In general, your criminal history can prevent you from travelling to Canada. You may still be able to travel to Canada with criminal history, but it depends on the type of offence, the outcome of the offence, and how long ago it occurred. Options such as Criminal Rehabilitation, a Temporary Resident Permit (TRP), or in some cases being deemed rehabilitated, may allow entry despite criminal inadmissibility. Each case is assessed individually by Canadian immigration authorities.

You can usually travel to Canada if you have dismissed charges and no convictions, since Canadian immigration law focuses on criminal convictions when assessing inadmissibility. However, you should carry supporting documents in case questions arise at the border.

Your past arrest or conviction for DUI in the United States can render you inadmissible – especially if the offence took place after December 2018, as DUI is now treated as a serious criminal offence under Canadian immigration law. If the conviction is recent, you may require a Temporary Resident Permit (TRP) to enter Canada. After 5 years, you may be eligible to apply for Criminal Rehabilitation. After 10 years (depending on the circumstances), you may be considered deemed rehabilitated. Each case is assessed individually, but most travellers with a post-2018 DUI conviction require a TRP if they wish to enter Canada before rehabilitation is possible. Please contact us for a free consultation. The following United States impaired driving offences can impact your ability to enter Canada:

• Driving Under the Influence (DUI)
• Driving While Under the Influence (DWUI)
• Driving While Impaired/Intoxicated (DWI)
• Driving While Ability Impaired (DWAI)
• Operating While Intoxicated (OWI)
• Operating a Motor Vehicle While Intoxicated (OMVI)
• Operating Under the Influence (OUI)

Your past expungement or dismissal may still result in inadmissibility and require either a TRP or criminal rehabilitation. Please contact us for a free consultation.

A Temporary Resident Permit (TRP) is generally required for those who have been convicted of a crime and have yet to be considered rehabilitated by the Canadian Government.

If it has been less than 5 years since completion of your sentence, your primary option for temporary access to Canada is via a TRP. If you are currently serving a sentence associated with a conviction, it can affect your ability to obtain a TRP.

Depending on the type and number of convictions, your criminal record may render you inadmissible to Canada. If you are criminally inadmissible, you cannot simply apply for an eTA online, and instead must first apply for a Temporary Resident Permit (TRP).

This question is only applicable to individuals who hold citizenship from a visa-exempt country.

If your criminal record renders your criminally inadmissible, and you want to apply for Canadian permanent residence, you must apply for Criminal Rehabilitation.

Rehabilitation removes your grounds of criminal inadmissibility. In some cases, depending on the type and number of convictions, as well as how much time has passed, you may be automatically deemed rehabilitated. Once deemed rehabilitated, you are considered admissible to Canada despite your criminal history.

You may be deemed rehabilitated if:

• You have been convicted for two or more summary convictions and five years have passed since the sentence was completed; or
• You have been convicted of a non-serious indictable offence (e.g. DUI) and more than 10 years have passed since the sentence was completed; and
• If the crime you committed would be punishable in Canada by a maximum prison term of less than 10 years.

If your conviction has been expunged, you are generally not criminally inadmissible to Canada, since an expungement legally erases the conviction as if it never occurred. However, Canadian authorities will want to confirm that the expungement fully nullifies the conviction under the law of the jurisdiction where it was granted, and not merely seals the record from public view. For this reason, it is important to carry official documentation proving the expungement and to seek legal advice in advance.

If your adjudication was withheld or deferred, and you successfully completed all the terms of your deferral without any violations, then no conviction should exist once the sentence is completed. If you have no other criminal offences on your record, you would generally not be considered criminally inadmissible to Canada. That said, treatment can vary depending on the jurisdiction and the exact legal effect of the disposition. For this reason, it is important to carry official court documentation confirming the outcome and to seek legal advice before travelling.

In general, UK cautions would not render someone criminally inadmissible to Canada. However, the treatment of cautions can vary depending on whether it was a simple caution, conditional caution, or multiple cautions. For this reason, you should carry documentation of the caution and seek legal advice to confirm how it applies in your situation.

A suspended sentence generally means you were formally convicted and the court chose to suspend serving the full sentence (often subject to probation). For Canadian immigration purposes, it is treated as a conviction, even though you may not have served jail time. Whether it makes you inadmissible will depend on the type of offence, how long ago it occurred, and whether you may qualify for rehabilitation.

Yes. Although your record is sealed, you must disclose your prior arrest, charge, or conviction in your immigration application. Depending on the type of offence and when it occurred, you may be considered criminally inadmissible to Canada, even if your record was sealed.

Hybrid offences are criminal offences that could be prosecuted as an indictable offence or summary conviction in Canada. For immigration purposes, hybrid offences are treated as indictable offences.

