Lied about criminal conviction entering Samoa

Recently my brother visited Samoa and ticked No on the "have you ever been convicted of a crime punishable by law" as he panicked despite being sure that it wouldn't matter so long as it had not been punished by minimum 1 year jail time.
He wants to know if in the future he can be honest about the conviction if he returns, or if it is likely that it will just cause problems as they will join the dots and discover the previous lie? The other option is to continue lying, which he doesn't want to do.,,

Hi @Superjusto

I've moved your topic to our* Pacific Islands & Papua New Guinea: Samoa* branch.

Merely answering a Yes where the expected answer is No is likely to cause problems.
If spotted, he may well be pulled aside for questioning, and it will be up to the decision of the particular immigration officer he is talking to whether he is allowed to answer or not.
And the way officers think in these tiny, far-flung countries may not be what you expect.

So do you mean you think he should continue to respond with no on each arrival? He's a bit worried as not only does he want to holiday there but he occasionally needs to do a day or 2 of work there, which is why he panicked in the first place.

In the end, he has to decide himself.

Sure,it would have been better not to have got in tehesituation in the first place,but it is what it is.

I agree that he needs to decide for himself.Personally I wouldn't say anything.....though it is of course possible it will be discovered and he won't be allowed into the country.Its also possible that it won't be.

I think if he tells the truth at this stage that would probably be the same result,.. sent home on the next flight out,and banned from re-entering.

I agree it's probably more likely that being honest next time will end in a bad result than lying again will. Although that is not such s good option either. My feeling is that if nothing else the date of the conviction and the date stamps in the passport will be enough. I assume he'll be on file as a previous visitor anyway.
An unenviable position.

I think your previous concerns about far flung small countries is responsible for his panic. Although He was advised that the conviction needed to be punished by a year in prison to affect his admissibility , the arrival card just asked for any conviction at all which led him to be fearful of the outcome of a truthful answer.

When touring the South Pacific, I have encountered all kinds of "odd" behaviour by local officers. Most seem to know very little about the wider world and often seem to act as if on behalf of a family, rather than a country, making decisions on impluse.
So I too, would try and keep things as simple as possible by entering as last time.
But it is up to him.

I'd stick with it.
As he was advised that the conviction needed to be punished by a year in prison to affect his admissibility, he has a genuine excuse in the highly unlikely event he will ever be questioned about it.

Is it really any of Samoa's business? In the end, they only care if it crime related to the politicians in Samoa. They want people to come spend money in Samoa. I would not over think it.

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