Australian Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews cited character grounds for barring U.S. rap artist Snoop Dogg from entering the country.

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The 35-year-old Snoop Dogg, whose real name is Calvin Broadus Jr, had been booked to be a presenter at the MTV Australian Video Music Awards in Sydney this weekend.

But Andrews told Macquarie Radio the rapper was being issued with a notice of intention to cancel his visa after his failure to pass the requisite character test.

Earlier this month, Snoop Dogg pleaded no contest to felony gun and drug charges in the United States and was also denied entry to Britain for an incident at London's Heathrow airport.

"He doesn't seem the sort of bloke we want in this country," Andrews said.

The rapper has 28 days to give reasons why he should be allowed into Australia and MTV Managing Director David Sibley said, "It's not over yet."

Sibley told the Australian Broadcasting Corp: "Our position is that the process allows for us to provide a bit more information to the authorities and we are still hopeful we'll be able to crack this so that Snoop can perform at the awards."