DUI Canada and criminal history

[Serafic2001]

I am posting this based on my own recent experience. I found it really difficult to find any reliable and/or recent experiences for information on cruising to Canada ports with a criminal history.

 

For reference, I have a DUI conviction in 2005, Contempt of Court in 2009, & Disturbing the Peace in 2010. I had all 3 of these misdemeanors dismissed pursuant to PC1203.4a in 2018. Of course, customs and all government agencies can still see the convictions as far as I understand. I know that it shows up when I purchase firearms.
 

Based on a meeting I had with an immigration attorney and information online, I was convinced I was going to be deported to the US at the end of my cruise which ended in Canada. I knew that this wouldn’t be a horrible experience. From what I understand, they do not arrest you. They simply detain you and escort you to the airport to purchase the first ticket out of Canada.
 

My cruise boarded in Seward, AK and all of our ports were in Alaska except for our very last port, which was Vancouver. This was a one-way cruise. I had zero issues boarding the ship, as I had expected, since I boarded in the United States. I purposely did not book excursions that went into Canadian territory at the ports for fear of being deported mid-cruise. 
 

The night before disembarkation I received an email from AmericanAirlines to check in online, as I always had. When I entered my passport information to check-in, it immediately gave me a warning and told me that I would not be able to check-in online and would need to speak with an agent at the airport. I immediately assumed that this was the beginning of the deportation process. 
 

Once disembarkation began the next morning, I assumed that something was going to happen. I had met and spoken to one other person with a very similar situation who cruised in 2019, however they did not have their record dismissed. And I believe one of their charges was more recent. They were detained by customs upon disembarking and deported. They were required to purchase the first available plane ticket out of Canada at their own expense. Since I knew that this was likely going to be an issue, we were planning to leave Vancouver that day after disembarkation and had our flight scheduled for 1:30 PM.

 

When we exited the cruise ship all we did was scan our cruise provided sea pass cards. I never showed my passport at this point. I exited without issue. We then went through a customs check point and all they did was collect those declaration papers from us. They literally didn’t even look at them. And then we hopped into a taxi to get to the airport. I was pretty surprised that nothing had happened. When we got to the airport, I was concerned that something may happen at this point as we were going through customs. Absolutely nothing happened and I boarded my American Airlines flight home without issue.

 

I know that there is not much consistency with how and when Canada determines inadmissibility. I wanted to share my experience and hope that it can help someone else. Of course I am not an attorney and would never say that you won’t get deported because I didn’t, I’m just sharing for reference. I don’t know why I wasn’t detected and/or deported. Everything I read online and the attorney I spoke with informed me that because of having additional convictions after a DUI conviction, it was highly likely I would be deported. 

[K32682]

As noted there is very little consistency in the enforcement of DUI exclusions by the CBSA but each attempt by a convicted drunk driver to enter Canada is taking a chance. You can expect your number to come up eventually if you visit Canada often enough and you'll denied entry or escorted to the nearest departure point if your cruise ship has docked in Canada. 

 

Canadians who have a past cannabis conviction face the same situation. Regardless of when the conviction was, how little cannabis you were caught with or how often you've visited the U.S.A. previously if your number comes up you will be denied entry. A waiver is required if you want to visit the U.S. again and it is a lengthy and often not inexpensive process. 

[9tee2Sea]

I wonder what Canada does with their own people who have DUI's?  Are they not allowed to leave Canada, or come back home?  I had a DUI when I was 21 ( over 45 years ago).  I had it expunged from my record soon after I paid the fine ( back then it was a choice of 10 days community service, or $600.00).  Because it was expunged, I have never had a problem.  I don't know the procedure, or costs, to get a record expunged, but maybe the OP can look into it.

[CruiserBruce]

2 hours ago, 9tee2Sea said:

I wonder what Canada does with their own people who have DUI's?  Are they not allowed to leave Canada, or come back home?  I had a DUI when I was 21 ( over 45 years ago).  I had it expunged from my record soon after I paid the fine ( back then it was a choice of 10 days community service, or $600.00).  Because it was expunged, I have never had a problem.  I don't know the procedure, or costs, to get a record expunged, but maybe the OP can look into it.

Your home country can't deny you re-entry. There may be complexities to entry, like getting arrested, perhaps. But if you hold citizenship in that country, they can't deny you entry. That is international law.

[K32682]

4 hours ago, 9tee2Sea said:

I wonder what Canada does with their own people who have DUI's?  Are they not allowed to leave Canada, or come back home?  I had a DUI when I was 21 ( over 45 years ago).  I had it expunged from my record soon after I paid the fine ( back then it was a choice of 10 days community service, or $600.00).  Because it was expunged, I have never had a problem.  I don't know the procedure, or costs, to get a record expunged, but maybe the OP can look into it.

