Snoop Dogg Gets Green Light to Enter Australia

The Australian government has lifted a visa ban on rapper Snoop Dogg that prevented him from entering the country. However, the immigration official said on Tuesday they will conduct further investigation into rapper before allowing him back into the country to tour there.

Snoop Dogg was banned from the country last year because of his criminal record that included various drug and gun charges. He was even barred from obtaining a visa to enter Australia after he failed a character test.

As a result of the ban, Snoop, whose real name is Cordozar Calvin Broadus Jr., was then unable co-host the MTV Australian Video Music Awards.

The ban against the 38-year-old hip-hopster was lifted last week after the weeks-long talks between the officials and the tour promoter. But, public complaints prompted the Australian government to reassess the lift to more thoroughly investigate his character.

According to a senior immigration official, though Snoop has been granted a visa by the Australian government, and he is now free to complete a planned tour with fellow hip-hop star Ice Cube in October (08), but the office has planned to more closely examine hi criminal history and lay out strict behavioral guidelines for the Australian dates.

"As a result of public concern and interest, the department has decided that in fact we will be undertaking a more thorough assessment of Mr Broadus' character," says the unidentified official. "We've advised his tour promoter and he and Mr. Broadus will have an opportunity to respond. We clearly will look at his criminal history," he said.

The Grammy-nominated rapper will be given strict rules to abide by if he is permitted entry to the country.

Snoop Dogg is no stranger to controversies. In 2006, Security officers at John Wayne Airport found a collapsible baton in Rap superstar’s carry-on luggage and booked him for his lawbreaking act of possession of a deadly weapon. In the same year, he was charged with separate counts of possessing guns and drugs after being searched and arrested at Bob Hope Airport in Burbank. He was booked and later released on bail set at $35, 000.

In November, 2006, he was arrested near Los Angeles on weapons and narcotics charges. He was booked for keeping the marijuana, cocaine and a firearm in his car. He later was released on a bail amount of $60, 000.

Snoop was barred from entering Britain in May 2006 after the rapper and five other men were nabbed on charges of violent disorder and starting a brawl. The trouble popped up when some members in his troupe were denied entry to British Airways’ first class lounge at Heathrow Airport. Consequently, they spent the night in jail.

Always in the tabloid for acts like arrest for gun and drug charges or possession of marijuana, Snoop was sentenced to five years of probation relating to gun and drug charges in April 2007.