Indictable offences commonly cover more serious offences in the Canadian Criminal Code and can result in greater penalties than summary convictions. While nearly all felonies in the United States are equivalent to indictable offences in Canada, many misdemeanor offences are also considered indictable offences in Canada. Thorough review of the foreign law must be done to determine the equivalent offence under Canadian law.

Pure summary convictions cover minor offences in the Canadian Criminal Code. For example, Disturbing the Peace, is considered purely summary. While most summary offences in Canada are equivalent to misdemeanors in the United States, this is not always the case. Thorough review of the foreign law must be done to determine the equivalent offence under Canadian law.

If you are granted a Temporary Resident Permit (TRP), it allows you to enter Canada for a limited period of time even if you are otherwise criminally or medically inadmissible. A TRP acts as a temporary waiver of inadmissibility, giving you permission to enter when your circumstances justify it.

You can apply for a Temporary Resident Permit (TRP) through the Canadian consulate that processes applications in the country where you live. If you are an American citizen, you also have the option of applying directly at a Canadian port of entry, such as a land border crossing or airport.

A TRP may be granted for a single entry (for example, a short visit to Canada) or for multiple entries valid for up to three years. The longer the duration requested, the more compelling the justifications that must be provided.

The Government of Canada generally charges $239.75 CAD in government fees to process TRPs.

Processing times for TRPs vary depending on the Canadian consulate where the application is submitted. Most applications take about three to six months to process. For American citizens applying at a Canadian port of entry, however, a decision is made immediately by the reviewing officer.

If you are criminally inadmissible to Canada, you are not eligible to simply apply for an eTA online. You must apply for a TRP. If granted, the TRP essentially replaces the eTA and allows you to travel to Canada.

If you are criminally inadmissible and are applying (or plan to apply) for permanent residence, you should apply for Criminal Rehabilitation rather than a TRP. Permanent residence cannot be approved unless your inadmissibility has been resolved through Criminal Rehabilitation. A TRP is only a temporary waiver that allows short-term entry to Canada; it does not remove inadmissibility. Criminal Rehabilitation, once approved, permanently resolves the inadmissibility and is the required step for a successful permanent residence application.

Criminal Rehabilitation is a permanent waiver that removes an individual’s criminal inadmissibility to Canada.

In order for an individual to be eligible to apply for Criminal Rehabilitation, they must demonstrate that more than 5 years have passed since they completed all aspects of their sentence, including payments of fines, completion of probation, etc.

Individuals must apply for Criminal Rehabilitation through the Canadian consulate responsible for processing applications in the country where they are currently residing.

Individuals who have one or more non-serious offence(s) are required to pay government processing fees of $229.77 CAD. Individuals who have one or more serious offence(s) are required to pay processing fees of $1,148.87 CAD.

Applications for criminal rehabilitation include numerous documents, such as police clearance certificates, court documents, application forms and identity documents.

The processing times for Criminal Rehabilitation applications vary depending on which Canadian consulate the application is submitted to. Most Criminal Rehabilitation applications take over 1 year to process.

If you are not yet eligible for criminal rehabilitation and you need to come to Canada, you may be able to apply for a Temporary Resident Permit (TRP). A TRP is a document that allows someone who is criminally or medically inadmissible to enter Canada for a temporary period.

If you have a criminal rehabilitation in process and need to come to Canada, you can apply for a Temporary Resident Permit (TRP). A TRP is a document that allows someone who is criminally or medically inadmissible to enter Canada for a temporary period.

A police clearance certificate (PCC) is also known as a criminal background check or rap sheet. It includes details regarding an individual’s arrests and convictions.

Individuals applying for a TRP or Criminal Rehabilitation must include police certificates at the time an application is submitted. For Criminal Rehabilitation – individuals must include police certificates from every country where they have resided for 6 months or more since their 18th birthday. Individuals who have lived, or are currently living in the United States, must submit both a federal FBI certificate and police certificates from each individual state where they have resided for 6 months or more since the age of 18.

Most countries will require you to provide fingerprints, application forms, and processing fees to obtain your police clearance certificate. Detailed instructions on how to apply for police clearance certificates for each country can be found on the Government of Canada’s website.

If you cannot obtain a PCC, you should provide a written declaration explaining why you cannot obtain the document and provide evidence of the efforts you have made to get the document. Some countries or states do not provide PCCs for immigration purposes. In that case, you should ask the relevant authorities to provide a written statement confirming they do not issue PCCs.

Yes, it is possible for someone with a criminal history to travel to Canada for business purposes, but it depends on the details of their record. If you have a past conviction, you may be considered criminally inadmissible to Canada. In that case, entry is only possible if you are eligible for and apply for Criminal Rehabilitation (which, once granted, permanently resolves inadmissibility), or you obtain a Temporary Resident Permit (TRP), which is a temporary waiver allowing short-term entry for specific purposes such as important business travel. Canadian immigration officers will consider factors such as the nature of the offence, how much time has passed, and the reason for travel. Business travel is recognized as a legitimate justification for a TRP in many cases.

