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A group of us are travelling to China this year. One of the members of our group was convicted five years ago for possession of Ecstasy; as it has been five years, the conviction is now spent / expired. Will this expired conviction affect our chances of getting a visa?

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Was it a felony? Where was he convicted? Can you cite what you mean by 'spent' and 'expired'? – Michael Pryor Jun 28 '11 at 23:38
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Sorry i forgot to clarify. This is in the UK, so there is no felony/misdemeanor distinction. spent/expired is defined according to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 – zeocrash Jun 28 '11 at 23:50
@Ankur Banerjee: Please don't edit questions for style and British vs American spellings. – hippietrail Jun 29 '11 at 10:15

1 Answer

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Asked a friend about this one who applied years ago. He was denied even though his conviction was spent. It might be based on the severity of his conviction, but I cannot attest to that.

The best advice I was given was go to Hong Kong and apply for a Chinese visa there. According to sources (other travelers, nothing written), you are more likely to get one there. If you don't want to go all the way to Hong Kong to try (which is understandable), apply and see if he gets one.

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I'd second this; go into your local Chinese embassy and see what they say. All you can do is ask. – Ciaocibai Jul 14 '11 at 22:58

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