Felony and Canada

Hi all, I'm asking for a friend. He had a felony conviction (drugs) 10+ years ago - maybe closer to 20. Stupid kid stuff. Anyway, he's looking at an Alaskan cruise out of Vancouver. I've read past threads on the matter and wonder if there's any new information out there or if there's a link to find more info about paying a fee? Thanks!

Sail out of Seattle if this is a concern.

You have to get special permission to go to Canada. Like a visa, even though you don't need one for USA citizens normally.

I don't know exactly how it works or if a felony is allowed. I have heard that with a DUI you need to get that special permission. So perhaps it's allowed for other convictions?

I would contact the Canadian Consulate?

Good luck. I'd make sure I could get there before I booked a cruise.

oddly enough, the first Google response is a highly informative thread on this board...

Sounds like sailing out of Seattle and planning to be ready to just not get off in Victoria might be the best way.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=743542

Canada takes a dim view of "stupid kid stuff" like a felony drug conviction. Your friend will need to connect with the Canadian Border Services folks regarding his situation.

Canada takes a dim view of "stupid kid stuff" like a felony drug conviction. Your friend will need to connect with the Canadian Border Services folks regarding his situation.

Yes they do. Although I am not familiar with the exact procedure they do have one for those whose offense occurred long enough ago to no longer be a concern. Reaching out to someone in the Canadian government is probably a good first step.

From what I have read it takes a while to get permission to enter Canada, so your friend should start the process early. Showing up at the border and asking to come in will not work.

This link from the CIC on Overcoming Criminal Convictions may be a great starting point on this issue: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/inadmissibility/conviction.asp

oddly enough, the first Google response is a highly informative thread on this board...

 

Sounds like sailing out of Seattle and planning to be ready to just not get off in Victoria might be the best way.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=743542

Not a lawyer or connected to borders/customs for any country, but I would guess that if your friend can't be allowed into Canada, it won't matter whether he intends to stay on board in Victoria or not. He probably won't even be able to board the ship in Seattle.

This is akin to any cruise that would require a visa, such as one that makes stops in Brazil. If someone doesn't have the proper visa, he/she won't be allowed to board the cruise at all, even if there's plans to not get off in Brazil.

He needs to consult a lawyer that specializes in this field (customs? maritime?) before booking any travel that involves Canada.

Thanks, all.

I would not put any money down until he is cleared to travel. Staying on in Victoria MAY be a solution, but being denied boarding in Seattle is a very undesirable solution.

..............maybe your friend would be more comfortable sailing to Jamaica "man"? :D

Because so much time has passed and he has no other convictions, he may apply to enter via the "deemed rehabilitated" form/visa.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/inadmissibility/rehabilitation.asp

Hi all. Here's an update: RCCL led us to believe that he could "downline". We made all the necessary changes for air and hotel so that he could fly into Ketchikan and meet us at the first port to board. 2 conversations with RCCL later, and after an official request to which they simply said apply again 2 weeks before the cruise, we learned that he could NOT downline as it is a foreign ship in US territory and an obscure law prohibits passengers boarding from one US location and disembarking from another US location. So, we had to AGAIN change the airfare - which was extremely expensive. I wish the first RCCL rep could have mentioned this to avoid almost $1000 in unnecessary change fees. This is a one way cruise. I wonder if it had been roundtrip if things would have been different.

He has all the forms, letters from his workplace, proof he has custody of his daughter, and he's going to Canada hoping and praying they deem him "rehabilitated". He really is a good man and an excellent father. I will update when he returns, for future reference in case others are looking for info.

He has all the forms, letters from his workplace, proof he has custody of his daughter, and he's going to Canada hoping and praying they deem him "rehabilitated". He really is a good man and an excellent father. I will update when he returns, for future reference in case others are looking for info.

if he does not have the documentation saying he is " deemed to rehabilitated" BEFORE he tries to enter Canada it is doubtful he will get in

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/guides/5312ETOC.asp

Found it in 2 minutes on Google.

DON

Hi all. Here's an update: RCCL led us to believe that he could "downline". We made all the necessary changes for air and hotel so that he could fly into Ketchikan and meet us at the first port to board. 2 conversations with RCCL later, and after an official request to which they simply said apply again 2 weeks before the cruise, we learned that he could NOT downline as it is a foreign ship in US territory and an obscure law prohibits passengers boarding from one US location and disembarking from another US location. So, we had to AGAIN change the airfare - which was extremely expensive. I wish the first RCCL rep could have mentioned this to avoid almost $1000 in unnecessary change fees. This is a one way cruise. I wonder if it had been roundtrip if things would have been different.

 

He has all the forms, letters from his workplace, proof he has custody of his daughter, and he's going to Canada hoping and praying they deem him "rehabilitated". He really is a good man and an excellent father. I will update when he returns, for future reference in case others are looking for info.

He is unlikely to be deemed rehabilitated with a prior drug conviction. You should plan on cruising without him.

Hi all. Here's an update: RCCL led us to believe that he could "downline". We made all the necessary changes for air and hotel so that he could fly into Ketchikan and meet us at the first port to board. 2 conversations with RCCL later, and after an official request to which they simply said apply again 2 weeks before the cruise, we learned that he could NOT downline as it is a foreign ship in US territory and an obscure law prohibits passengers boarding from one US location and disembarking from another US location. So, we had to AGAIN change the airfare - which was extremely expensive. I wish the first RCCL rep could have mentioned this to avoid almost $1000 in unnecessary change fees. This is a one way cruise. I wonder if it had been roundtrip if things would have been different.

