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@Stesarjor

Have a look through the forum as this has been brought up a few times about criminal records and visas.

@SimCityAT

Appreciate the response, I have scoured the forums but couldn't find anything with similar circumstances, severity of the offence (drugs), time-passed (36 years).

I’m wondering (and hopeful) if the time passed mitigates the severity of the conviction.

S

You need to look at the police ACRO website and see if your offence gets stepped down after a certain amount of years   depending on what category it was classed as

@Stesarjor

What's clear is that a criminal record is not an automatic refusal. It depends on the severity of the offence (measured by years of jail) and how frequent/recent your offending has been. I encourage folks to apply anyway. A Golden Visa is very costly, so I reckon you're better off talking to an immigration attorney ASAP and getting their views on your chances before you plonk down a few hundred grand. (There are several good ones you can find just by doing a quick online search. While searching have a look at the requirements for an NLV it's a LOT less expensive.)

You should note that Spain asks for a criminal record check going back 5 years, so being clear for the last 5 years (and longer, hopefully) does carry some weight. Unfortunately, the UK criminal record check (ACRO) goes back much further.

My suggestion is to get your ACRO certificate first. If it's clear that there are convictions, but they're not detailed, you might be able to do a separate subject access request to get a detailed list (in case you get asked to clarify). I think a separate letter/declaration is worth doing. Perhaps with a suitable sob story regarding the struggles of your youth... and the redemption arc that led you to reform your life and become a law-abiding citizen with a clean criminal record for over 35 years. 35 years is a long time, I'd imagine they'd be fine with this.

PS 'Eezer Goode, 'Eezer Goode... He's Ebeneezer Goode"! Lordy, that really is a LONG time ago. :-)

@gwynj - I believe you are misinterpreting the following, based on your comment:

"You should note that Spain asks for a criminal record check going back 5 years, so being clear for the last 5 years (and longer, hopefully) does carry some weight. Unfortunately, the UK criminal record check (ACRO) goes back much further."

What they specifically ask for is a criminal record check for the places you have lived in for the past 5 years.  In other words, the 5 years pertains to places you've lived, and has nothing to do with "5 years worth of history." For the places you've lived in, over the past 5 years, you must provide a full criminal history.

@Stesarjor

You need to interview immigration attorneys (in Spain), and only hire one that has handled special cases (beyond the cookie-cutter "fill in the form and charge the client" variety).  You need to specifically ask "how many cases have you handled in which the background check was not clean?" and get a straight answer.  There are several law firms that specialize in old convictions.  Here is what one firm will tell you:  For anything older than 10 years, the Madrid office does not pay attention to those unless the offense posts a danger to the public.

Conversely, the immigration lawyers with no experience in these matters will tell you, "it's impossible to know until we apply... so hire us."