I am now resting in my hotel in Melbourne, having successfully entered Australia. I looked to the thread and other information online, and here’s my story.

i was convicted of reckless driving (effectively, a wet reckless) last year. I wanted to apply for an ETA, but my conviction concerned me. Though many here vociferously claiming that any conviction requires a 600 visa, the wording in all the available official Australia Foreign Ministry information states that (paraphrasing) any conviction with a sentence of a year or more (suspended or served) is not eligible for an ETA. Obviously, this implies that for convictions resulting in < 1 year, the ETA is an option.

Unfortunately, the ETA application only asked if the applicant has a criminal conviction, with no condition added explicitly in the question itself (though its stated in many other places). I called the global service center and they defined a criminal conviction as any < 1 year.

Based on feedback read here (which brought strong criticisms against such advice), I answered no on the ETA application. However, I did get an FBI background check (as well as one from my state).

Fast forward 3 months, and I’m walking to immigration after back to back long hauls (17 hours to Singapore and 7 hours on to Melbourne). I ticked yes on the arrival card for criminal conviction, and after attempting the self service border control, I was kicked to an immigration officer. I told him it was likely for checking the conviction box, and commented on the confusion in the ETA application. He said he wasn’t surprised and then handed my passport and me off to another immigration officer.

i was asked to fill in a form listing my convictions, and I handed the officer the copies of my aforementioned background checks. As she took the information to the back office, I was waiting with other flagged for secondary travelers.

After 5 minutes, she came back, handed me my passport, stamped boarding card and background checks and ap told me I was good to go. That was it.

my advice?

1 - based on the information describing the conditions of the ETA, check ‘no’ for criminal convictions if you have one with a sentence (suspended or served) < 1 year.
2 - pull an FBI background report (you’ll need to get your prints taken electronically (I did it at a UPS store that had a special machine, sending those prints to a service which gets the report from the FBI).
3 - check yes on for criminal convictions question on landing card, and bring your FBI report with you.

For whomever is saying that *any* criminal conviction is disqualifying for an ETA, that’s just plain wrong.even the confirmation email I received (image attached) states that that convictions < 1 year are eligible.

thanks for all the advice, and good luck all!

Eric

Confirmation of my ETA visa approval