Pakistan paceman Mohammad Amir could be denied a visa for his country's upcoming tour of England following his conviction in the 2010 spot-fixing controversy.

Amir pleaded guilty to spot-fixing charges and was banned from cricket for five years as well as being required to spend six months in a juvenile offenders' institute for his role in the scandal.

Pakistan are due to return to England for the first time since that 2010 tour, and Amir, who has returned impressively to the international game in the past six months, is expected to be a key figure for the tourists.

However, he first has to clear British immigration authorities, who could prevent him from accessing a visa due to his criminal history.

According to the UK's Telegraph, the decision will come down to the discretion of the immigration official tasked with handling his visa application.

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New Zealand have provided a blueprint for the situation already, with Amir touring the country with Pakistan's limited-overs squad in January.

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Immigration New Zealand (INZ) presented the left-arm quick with a visitor visa and acknowledged the input of both country's Cricket Boards in coming to the decision.

"In making this decision, INZ considered factors including the support of the New Zealand and Pakistan Cricket Board and that Mr Amir had served his sentence for his previous actions," INZ Area Manager Michael Carley told stuff.co.nz in January.

"Taking into account all the circumstances and with full understanding of the purpose of his visit, a visa has been approved for Mr Amir."

Whether that outcome has any influence on the ruling by England's immigration office remains to be seen, however Pakistan will be desperate to get their 24-year-old pace ace on the park, with the very real possibility that Amir could play his first Test in six years in the series opener at Lord's – the same venue at which he committed his spot-fixing offences.

The same situation – but perhaps more stringent still – could also apply to Salman Butt, who was embroiled in the same scandal as Amir in 2010 and subsequently banned for five years and sentenced to 30 months' jail.

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Butt, who was Test captain at the time of his offences, only served seven months before being allowed to return to Pakistan, subsequently meaning by UK law he cannot return 10 years have passed since the end of his original sentence.

Butt's inclusion appeared far less likely than Amir's until last week, when current Test captain Misbah-ul-Haq suggested he had been considered.

"We have a settled line up between numbers three and seven but the opening slot is not as consistent as the rest of the order," Misbah told ESPNcricinfo.

"There are issues and we are looking at a couple more options including Shan Masood and Salman Butt."