Why have you been Denied Entry to Canada
Before telling you what we can do to help with this problem, let’s do what all lawyers do and analyze the problem first so that you can see where the suggestions to fix the problem come from. The first concept we need to talk about is the idea of admission. Just like the United States has requirements for admission, Canada also has admission requirements. As citizens we tend not to notice these admission requirements; for example, if you have been convicted of a DUI and you take a cruise around the Caribbean and reenter the United States, you will not be denied entry on account of your criminal conviction as you are U.S. citizen. We tend to have this mindset that we are free to go where we might like when we visit other countries, and it is then that we discover that we can be refused entry.
By far the principal reason for being denied entry to Canada is a criminal conviction. A conviction for driving under the influence (DUI) is among the most common reasons for being refused entry to Canada. Why is that? Under Canadian immigration law, a person convicted outside Canada of conduct that would be an offense under Canada’s Criminal Code or another federal statute is inadmissible, whether or not the offense was a felony where it occurred. A first-offense DUI that is a misdemeanor in Montana is an offense under Canada’s Criminal Code — and since December 18, 2018, impaired driving is treated as serious criminality — so a U.S. DUI conviction generally makes a person inadmissible to Canada. Of course, DUI convictions are not the only reason that people are refused entry.
The waiver problem runs the other way too: if you are the one refused entry to the United States, our page on which U.S. waiver applies to your situation explains the options.
Real People – Real Denials
Let’s review a few scenarios that result in people being refused admission to Canada:
- You are a long-distance truck driver who gets a job hauling propane across the Canadian border. On your first trip to the border with your first load of propane you present your passport and are denied entry. Although you have moved on in your life, 15 years ago you were involved in a bar fight and have a felony conviction for assault that you forgot about. How can you fix this problem so that you can keep your job?
- You are a successful graphic designer working in a state that borders Canada. You start to receive inquiries from Canada for work. You service these requests from your office here in the U.S., until your workload grows and you are now being asked to travel to Canada. Now you are nervous, because you remember when you were young, you stupidly shoplifted a couple of candy bars and a magazine, and ended up with a shoplifting offense that is classified as felony theft in Canada. How can you enter Canada to take care of these customers?
- You meet someone online who lives in Canada. You get to know them better and start a relationship. They come to visit you in the United States. Your relationship develops and you soon have a marriage proposal. While you love this person and want to get married, a domestic dispute with your former spouse went horribly wrong 15 years ago and you have a conviction for breaking and entering. How can you fix it so that you will be able to visit your new spouse’s family in Canada?
Solution to Inadmissibility: Rehabilitation
In all these cases, you are not going to be admitted to Canada as things stand. In each of these scenarios, the applicant for admission to Canada is inadmissible and will be refused entry. To address these problems, you can seek rehabilitation. Canadian Rehabilitation is a process by which you apply for permission to enter Canada in advance. It requires you to gather a lot of documents relating to your conviction and make a formal request to the Canadian authorities that they admit you even though you have been convicted. We routinely help clients with this process.
Deemed Rehabilitation
If you have a single conviction, more than ten years have passed since you completed the sentence, and the offense would carry a maximum penalty of less than ten years in Canada, Canadian law may treat you as deemed rehabilitated without a formal application. That door is now closed for most DUIs: since December 18, 2018, impaired driving carries a maximum penalty of ten years in Canada and is classified as serious criminality, so a DUI committed on or after that date cannot be deemed rehabilitated — only an application for individual rehabilitation, or a temporary resident permit, will work. A DUI committed before that date is assessed under the penalties in force at the time and may still qualify. Likewise, Canada will not consider an application for individual rehabilitation until five years have passed since you completed your sentence, including probation. If you have a recent conviction, we can describe your options to you, including the temporary resident permit (as of September 2026; verify current rules on the IRCC page on overcoming criminal convictions).
Our Services, Our Help
Once you know what you need to supply for Canadian Rehabilitation in order to enter Canada with that DUI, you can download the application form and put together a request. Many of our clients are aware of the rehabilitation process, they have been denied entry to Canada and informed by the Canadian authorities that they must apply for rehabilitation, but once they see the application they are overwhelmed. We have helped clients put together requests for Canadian rehabilitation that have been approved.
If you would like to read about Canadian Rehabilitation in more detail to see if you would be a candidate, please click this link to a informational website dedicated to this process. If you would like to have a consultation to understand whether or not you could enter Canada with your criminal conviction or convictions, please contact us. If you are going to need Canadian Rehabilitation, please contact us as well, we can help you out. We look forward to helping you.
