Australian officials decided they needed to conduct a full character assessment of rapper Snoop Dogg, before granting him a visa for his tour that is planned later this year.

The singer, whose real name is Cordozar Calvin Broadus Jr, applied in July for a visa that would allow him to tour together with hip-hop star Ice Cube in the month of October, a spokesman for the Department of Immigration said, according to Agence France-Presse.

Snoop Dogg has not yet been granted the visa, the spokesman said. The department had carried on a preliminary assessment of the rap star’s character, but the officials decided that was not enough.

The department will also consider, in conducting the assessment, the rapper’s criminal record, which includes drugs and firearms offences dating back to 1990.

The government had lifted the ban on the singer, but received public complaints from Australian victims of crime groups, which have requested that the immigration officials question the clearance, which was initially granted for 17 days starting with October 21.

“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,” a senior immigration official said.

The 36-year-old singer has visited Australia three times in the past and he never caused any incidents. The last time he travelled to this country was in February 2007, while his charges of illegally possessing a gun and marijuana were still pending in the U.S.

Snoop Dogg was also previously denied entry to Britain.