Do you have a criminal record for a minor conviction? Has this prevented you from gaining meaningful employment, from getting a visa or from immigrating? These are but a few of the implications that a criminal record can have on a person.
If you qualify for expungement, we can assist you in removing your criminal record. This means that your record will be expunged from the criminal record centre and resulting in a clear name when criminal record searches are done.
Do I Qualify For Expungement of My Criminal Record?
The conviction must be older than 10 years.
The offence must have been of a minor offence or a politically motivated crime.
You must have either payed a fine, received a suspended sentence or have been sentenced to community service.
The conviction must not have resulted in mandatory jail time (this doesn’t include time spent following initial arrest and time spent awaiting trial).
Which offences DO Qualify for Expungement?
Minor offences of a non-violent nature such as shop lifting, vandalism, reckless driving, drunken driving, drinking in public, minor fraud, public indecency, minor assault and certain politically motivated crimes.
Where the sentence imposed involved currently unconstitutional punishment such as lashing and other forms of corporal punishment, an expungment may also be sought.
Each matter will however have to be assessed on an individual basis and the principal factor that determines qualification will usually be the nature of the sentence imposed.
Which offences DO NOT Qualify for Expungement?
Crimes where a jail sentence has been imposed and no suspended sentence has been granted.
Crimes involving the elements of violence and sex.
Murder
Assault with the intention to do grievous bodily harm,
Rape
Armed robbery
How We Will Assist You If You Qualify
We handle the entire process from beginning to end:
Completion of application on client’s behalf.
Determining whether any supporting documentation is needed, and assisting with the compilation thereof.
Lodging of the application.
Monitoring the progress of the application.
Assisting client with further legal action (if applicable) if the application has not been granted due maladministration and other legal possibilities.
What we require from you
Before proceeding with the expungement application on your behalf, we require a recent Police Clearance Certificate. This certificate will provide us with the information to assist in confirmation of the offences, and is a prerequisite for an expungement application. You can approach your local police station for a police clearance certificate. The current turn-around time for a police Clearance Certificate is 2 months.
Once we have received your Police Clearance Certificate, we can then proceed to apply for expungement of your criminal record.
