Imagine the frustration of planning to spend a day in Canada and having to turn around because of some past criminal charge. Unfortunately, this is a very common concern amongst many Americans. Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) is designed so Canada can keep out people who commit serious crimes like assault, fraud, criminal mischief, etc., but many crimes deemed a misdemeanor in this country also fall under the Act. This includes convictions for DUI, reckless driving, misdemeanor drug possession, shoplifting, and various other criminal charges. Here are some ways to get entry into Canada.
One way to avoid issues is to apply for "deemed rehabilitation" status at the point of entry into Canada. A letter from an attorney stating this can ease the process. However, this only applies to DUI's at least ten years old. After you have the letter drawn up, you can just keep it in your glove box with your registration. Convenient, quick, and saves you trouble of having to explain to friends and family why you turned down at the border.
If you
are planning to be visiting Canada a lot, you may consider criminal
rehabilitation. Your DUI needs to be 5 years old from the date you completed all
fines, jail time, driving courses, etc., Then you may complete the “Streamlined
Rehabilitative” process. This is a permanent fix, and you do not have to renew it.
This process takes six months to one year.
Finally, for criminal charges other than DUI it is possible the charge can be vacated by an attorney in the United States preventing any issues with crossing into Canada. Please refer to my other blog on vacating past charges.
When
filling out any of these applications it is important to have a professional
either look them over or complete them for you. It can be embarrassing and a
waste of gas to get turned down at the border; hiring a competent attorney can
go a long way to make your traveling as smooth as possible.
Resources:
Luke Larson, Attorney and Counselor at Law
Email: Legalstateofmind@gmail.com
Website: www.legalstateofmind.com
No comments:
Post a Comment