Cruising with a UK criminal record?

[CoolCruisings]

Hey guys, long time cruiser and reader of the forums here but first time poster! I was wondering if anyone could give me some feedback on something here. My family and I, all from the UK, have been cruising for around 10 years now and none of us have had any records whatsoever as we're law abiding citizens so this has never been a question for us, but recently my younger brother (who has learning difficulties) was arrested and charged for some petty theft crimes.

 

He's most likely going to have community service and fines to pay as his learning difficulties meant he didn't understand what he did was wrong at the time (he works with a scrap collection company and picked the wrong things out of porches which resulted in his arrest after CCTV saw him taking items to his van) and the authorities have acknowledged that and don't wish to persecute him harshly for what was an honest mistake in his limited mind. We were supposed to be booking a cruise for later this year, in the Mediterranean, and it just hit me that he may not be able to come with us to certain parts or we may have to cancel due to what will be a criminal record on his part.

 

I have called RCI today to find out what their policy is, and the man I spoke to admitted he didn't really know what to tell me, just that I should check with the embassies of the countries we'd be docking in, so I was wondering if anyone else here had any experience on the topic? His crimes were none violent, just silly mistakes, and he has since begun a cognitive behavioural therapy course, so he really isn't a threat to anyone, and he has no restrictions on travel passport-wise. If he isn't allowed into a certain country or another, he would most likely stay on the ship and I would stay with him, but essentially we wanted to know if there will be any problems with him coming aboard? If there would be, we would most likely cancel the trip altogether. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated to put our minds at rest or allow us chance to try something else holiday-wise, thanks!

[Ms Jo UK]

RCI Rep was right you need to find out what the individual countries rules are (not sure there are any in the med countries free movement of EU (for now). If you check and all is OK (and I think it will be) Royal WILL NOT CHECK your background. Personally I think it will be fine but do double check.

[CoolCruisings]

Thank you for your quick response, Ms Jo UK! I thought that may be the case, we were hoping that due to freedom of movement, he should be okay to join us. I suppose that will all change when Brexit eventually happens, but we will cross that bridge when we come to it.

 

I've spent hours and hours trying to find out which holidays he can and can't go on now, and I know all American destinations will be off limits, but Canada he will be able to do once his convictions are spent, it's just very hard trying to explain that to someone who still has a child's mind and doesn't really know what he's done :( looks like European cruises are going to be our immediate future holiday-wise for now. Thanks again!

[Thorben-Hendrik]

He should be fine within the EU as his records would not be released to other countries if there were no major crimes involved - especially if he has no travel restrictions on his passport.

I would be careful so to involve RCI too much in the issue.....US companies can get funny when they get to know things that are non of their business.....

So my advice is to keep it low and all will be fine as long as his passport is good to travel within the EU

[CoolCruisings]

Thanks for your input germanfflyer! That's what I was thinking/hoping for his sake too. Yeah I didn't give too much info in case they decided to blacklist him altogether, but wanted to see what their official policy was before we made any kinds of bookings. Hopefully we can put everything behind us and he can still get to appreciate the world out there!

[Ken at the beach]

Thank you for your quick response, Ms Jo UK! I thought that may be the case, we were hoping that due to freedom of movement, he should be okay to join us. I suppose that will all change when Brexit eventually happens, but we will cross that bridge when we come to it.

 

I've spent hours and hours trying to find out which holidays he can and can't go on now, and I know all American destinations will be off limits, but Canada he will be able to do once his convictions are spent, it's just very hard trying to explain that to someone who still has a child's mind and doesn't really know what he's done :( looks like European cruises are going to be our immediate future holiday-wise for now. Thanks again!

 

 

Double check the requirements for entering Canada with a criminal conviction. Depending on the charge they do not automatically drop off, you need to make a special application. Many have been refused admittance over a long ago DUI charge as that is a felony conviction in Canada.

[lbjen]

He may also not be banned from America but he may have trouble getting ESTA, that just means going the long way round to getting a visa. It doesn't sound like it was a crime of 'moral turpitude' so it might be fine. Your brother is lucky to have someone like you in his life btw.

