By Ed Perkins
Tribune Media Services
Published March 18, 2007


If you've ever had a DUI conviction or been convicted of certain other offenses -- even minor ones -- you may not be welcome in Canada. No matter that your conviction was a youthful indiscretion, committed many years ago; it may still be enough to bar you.

With the new U.S.-Canadian agreements, border officials are able to search your background info much more easily than before. And this may be just the beginning. Before long, "data mining" examinations for past misdeeds are likely to spread to other countries.
"Members of Inadmissible Classes include those who have been convicted of MINOR OFFENCES (including shoplifting, theft, assault, dangerous driving, unauthorized possession of a firearm, possession of illegal substances, etc.), or of INDICTABLE CRIMINAL OF- FENCES (including assault with a deadly weapon, manslaughter, etc.). As well, those who have been convicted of DRIVING WHILE INTOXICATED (DWI) are considered Members of an Inadmissible Class. Driving while under the influence of alcohol is regarded as an extremely serious offence in Canada.

"Those who have received TRAFFIC VIOLATIONS (including parking/speeding tickets, etc.) and other minor violations (i.e. littering, etc.) most likely will NOT be prohibited from entering Canada. Similarly, those who have JUVENILE CONVICTIONS (convictions for crimes committed while under age 18) most likely will NOT be prohibited from entering Canada unless they could have been tried as an adult for their offences."
See article at:
http://tinyurl.com/2nzoot

That is a good thing for potential travellers to Canada to know, joethekay.

If people with prior criminal convictions want to travel to Canada badly enough to jump through some hoops, they can read the page entitled <b>Overcoming Criminal Inadmissability</b> on Citizenship and Immigration Canada's website:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/visit/conviction.html

What exactly do you mean by &quot;...may...&quot;?

Of course this is enough to prohibit you from entering Canada. That is like saying that you &quot;may&quot; get caught at the border if you are an international terrorist packing explosives bound for Los Angeles.

Perhaps if you are a sitting U.S. President you might be granted an exception on the DUI part, but the rules are still the rules.

Rules are still the rules, but rules should be changed.
My husband was caught DUI almost 15 years ago. He hasn't drinked a drop in 10 years since then. He is far less a threat that any other person that drinks alcohol. But we still don't take the risk of going to the States.
There should be a pardon in cases like these. In my opinion, they should concentrate their efforts on real threats.

this goes both ways. i've had friends get refused entry in both the us and canada. in my opinion, we have much more serious things to consider rather than a dui or a person cause with a joint 10-20 years ago. i think they should just clear the records for anything of this nature that has happend in greater then 10 years ago. the few friends i have that inquired about clearing their names from offences that happened in the 70's or 80's, says they will have to pay A LOT OF MONEY TO THE GOVERNMENT to process paperwork. just seems a little silly to punish responsible adults for juvenile offences they may have done 20 years ago.

The so-called debt to society is never paid. It also hits me as double jeopardy.
It also seems unjust because it means that you never recover from the offense even if you pay your fine and/or do your sentence.

The whole thing means your guilt is permanent. Shades of the scarlet letter. The charge is branded into your skin for life. You cannot out live it nor can you recover from it. The only reprieve is death.

Let's get really off the wall: Prohibit a corpse from being buried in Canada because he or she got nailed for DUI while alive!

I've been trying to ingrain this in my underage nieces' heads: before you go drinking with your friends, or decide to smoke that &quot;funny cigarette&quot;, remember that it could be the one thing that prevents you from going on that once in a lifetime trip.

Ok this wasn't a DUI but my husband had a charge when he was a minor for personal drugs. We went to go to the USA about 10 yrs after this happened and he was turned away and I was interigated. How is this right I have NO record and I am treated like a criminal. That was the only thing on his record and they had nothing better to do but dwell on something so minor and unimportant. What do our tax dollars pay for? I know people who have a record as long as my arm and have NEVER been turned away or had any problems crossing. Can we not get our stuff together and focus on more pressing issues and people who pose a larger threat to our countries?

Oh c'mon. Obviously anyone morally bereft enough to consume three beers when they are 18 years old are morally bereft enough to try to blow up the space needle at 45.

Just kidding.

Both our border restrictions are purely knee jerk reactions.

I knew an American born Canadian resident woman who could never return stateside because she once tried to by a joint in Vegas.

Does anyone know what the position is with European countries? On the Italian Canadian embassy website there is no mention of criminal records. It just says Italian citizens don't need a visa for tourism so presumably if the Italian state has issued you with an electronic passport (which they wouldn't do if you were a dangerous criminal) you should be ok even if you have committed some minor offence. Maybe this thing has to be reciprocal between states?

&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;Does anyone know what the position is with European countries?&lt;&lt;&lt;&lt;&lt;&lt;

It's the same as it is for visitors to Canada from other countries.

&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;On the Italian Canadian embassy website there is no mention of criminal records.&lt;&lt;&lt;&lt;&lt;&lt;

I feel they are in error not to have mentioned criminal inadmissibility (if they have in fact skipped the topic -- I have not visited the website to see for myself).

&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;It just says Italian citizens don't need a visa for tourism so presumably if the Italian state has issued you with an electronic passport (which they wouldn't do if you were a dangerous criminal) you should be ok even if you have committed some minor offence.&lt;&lt;&lt;&lt;&lt;&lt;

I don't see how an Italian passport (or any other passport) in and of itself would prove anything.

