will work with the Thailand Elite Office, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Immigration Bureau to do immigration and criminal background check. The process may take 1 month for most nationalities and up to 3 months for special countries."

 

An agent can also advise you on whether something that minor from that long ago would be any cause for concern. 

 

Why not just apply for your own police check and pay the fee?

[Havefunme]

If your doing a F.B.I. check everything shows up its up to Thailand to accept it or not

[ozimoron]

2 minutes ago, Havefunme said:

If your doing a F.B.I. check everything shows up its up to Thailand to accept it or not

I think the visa fee is non refundable which is probably why the OP is keen to find out first.

[Phnom Penh Trader]

I would expect a significant amount of tea money will be expected should these facts come to light during the application process?

[FritsSikkink]

2 hours ago, JessabellHeart said:

At a party, Aquired all 3 at same time.

Underage Consumption

Contributing to Minors

Unlawful Acts to a person (I punched someone)

 

Paid a fine and never served time or probation

Shouldn't be an issue

[FritsSikkink]

41 minutes ago, Phnom Penh Trader said:

I would expect a significant amount of tea money will be expected should these facts come to light during the application process?

BS, you either pass or not

[cjinchiangrai]

1 hour ago, ozimoron said:

I think the visa fee is non refundable which is probably why the OP is keen to find out first.

It is free to apply. You do not pay until after the check. I think it is an Interpol check but they are looking for bigger things than this.

[biervoormij]

Sorry I am repeating myself.

 

Do the check yourself. If you are in the US now do a google search on the state you are in for a background check for a visa.

 

If you are currently in Thailand follow the directions on the embassy's webpage.

https://th.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/local-resources-of-u-s-citizens/fingerprint-cards/

 

Get your fingerprints and follow the directions on https://th.usembassy.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/90/criminal-record-check-instructions-2017.pdf

 

It says the FBI charges $18 for the background check.

 

A low price to pay before talking to someone about the elite visa.

 

 

[ukrules]

Don't sweat it at all - they don't do any kind of proper background check.

 

They will check to see if you're on any wanted lists that are shared internationally and perhaps check to see if you have any criminal history in Thailand - but that's about it.

 

The only kind of background check that will show up what you're talking about is one that you have to do yourself - and they don't ask for this kind of background check.

 

I know this 100% as I've done it myself.

 

When you apply for one of the visas that requires a background check then you're going to have to go to the hassle of getting a 'proper' background check in your home country - which I believe involves giving your finger prints to the FBI in the US and waiting a while - you need this for some working visas I believe - that's a completely different process than they do when applying for the TE visa.

 

You just fill out the form and they either approve you or they don't and they don't have the ability to do the kind of background check on you as that is something which you need to initiate yourself - so you would know about it

 

I'm from the UK and the only way to get the equivalent is to do it yourself via something called the Association of Chief Police Officers - they offer a 'police check' certificate.

This has never been requested when I've took out a TE membership and I've done it twice so far.

 

 

So just to summarise - you don't need the full FBI background check that certain other visas do require when applying for the Thailand Elite visa so you can disregard anything that sugests going down that route. It's not relevant to the TE visa - I believe it would be very relevant if you were applying for a teachers working visa - but that's a very different system entirely.

 

 

[ukrules]

38 minutes ago, cjinchiangrai said:

It is free to apply. You do not pay until after the check. I think it is an Interpol check but they are looking for bigger things than this.

That's right. I think it's to keep the wanted criminals out, nothing more.

[ukrules]

2 hours ago, ozimoron said:

Why not just apply for your own police check and pay the fee?

You don't need a police check to get a TE visa, it's not part of the application process.

[Onerak]

19 hours ago, ukrules said:

When you apply for one of the visas that requires a background check then you're going to have to go to the hassle of getting a 'proper' background check in your home country - which I believe involves giving your finger prints to the FBI in the US and waiting a while - you need this for some working visas I believe - that's a completely different process than they do when applying for the TE visa.

Before the started asking for health insurance, I used to get O-A visa from the USA that required a background. I used to walk into the county office and ask them for a criminal background check. They will do it on the sport and give me a printout for free. And the Thai embassy did accept that and issued me O-A twice that I used for four years. When they started asking for health insurance, I found it easier to hire an agent for 15K in Pattaya and extended my O-A for 12-months without insurance. 

[BeerAttractedPerson]

They only do a check on you in Thailand. They have no means of getting your home country record. You will be fine.