 

He has all the forms, letters from his workplace, proof he has custody of his daughter, and he's going to Canada hoping and praying they deem him "rehabilitated". He really is a good man and an excellent father. I will update when he returns, for future reference in case others are looking for info.

To answer the question about round trip vs one way...

The law that is involved prohibits a foreign (non-USA-flagged) ship from transporting passengers between two *different* USA ports *unless* the ship also stops at a "distant foreign port" in between the two different USA ports.

That's why the one-way trips to the Anchorage area of Alaska (Seward, Whittier) always start in Vancouver and not Seattle.

With a Seattle departure to Alaska ports, they have to return to Seattle.

For example, Panama transit itineraries (e.g., LA to Miami) will stop at Cartegena (South America) or one of the ABC islands (Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, which are specifically named to qualify, whereas other Caribbean islands do not).

A "closed loop" itinerary is one that begins and ends at the same USA port. In that case, a non-USA-flagged line may transport passengers as long as there is *any* foreign port (e.g., Bermuda counts, or most of the other Caribbean islands).

This is why the Seattle-Seattle Alaska itineraries make even a brief port call at Victoria, which is a foreign port.

Hope this helps.

...

He has all the forms, letters from his workplace, proof he has custody of his daughter, and he's going to Canada hoping and praying they deem him "rehabilitated". He really is a good man and an excellent father. I will update when he returns, for future reference in case others are looking for info.

By "all the forms" I hope you mean the Canadian rehabilitation form as well.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pdf/kits/forms/IMM1444E.pdf

He will not be allowed without that.

Never chance anything. I've watched Border Security and I have seen people try and go on cruises and were denied entering the country. You would usually need a pardon. Get your paperwork in order,

To answer the question about round trip vs one way...

 

The law that is involved prohibits a foreign (non-USA-flagged) ship from transporting passengers between two *different* USA ports *unless* the ship also stops at a "distant foreign port" in between the two different USA ports.

 

That's why the one-way trips to the Anchorage area of Alaska (Seward, Whittier) always start in Vancouver and not Seattle.

 

With a Seattle departure to Alaska ports, they have to return to Seattle.

 

For example, Panama transit itineraries (e.g., LA to Miami) will stop at Cartegena (South America) or one of the ABC islands (Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, which are specifically named to qualify, whereas other Caribbean islands do not).

 

A "closed loop" itinerary is one that begins and ends at the same USA port. In that case, a non-USA-flagged line may transport passengers as long as there is *any* foreign port (e.g., Bermuda counts, or most of the other Caribbean islands).

This is why the Seattle-Seattle Alaska itineraries make even a brief port call at Victoria, which is a foreign port.

 

Hope this helps.

The PVSA is not necessarily an obscure law (at least not to those of us who have been on many cruises), but it sure is a complicated one. If you are on a northbound one-way Alaska cruise, it will always begin in Vancouver. If you miss getting on the ship there, you won't be allowed to board in any of the later ports. Whoever told you he could fly to Ketchikan and embark on the cruise there was very mistaken.

So, as it turns out, he DIDN'T have a felony record. Only a misdemeanor. He got through customs without a second glance and enjoyed his cruise very much!

So, as it turns out, he DIDN'T have a felony record. Only a misdemeanor. He got through customs without a second glance and enjoyed his cruise very much!

Thanks for the update.

Ask a lawyer

Never chance anything. I've watched Border Security and I have seen people try and go on cruises and were denied entering the country. You would usually need a pardon. Get your paperwork in order,

A pardon might help with domestic matters, but means nothing to a foreign government. When a person is pardoned, the record stays with them forever. A pardon means that there was a crime committed and the person convicted either had the right money or connections to get someone in government with the authority to do so to let them off the hook for whatever punishment they received for the crime. It does not mean the record goes away.

If that is what you are looking for, the word is expungement. That typically works only for juvenile offenses, or offenses where it was proven that the person wasn't guilty or was adjudicated to a deferred status where charges would be dropped if specific requirements were met. It requires hiring an attorney in the jurisdiction where the conviction occurred and filing a series of documents, then attending a hearing. It is not inexpensive and can be time consuming.

There is never a guarantee, and if fingerprints have been passed to a Federal Agency, getting them expunged is extremely difficult and expensive, and typically requires the intervention of a Senator or other very high ranking official in addition to thousands of dollars in legal fees. I worked on an expungement case as a paralegal 25 years ago, and after over $5K in fees and a year of work, the record had been expunged in the local and state level, but the fingerprints and associated record still appeared with the FBI, and the guy finally gave up.

His "crime?" Possession of two marijuana cigarettes as a 22 year old recent cum laude grad with a dual BS in engineering and physics under the Machiavellian 1970's NYS Rockefeller drug laws which put him in jail for a year. His career with NASA was destroyed and he was significantly underemployed due to laws which we now know we're obscenely punitive for what should have been considered minor offenses. I still remember that case like it was yesterday because it opened my eyes as to how ridiculous our criminal justice system is in so many ways.