Yes, even with a medical issue, you could be granted entry. In certain circumstances, for temporary stays in Canada, an individual who does not meet the Canadian medical requirements may be granted a TRP to enter Canada.

The typical processing times are over 12 months from the submission of your application. The Canadian Government charges processing fees of $229.77 CAD for non-serious criminality and $1,148.87 CAD for serious criminality.

While your Criminal Rehabilitation application is being processed, you may still apply for a Temporary Resident Permit (TRP) to enter Canada, provided your reason for travel is compelling and justifies entry despite your inadmissibility.

Criminal history reports from other countries and states are requirements to apply for Criminal Rehabilitation, and often TRPs. Detailed instructions on how to apply for police clearance certificates for each country can be found on the Government of Canada’s website.

Individuals requiring an Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) in order to visit Canada are asked to fill out some personal information and answer basic questions relating to any past criminal history. If you submit an eTA request with a DUI conviction, you are likely to receive a denial if you are not considered rehabilitated. In order to gain access to Canada, you must apply for a Temporary Resident Permit (TRP) or Criminal Rehabilitation. If the TRP has been granted by an immigration officer, your eTA will be automatically included. If you have been granted Criminal Rehabilitation, past criminal history will not affect your ability to enter Canada, and your eTA should be approved.

If you have a pending DUI charge, you are generally considered criminally inadmissible to Canada, even though there has not yet been a conviction. Canadian immigration law treats a pending charge as evidence of potential inadmissibility until the matter is fully resolved in court. In most cases, you would need to apply for a Temporary Resident Permit (TRP) to enter Canada while the charge is pending. A TRP can be granted if you have a strong reason for travel that justifies entry despite the inadmissibility. Once the charge is resolved, your admissibility will depend on the final outcome.

In most cases, a past DUI makes you criminally inadmissible to Canada for 10 years following the full completion of your sentence. However, you may become eligible to apply for Criminal Rehabilitation once at least five years have passed since your sentence was completed. If you are considering applying for permanent residence, you must first resolve your inadmissibility through Criminal Rehabilitation. Once approved, the past DUI will no longer bar you from moving to Canada. It is recommended that you consult with a Canadian immigration lawyer to assess your eligibility and plan the best strategy.

If you have a past DUI, you will likely be considered criminally inadmissible to Canada, which can prevent you from obtaining a work permit. In most cases, you must first apply for a Temporary Resident Permit (TRP) to overcome your inadmissibility and allow entry for work purposes.

For a more permanent solution, you may apply for Criminal Rehabilitation once at least five years have passed since the completion of your sentence. Approval of rehabilitation removes the inadmissibility, ensuring you can work in Canada without restrictions in the future.

Yes. Artists with a criminal record may need a Temporary Resident Permit (TRP) to enter Canada, even for short tours or one-time performances. Because admissibility is assessed case by case, it is strongly recommended to consult with a Canadian immigration lawyer before traveling, to avoid disruptions to scheduled shows.

NEXUS members are subject to the same Canadian criminal inadmissibility laws as any other traveler. A recent DUI can jeopardize both eligibility for and retention of a NEXUS card. In many cases, U.S. citizens with a past DUI conviction must first be approved for Criminal Rehabilitation before they can join or rejoin the NEXUS program.

As a Canadian citizen, you have the right to enter Canada at any time even with a DUI from the U.S. If you have questions concerning re-entering the United States, we suggest consulting with a U.S. immigration lawyer.

You are not required to hire a lawyer to apply for a Temporary Resident Permit (TRP) or Criminal Rehabilitation, but these applications are complex and often refused if incomplete. An experienced lawyer can strengthen your case, ensure the right evidence is provided, and improve your chances of approval.

Yes. Because driving between Alaska and the rest of the United States requires passing through Canada, anyone who is criminally inadmissible will generally need a Temporary Resident Permit (TRP) to complete the trip. The same applies to Alaskan cruises that pass through Canadian waters. Even if you do not disembark, Canadian authorities can still deem you inadmissible and require a TRP.

While possession and consumption of cannabis in Canada is legal for recreational purposes, you cannot bring marijuana into the country. You must also be aware of potential inadmissibility issues if you have been convicted of a cannabis related offense. Click here to learn more on travel to Canada and marijuana.

Yes, it is possible to enter Canada with a misdemeanor. Whether you are admissible depends on the type and number of offences, their seriousness, and when you completed your sentence. If you are found inadmissible, your options include applying for a Temporary Resident Permit (TRP) for short-term entry or Criminal Rehabilitation for a permanent solution.