[Sarah1974]

I work in a Magistrates' Court in the UK. Recently things have changed re Canada and we have been asked to provide copies of court registers for people convicted of offences some 15 years ago. There is a fee for the Court to provide this information and it is sufficient to support a visa application

 

Sarah

[CoolCruisings]

It appears I'll need to do some more research on Canada, then! I was hoping that he'd be able to come with us to Canada in a few years, but from what you're saying we may have to make different plans so he can still come with us wherever we end up going. Trying to find out which countries he can and can't go to in the future is mind-meltingly frustrating. And thank you, lbjen! I just don't want him to suffer forever for some silly mistakes that he didn't understand, so I want to make sure he can still enjoy the world out there!

[Thorben-Hendrik]

It is good you are helping him - but do not get too worked up on it - I hope all goes well for you and your brother!

As I said before in Europe ( not only the EU ) I am sure there will be no problems....the rest of the world needs to be checked....

[wendychloecruiser]

This made for some interesting reading regarding Canada...

 

http://www.canadaduientrylaw.com/

[stephiems]

As said by someone previously, he will probably be okay to get into America as well. He won't be able to get the easy electronic Visa, but should be able to do an interview at the consulate and get approval. I obviously don't know for sure that they will approve the Visa, but it sounds likely based on the circumstances.

[norcalemt02]

Question... let's say you do a cruise that starts in the states and end in Canada. Will there be any issues going from the port to the airport to leave Canada? With a 10+ year old dui.

 

 

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[grand isle joe]

..............just tell them you are a "refugee" and you are good to go........

[seaofwonder]

It depends if the country you are entering has access to the criminal records system in the UK. The reasons Americans with DUIs have problems getting into Canada is because US-Canada have agreements to share criminal records.

 

If they don't have access and don't ask the question, then you may not have any issues. Again, it'll depend on that record sharing and whether you need visas etc.

 

Did they convict him? Or do some type of stay of charges?

 

 

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[seaofwonder]

Question... let's say you do a cruise that starts in the states and end in Canada. Will there be any issues going from the port to the airport to leave Canada? With a 10+ year old dui.

 

 

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You should probably speak to an attorney as opposed to random advice online. As a Canadian living in the USA, whose husband has a criminal record, I will just say that we don't ever plan cruises that start or end in Canada. You never know what kind of mood the CBP officer is in. They have access to the FBI database....so if the dui shows up there then the CBP officer can see it. They always let my husband in when he is with me, but one day they might stop.

 

My understand with cruises is that the manifest is sent to Canada beforehand. So they could deny you entry on the cruise. But they may not run all the names...who knows.

 

There is a form you can file with the Canadian government and pay around $1000 where they will deem you rehabilitated. You can also pay $250 for a one time entry, but not all CBP officers will offer it.

 

 

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[Dixie1337]

Question... let's say you do a cruise that starts in the states and end in Canada. Will there be any issues going from the port to the airport to leave Canada? With a 10+ year old dui.

 

 

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Contact a Canadian embassy. You may need to file for rehabilitation. Better to figure this out in advance.

[CoolCruisings]

Thank you for your responses, everyone! It is very much appreciated at this time! He hasn't been to court as of yet, but will be relatively soon and we will find out what charges are likely to be enforced and to what degree of trouble he is in. Unfortunately, due to some of the over zealous police officers involved, it looks like he will be convicted on multiple small time theft charges, we're just all hoping that because of his mental state and the situation as a whole, they will be lenient in sentencing (which has been implied). Poor chap has been an absolute wreck and lost his job through it all, it's horrible to see how little the police actually care about people in this country.

 

 

But aside from all that, it's lovely to read the comments from those who've given advice and are showing some support via the forum :) I've relayed the info to him as best he can understand it, and know he appreciates you all! All being well, this saga should be over within the next few weeks and he can pay his fines/do whatever service is required of him, and then later in the year we can take him away for a bit to have some fun abroad in the Med to take his mind off things!