 

Canadian citizens have a right of return protected in our constitution. Also, even though your DUI record was expunged you may be denied entry into Canada. 

 

https://www.canadaduientrylaw.com/expungement.php#

 

"Many US citizens interested in traveling north of the border are surprised to learn that Canadian border patrol can still flag a visitor due to a misdemeanor or felony conviction that has been successfully expunged. Such an offense may no longer be visible to a potential employer, but the Government of Canada gets their information straight from the FBI's National Crime Information Center (NCIC) which still shows an arrest record or criminal conviction even after an expungement. "

 

 

 

 

Edited August 8, 2023 by K32682

[sparks1093]

As I understand it the Canadian Customs agents randomly search NCIC to see if someone is on it or not, they don't check each traveler. That means it is a crap shoot whether or not one is caught. I have a friend who used to frequently cross the border until one day they checked and found a decades old DUI. Now he is flagged and needs to apply through the rehabilitation process before he can return. (And while I said NCIC I do not know if it is that specific database.)

[K32682]

5 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

As I understand it the Canadian Customs agents randomly search NCIC to see if someone is on it or not, they don't check each traveler. That means it is a crap shoot whether or not one is caught. I have a friend who used to frequently cross the border until one day they checked and found a decades old DUI. Now he is flagged and needs to apply through the rehabilitation process before he can return. (And while I said NCIC I do not know if it is that specific database.)

 

The same applies for American customs agents. I was on a business trip to New York with a colleague who had visited the U.S. often but on this visit was denied entry because of a minor marijuana possession charge 40 years previously when he was a teenager. I continued on the trip without him and he ended up going through a lengthy process to receive a waiver.  

[Melanie4848]

On 8/7/2023 at 8:55 PM, Serafic2001 said:

I am posting this based on my own recent experience. I found it really difficult to find any reliable and/or recent experiences for information on cruising to Canada ports with a criminal history.

 

For reference, I have a DUI conviction in 2005, Contempt of Court in 2009, & Disturbing the Peace in 2010. I had all 3 of these misdemeanors dismissed pursuant to PC1203.4a in 2018. Of course, customs and all government agencies can still see the convictions as far as I understand. I know that it shows up when I purchase firearms.
 

Based on a meeting I had with an immigration attorney and information online, I was convinced I was going to be deported to the US at the end of my cruise which ended in Canada. I knew that this wouldn’t be a horrible experience. From what I understand, they do not arrest you. They simply detain you and escort you to the airport to purchase the first ticket out of Canada.
 

My cruise boarded in Seward, AK and all of our ports were in Alaska except for our very last port, which was Vancouver. This was a one-way cruise. I had zero issues boarding the ship, as I had expected, since I boarded in the United States. I purposely did not book excursions that went into Canadian territory at the ports for fear of being deported mid-cruise. 
 

The night before disembarkation I received an email from AmericanAirlines to check in online, as I always had. When I entered my passport information to check-in, it immediately gave me a warning and told me that I would not be able to check-in online and would need to speak with an agent at the airport. I immediately assumed that this was the beginning of the deportation process. 
 

Once disembarkation began the next morning, I assumed that something was going to happen. I had met and spoken to one other person with a very similar situation who cruised in 2019, however they did not have their record dismissed. And I believe one of their charges was more recent. They were detained by customs upon disembarking and deported. They were required to purchase the first available plane ticket out of Canada at their own expense. Since I knew that this was likely going to be an issue, we were planning to leave Vancouver that day after disembarkation and had our flight scheduled for 1:30 PM.

 

When we exited the cruise ship all we did was scan our cruise provided sea pass cards. I never showed my passport at this point. I exited without issue. We then went through a customs check point and all they did was collect those declaration papers from us. They literally didn’t even look at them. And then we hopped into a taxi to get to the airport. I was pretty surprised that nothing had happened. When we got to the airport, I was concerned that something may happen at this point as we were going through customs. Absolutely nothing happened and I boarded my American Airlines flight home without issue.

 

I know that there is not much consistency with how and when Canada determines inadmissibility. I wanted to share my experience and hope that it can help someone else. Of course I am not an attorney and would never say that you won’t get deported because I didn’t, I’m just sharing for reference. I don’t know why I wasn’t detected and/or deported. Everything I read online and the attorney I spoke with informed me that because of having additional convictions after a DUI conviction, it was highly likely I would be deported. 

Thank you for posting this