How &quot;dangerous&quot; a crminal a person is has nothing to do with it. All that counts is whether or not the offence for which a person has been convicted in his/her country would be considered a crime according to the Criminal Code of Canada. There are some actions that are crimes in other countries that are <b>not</b> crimes in Canada. Conversely, there are some actions that are not crimes in other countries that <b>are</b> crimes in Canada.

&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;Maybe this thing has to be reciprocal between states?&lt;&lt;&lt;&lt;&lt;&lt;

No, reciprocity has nothing to do with it. As I said above, what counts is whether or not the offence on which a person has been convicted is a crime according to the Criminal Code of Canada.

As someone who has worked in US immigration on the northern border, I will leave a few observations on this topic.

First, both countries have immigration laws which require a waiver process for individuals with criminal records before being admitted into their respective countries. On the US side, these waivers cannot be applied for on the spot, but must be filed months in advance of any planned entry.

Generally speaking, the older and less serious the offense, the more likely the waiver will be granted. The more recent or serious the offense, the less likely it will be granted. If it is denied, one may seek the waiver by petitioning a U.S.immigration judge, but that takes a long time. Seek the advice of an immigration lawyer.

Second, there is no statute of limitations - no matter how old the crime, if US immigration becomes aware of it, a waiver will be needed.

Third, DUI is NOT an indmissible offense under US immigration laws (no less than the U.S. Supreme Court has held that to be the case). I say &quot;in theory&quot; because one might still encounter a US inspector who refuses entry because of a DUI offense. If that happens, the Canadian citizen may request to be interviewed by a senior inspector, which may or may not help. There used to be a procedure to appeal to a US immigration judge when denied entry, but that is no longer the case. What the border inspector says, goes.

Fourth, there is no double jeopardy here. Immigration laws are civil in nature, not criminal. Being turned away at the border, or being required to file for a waiver, may seem like punishment, but under the law it is merely a procedural requirement.

Finally, the ONE thing no one should ever do is tempt fate by being turned away from the US border after being told that you cannot enter, and then drive over to the next border crossing checkpoint a few miles up the road to try your luck with another inspector. US inspectors are definitely not amused by such antics and you may well find yourself placed into detention.

The best policy is that if you have a criminal record, you will need a waiver before being admitted. Yes, it's possible you might luck out and the inspector will not become aware of the criminal record. If he/she asks whether you have a criminal record and you have one and deny it, you may get away with it. But you may not, too. And if you are dishonest, that will make an unpleasant situation even that much more miserable.

The same goes if you are traveling with others as a group. Unless you want to spend miserable hours being held up because one of your traveling companions was discovered to have a criminal record and no immigration waiver, go ahead and ask your traveling companions before you arrive at the border about any potential troubles in this regard.

For example, say 5 individuals decide to take a camping vacation to the US. One of the passengers has a criminal record which is discovered by the US inspector. All of you will be required to turn around and drop off your offending passenger in Canada before continuing your travels. That would certainly put a damper on the festive nature of the trip.

But if you are so foolish as to tempt fate by driving over to the next entry port and trying again, plan on a nasty reception. The vehicle's license plate has been entered into the US immigration computer database and the next inspector will know that the vehicle's occupants have been refused admission earlier. That inspector will probably play hardball by simply asking whether you had ever been denied admission earlier. If the driver stupidly says no, he will probably be arrested and charged with attempted alien smuggling! You see, the driver will have known that one of his passengers has been refused admission because of a conviction. When the driver then attempts to reapply at the next border crossing, he is, in effect, trying to &quot;smuggle&quot; that individual into the US. He could be arrested, charged criminally with alien smuggling, and deported after being hauled from the criminal court into the immigration court. Since the US immigration courts are usually backed up with cases, that driver might be spending weeks in a US jail before being deported. AND, alien smuggling, even under these stupid circumstances, is a LIFETIME bar to the US!!

Bottton Line: Know before you go. Plan ahead if you have a criminal record and hence are in need of a waiver for it. Canadian immigration may be somewhat more lenient than their US counterparts, but both countries have rules and regulations you need to comply with. Pre-planning will save a lot of hassles.

Does anyone know if this applies if you're just transiting through a Canadian airport?

stringer, good info. I'll add to the question above, what about by Amtrak, where I hear they do customs as they go down the aisle on the train? Do they still run your id at the station?

&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;Does anyone know if this applies if you're just transiting through a Canadian airport?&lt;&lt;&lt;&lt;&lt;&lt;

Yes, travellers with previous convictions for driving while intoxicated, for example, sometimes have been taken aside for further questioning at Canadian airports. This sometimes has caused passengers to miss their connecting flights. Under these circumstancess, Canadian immigration officers don't care about passengers' concerns (timelines for catching connecting flights, etc.).

&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;what about by Amtrak, where I hear they do customs as they go down the aisle on the train? Do they still run your id at the station?&lt;&lt;&lt;&lt;&lt;&lt;

I don't know if they have the ability to check your records electronically while they're processing Amtrak pasengers. But there's always the possibility that they would ask a person, &quot;Do you have any criminal convictions?&quot; The person would be digging a hole for him/herself if he/she answered, &quot;No,&quot; when the correct answer was, &quot;Yes.&quot;

True. Or, they might get into Canada and have a nice vacation.

They're entitled to do what they want in their own country, but I don't see who they're protecting you have an onward ticket out of the country and there's no chance you're going to be getting behind the wheel of a car.