In the United States it is not uncommon for people to get a DUI. DUI stands for “driving under the influence”, it means if a person has been drinking, even if it was only two or three drinks and then gets behind the wheel. This is an offense that can cause them to lose their driver’s license, be fined and in some cases even spend time in jail. Getting charged with a DUI will seems serious at the time, but once it is over and the driver’s license is returned, it might seem like the offense never happened.
While having a DUI on a criminal record will usually not pose any major problems in daily life in the United States, it is an entirely different story if the person in question wants to travel to Canada. Canadian laws are different than the United States in the way they look at driving under the influence charges. The problem with a DUI is that it will remain on a person’s criminal record and will pose a problem the next time a visit to Canada is planned.
As opposed to the United States and some other countries, most DUI offenses are considered felonies in Canada, that is, indictable offenses that can result in a five year sentence. Having said that, if such DUI exists in one’s criminal record, there are ways to apply to be permitted to go to Canada regardless.
The Canadian Immigration Act which is applicable any time when someone wants to cross the border. It states “no visitor or immigrant will be granted admission if they are of any of the following classes: (a) persons that have been convicted of an indictable offense, which is punishable under any Act of Parliament.”
Canadian border officials will thoroughly check the background of any person that wants to get into the country. This background check will reveal any offenses on the record, even if they occurred in the United States, including such offenses which might have occurred several years in the past.
The result of such offenses on the record, in most cases, will be that Canadian border officials will turn the person back, barring him or her entry into the country.
Although ways exist to get rehabilitation for those offenses or to obtain a temporary residency permit to be allowed into the country, it is important to know about the steps and procedures required to go about this.
Each of those methods to get entry to Canada with a DUI offense will require documentation to prove the amount of time that has elapsed and whether the sentence has been fulfilled, including all fines, fees and restitution.
Only with properly submitted and approved applications, Canadian immigration officials will consider allowing the individual that has convictions including DUI offenses crossing the border.
The process of submitting such an application can be very complex and tedious and will sometimes drag out for several months. Sometimes, the process can take an entire year. A small mistake on the forms could result in an application being denied. Due to the the requirement for a thorough understanding of immigration law plus the large amount of documents that need to be submitted, legal help to get admitted to Canada is strongly advised.
A competent immigration lawyer can help make the entire process to get entry into Canada with a DUI much easier.