The deadline for most applicants was June 30th. If you missed the deadline, you may still be able to apply. See late applications.Criminality questions
The online application form has the following questions.
It is important to answer the questions truthfully. Failure to do so may be grounds for refusal.If you have criminal convictions or fall into any of the categories listed below who would be referred to Immigration Enforcement, you should seek legal advice before you apply.
See Legal adviceThe criminality section of the form starts by asking whether you have been:
convicted of a criminal offence; or
arrested or charged with an offence and on trial or awaiting trial.If the answer is Yes, the form will ask whether you have been convicted in the last 12 months:
It will also ask you for convictions outside the UK, but only if:
it was for a violent offence;it was for a drug-related offence; oryou were sentenced to 12 months or longer in prison.You also need to say if you have been arrested or charged with an offence and you are awaiting trial or a decision to charge:
What needs to be declared
The Suitability Guidance for Caseworkers states:
Applicants (aged 18 or over) are required to provide information about previous criminal convictions in the UK and overseas, and are only required to declare past criminal convictions that appear in their criminal record in accordance with the law of the State of conviction at the time of the application. There is no requirement to declare spent offences, cautions or alternatives to prosecution for example fixed penalty notices for speeding. Applicants (aged 18 or over) are also required, as in other immigration applications, to declare whether they have any been involved in any terrorist related activities, war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide.
Caseworkers may also check applicants against records held by the Police National Computer (PNC) and the Warnings Index (WI). Any evidence from these sources will also be taken into account even if not declared.