Can You Enter Canada with a DUI?

Due to Washington’s close proximity to the Canadian border, many U.S. citizens may travel into the country for business, leisure, and to visit family. However, it’s essential to understand that an American may have difficulty entering Canada with a DUI on their record. The Canadian government imposes significant travel restrictions on those who attempt to visit the country with a DUI arrest, charge, or conviction. Since the Canadian border has full access to the FBI criminal database, an individual with a DUI arrest or conviction in connection with alcohol or drugs may be flagged when they present their passport — and denied entry.

Can You Enter Canada if You Were Arrested for a DUI?

Not only can you be rejected at the Canadian border for a DUI conviction, but you can also be stopped from entering Canada with a DUI arrest. Critically, even an acquittal or not guilty verdict can result in being denied entry because the border officers will still be able to see the original arrest on your record. In such cases, a visitor to Canada may need to establish their admissibility.

When determining whether you are eligible to enter Canada with a DUI arrest, it is not necessarily the severity of the charge in the United States that is important — it is what that crime would equate to in Canada. Under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, a DUI charge that is pending is treated as being “under indictment.” Unless you can show evidence of a dismissal, you could potentially be excluded from entering.

Even if your DUI charges were reduced to reckless driving, you would still face issues. This is because a conviction of dangerous operation of a vehicle is a serious offense in Canada, even if no alcohol was involved. In fact, any arrest could make it more challenging to enter the country.

How Can You Enter Canada If You’ve Been Convicted of an Inadmissible Offense?

Whether you are driving, boating, or flying to Canada, the same rules apply when it comes to DUIs. Notably, taking a plane does not increase the chance that you will gain entry into the country. You can also be turned away if you are the passenger in a vehicle, even if the driver’s record is clean and you have no plans to drive or rent a car.

If you’ve been convicted of a DUI in the United States for alcohol or drugs, there are still several ways you may be able to enter Canada. It’s best to discuss your specific situation with an experienced DUI attorney who can advise you regarding your options. To be sure, unless the DUI attorney is licensed to practice law in Canada, the attorney will suggest a good Canadian Border attorney to join in the consultation. This is because entry into Canada is a matter of Canadian law, not U.S. laws. However, the following options may be available, depending upon the circumstances surrounding your DUI:

• Temporary resident permit (TRP) — Obtaining a TRP is typically the most expeditious method of traveling into Canada with a DUI. But this document is only available for a limited duration, and you must demonstrate an important reason for traveling.
• Criminal rehabilitation — If five or more years have passed since the end of probation following your DUI conviction, you may be able to qualify for entry into Canada through the criminal rehabilitation program. Effectively, this means that the Canadian government no longer finds that you pose a risk of danger based on your past record.
• Being deemed rehabilitated — Canada changed their DUI laws in December 2018, making it much more difficult to enter with a DUI. In the event your DUI occurred before the laws were changed, you may be “grandfathered in,” provided you can prove your sentence was more than 10 years ago.
• Expungement of the inadmissible conviction — If your DUI has been expunged or vacated, it would usually equate to “no conviction” in Canada. In such cases, the border would potentially treat the vacated offense as if it were not a conviction. However, vacated convictions can still be viewed by the Canadian border through the FBI database, and in some situations, you might still need a TRP or criminal rehabilitation to enter. Note however, that under Washington law a DUI can never be vacated. A reduction from a DUI can possibly be vacated if ten years has passed since the date of the arrest.

Although the Canadian border agents can make exceptions, they rarely do. Significantly, it’s not just DUIs involving a car that can make entering Canada more challenging. Other DUI offenses can make you ineligible for entry, including DUIs in connection with operating boats, motorcycles, ATVs, trucks, and dirt bikes.

Contact an Experienced Washington DUI Attorney

Entering Canada with a DUI can be difficult. However, every situation is handled differently, and it’s best to have the counsel of a knowledgeable DUI attorney who can best advise you regarding the facts of your case. Providing experienced representation and aggressive advocacy, the Fox Law Firm PLLC has been assisting clients throughout Washington with a wide variety of DUI matters since 1985. Contact Jon Fox for a complimentary consultation to learn how he can help by calling (425) 584-6649.