Flying to Canada with a criminal record

The NBAA has posted useful updated information on flying to Canada with previous convictions, which may affect your passengers, or crew. Canada is known for refusing entry to the country if you have a DUI charge on your record.

Here are the highlights:

If denied admission because of a DUI, a traveler’s options depend on the time elapsed from the completion of the sentence or probation period, not the arrest date.

If it has been 10 years or more, you’re automatically deemed rehabilitated, and the border agent welcomes you to Canada.
Between 5 and 10 years from the completion of a sentence or probation, travellers can apply for “criminal rehabilitation,” which documents that someone is “no longer a public safety threat in Canada and costs up to $1,000, said Healy.
For those whose sentence or probation ended less than 5 years ago, Canadian border officials can offer a one-time free temporary resident permit. The permit, which costs $200, is good for up to a year, and you can enter and leave Canada as needed during the approved period. A traveler can apply for a permit at a consulate or at the border, but a traveler’s ability to use this option at the border is at the discretion of the border official involved.

Also, from tomorrow, November 10, 2016 – most people will need an eTA to enter Canada. More on that here.

One Comment

Joseph Martinez says:

22 March, 2017 at 8:46 am

Thanks for the valuable information. A person having criminal records should check the guidelines before attempting to move to another country. Officials in the charge must check precisely the size and type of crimes, because a person having serious and recent crime in their name might want to create another crime in the country. So it is highly unsafe for them to give green signals without checking properly.

Flying to Canada with a criminal record