Hello - has anyone had issues with entering Canada with a DUI conviction on their record? If not, what steps did you take before heading to the border?
Background: I have a conviction from September 2014. All sentencing and probation was completed in March of 2016. Based on what I have researched, it seems I would be eligible for entry as of March 2027. What isn't clear is what steps (if any) I should do ahead of time?
Thankfully my incident did not involve hurting myself or another, nor did it result in any damages. I realized I had a problem after this DUI in 2014 as I had a similar one 4 years earlier which was solved via a PBJ. Looking back, I am ashamed. And I wish I could go back in time and make better choices. I was reckless, and selfish.
I gave up alcohol in July 2015 and have been sober since.
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Suggest you reach out to the Canadian Consulate and ask them if you're allowed to enter and ask them what you need to get in to the country....
Even if you have no criminal record Canadian border guards can still be assholes. You sort of get what ya get when you roll up to the border checkpoint. A few of them are very pleasant and friendly, most of the time they are pretty curt, but as long as you don’t say anything stupid or some flag shows up on their screen they let you roll through. Every now and than you get the dude who makes it his personal business to interrogate you. He will ask a barrage of questions in rapid succession with some sort of gotcha question sprinkled in so he can hand you a form and send you to secondary. Next thing you know a bunch of very serious border guards will come out, take your passport, search your car, possibly your phone, ask you a ton more questions before letting you proceed. With how shit relations have become between our two nations I expect less of the former and more of the latter.
It’s a lose / lose situation because Canadian SC are better than American ones. But crossing the border sucks these days. We Americans lose out on good stripclubs and they Canadians lose out on all those tourism dollars.
I would consult with a Canadian immigration lawyer. By phone or online, of course. Restoration of right of access is possible, but not automatic, not even after 10 years. You (or more likely, your Canadian lawyer ) will need to do something with IRCC (like INS used to be here) which will effectively get you a visa which you can brandish either every time you cross the border or maybe on a per request basis. I'm told the convictions will show up every time you try to cross, forever.
Congrats on giving up alcohol. I understand that's one of the tougher monkeys to get off your back.
As for getting into Canada with the DUI, I'm really not sure. A buddy, if I remember right, got a marijuana charge, and he's been banned from Canada ever since -- if I remember right. It was one of those charges that people on this side of the border don't seem to think twice about.
Another place to call might be the Border Patrol. They either might know or can recommend someone to call. And please don't forget that, much like going north, you'll need to stop and say hi to the patrol on the way back.
Have fun and good luck.
Yeah I’d stay the f out
TA will deport you to a 3rd world country
Just like all other responders, I don't have any hard info for OP. However, seems like I heard it was possible to pay a bounty on yourself to make your ban on entry go away after a few years. Seems like $1,500.
I have crossed the border a few times. A friend of mine who goes up a couple times a year says they are always welcoming to him. I seem to get the border guards who want to get even with me personally for all the grudges they have against the USA.
Get this: Another friend of mine was heading to Canada. For a joke, a wife had snuck a Playboy magazine into his luggage, with a picture of her face pasted over the centerfold model's. Border Patrol guy went though his luggage, found the Playboy, and gave my friend an ass chewing in front of everyone for being a pervert!
So my experience is a lot of the Canadian Border guards are drunk with power. No plans to return any time soon.
@Rightfield Been my experience as well. I don’t have a problem with Canadians I general. Most are upright people.
As I said earlier most of the time the guards are petty stern but as long as you are respectful and answer questions truthfully they let you pass. Sometimes they are super chill and crossing is a mere formality. And about 10% percent of the time you get someone with a major grudge who is going to pull out the stops to make you jump through a ton of hoops before you are on your way. No matter what you say something won’t be right so expect to get some extra love from CBSA.
You will know who this 10% person is the second you pull up to the booth and make eye contact with them.
It’s really a shame because I would go up to Canada more often and spend tons of money up there. But the border is a mess these days so I go maybe once a year.
Lucky I was alert one time. The woman in the booth told me to be on my way. I said: "You still have my driver's license". She said: "No, I gave it back to you!" in a pissy way. I insisted she did not, then she "found" it on the floor of her booth. Imagine what shit I would been in for if I hadn't caught that!
My experience was a misdemeanor DWI in NYS. The information I found at that time was that I would not be allowed in, but in 10 years time I could try. What actually happened was that after my probation was done (they let me off after 18 months on a 3 year sentence) and 5 more years passed I could apply for a Certificate of Rehabilitation. This involved fingerprinting by my local police, communicating with (I think) Dept of Justice on a criminal records check, and writing some essay. Eventually they approved it. To this day (20+ years later) I have to present that Cert with my passport to enter Canada. Maybe 1 time in 5 I'm told to go into the building and wait while they do some online records checking. 10-40 minutes and I'm on my way. I wound up not using a law firm for any of this, just what I found online. Possibly I could have avoided that other stuff by just waiting 10 years, but I'm not sure. I like to go to a few Blue Jays games every year, and I like to gamble and wench in Niagara Falls, so I didn't want to wait that long. They've never (knock on wood) searched me or my car (they would be disappointed if they did).
@ancientlurker Good info. But 3 years probation on a misdemeanor DWI? That's tough
@Manuellabore Plus two work weekends on the coldest freaking winter days in a decade, shoveling snow off the sidewalks of public buildings. I wore three layers under my coat and still froze my ass off. Considering all the times I drove drunk and didn't get caught, I can't cry about it being unfair.
@ancientlurker My 2 DUIs were 42 years apart. So far apart that the first didn't show up on the second, so I got First Offense, both times. And, yeah, I never gave drinking and driving a second thought until after #2. And I even got pulled over a few times before arrest #2 where I could have been pulled in if the cop thought they had probable cause to demand a field sobriety test. Took a custodial, 2 day course in a halfway house where they didn't even bother to convince you not to abuse alcohol, just not to drink and drive. That's the exact lesson I took away from it, which is why I'm an aficonado of clubs that are within walking distance of hotels. Published an article on it
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