Florida Hols

[Jotay35]

Hi,,,we have booked a holiday to florida for next March,,taking kids to disneyworld...thing is my fiancé was convicted of gbh 3 years ago after getting involved in a fight..we can almost say for sure that he would be refused a visa after reading through countless threads on different forums...but have also seen numerous amount of times people saying just tick no to the convictions on the esta and they will never know...so does that mean that they cannot connect to our criminal database at the push of a button and does it also meant that no criminal info is stored on our passports..have read so many posts on here that say they have sailed through customs with previous convictions,one Man had 26 and spent 4 years in prison...

[dzug2]

They cannot connect to our criminal database at the press of a button.

That's not to say they cannot get information from it by asking us, but normally they've no reason to do so.


There is no information your passport that you cannot read, in clear, for yourself.

Still doesn't mean it's a good idea to lie to them

[jno]

unless anything's changed recently, no, they don't have access to our criminal databases, and there's no such information on passports. They probably share information about terrorism suspects, but that's about it.

[Jotay35]

Thank you for your answers...have really git no choice but try and chance it really...holiday is booked and paid for...anyone get any success stories of managing to get in?

[atalanta]

Beware : if you take out holiday insurance, and have to claim, the insurance company may well find out about the conviction and declare the insurance null and void. Insurance companies don't like meeting claims if they don't have to. That could result in huge costs to you for what might seem quite a small medical problem or minor accident. You could try insuring yourself and the children while you fiance travels without cover, but even that sounds dodgy to me.
I would not dream of travelling with children if I did not have cast-iron full insurance cover.

[Jotay35]

Thank you Atlanta...never even thought of that one....

[jno]

insurance companies don't ask you about convictions, do they? None of the ones I've been insured with ever has (travel or otherwise).

[Bazile]

This is a subject/question that comes up on a regular basis .

Wouldn't it be usefulf if those asking previously, would revert and advise as to what they did and what was the outcome in their particular situation .

[atalanta]

jno -
insurance companies rely on "uberrimae fidei" which means that they expect you to declare anything which might affect the policy. If the terms of the holiday insurance policy state that you must declare convictions, not declaring them will make the policy void. If you try to take out insurance you absolutely must read the small print with a magnifying glass. Any problem will arise if you have to claim, not when the insurance company agrees to cover you.