Legal question on entering Canada

[rattlsnak]

Want to take the GF into Canada this summer to meet some family but she had a reckless driving ticket a few years ago and her lawyer told her then she cannot enter Canada. I have done a little research and it seems that is true. A reckless driving ticket is a non admittance event to get into Canada. WTH is that?? I go back and forth all the time and have never heard of such a thing and her lawyer said for a fee of @1,500 he can fill out a form that *might* help her get across.

Question is, how the heck does Canada know if you have a reckless driving ticket? You only show your passport at the border. AFAIK, your driving record is not connected to your passport so how would they even know? Anybody ever heard of this, or how to get around it?

[oldE]

If they scan her passport, they have access to any information which may have been entered into the database on her.
I suspect dangerous driving might fall into the felony category as far as the authorities up here are concerned.

She's gonna be awfully POd if you drag her to the border only to get embarrassed and sent home.

Best
Les

[Hugh R]

I know for a fact that if you have a DUI in the states that Canadian immigration will know about it when they scan your passport. I had a colleague get denied access at Vancouver when I was traveling with him. He had to re-book a flight back to Los Angeles and explain to his boss why (a different Studio than I work for.)

[Mark Henry]

Same deal for a Canadian going into the US.

Sneaking into Canada not telling them about records will get you charged then escorted to the nearest airport.
At least in Canada they will just tell you to get the F out and send someone to collect your poop, flip the coin same deal a Canadian in the US and they keep your poop. Car, money, whatever ya got.

Only going to get worse at the border as both sides just agreed to start sharing more info.

[steve185]

If it is just a traffic ticket I would be very surprised if it prevented you from getting into Canada.
We did just let 25000 Syrians in, she should be okay.

[aap1966]

Originally Posted by steve185

We did just let 25000 Syrians in, she should be okay.

Different thing entirely.
They were all carefully screened for traffic tickets.

[Bill Douglas]

Contact the Canadian embassy in advance and ask them - much better than finding out at the border.

[steve185]

The agency to call would be Canada Border Services.

[Scott R]

Was she arrested? Reckless is often a misdemeanor, however if she was "printed" that's part of NCIC now and available to Canadian border agents, along with the misdemeanor. Depending on the amount of time that's past you can apply for "rehabilitation" through the embassy, or at the border.

I have had so many employees turned around at the border that I think I'm becoming a bit of an expert on the subject. It's to the point that we simply don't send people there anymore and rely on contract labor. Guess that's a win for both countries.

On a last note I've traveled with a group to Toronto and two guys with previous DUI's, one guy got in, the other didn't. It was the boarder crossing guards discretion.

[Grimm]

I traveled to Canada with a buddy who had a shoplifting arrest from 20+ years earlier when he was a college student. At immigration they asked if he was ever arrested. He told them about it and they told him they knew, and if he hadn't told them he'd be on his way back home. He had to pay them something like $150 to get 'rehabilitated' before they let him in.

[scottmandue]

Just crash the gate when you get up to the boarder... you have a Porsche, they will never catch you!

[3rd_gear_Ted]

Same criteria for the Mexican border too
If you have a Sentri or GOES card and get a DUI
Homeland Security will take your card away.

[jorian]

My understanding from a CBSA friend is that a reckless driving charge will NOT keep you out if the charge started and ended as reckless driving. If the charge included DUI and reckless you can be denied because Canada views a DUI charge as an aggregated felony. If the DUI was reduced to a reckless charge you can still be denied entry. Here in BC reckless driving is not a criminal charge. It is a civil charge that is punishable by demerit points against your driving record, fines or suspension.

Canada is very strict about DUI. The CBSA officer has the discretion to let you in or not. If you disclose when asked, CBSA is more likely to work with you. If you lie and are caught you will be denied.

[GWN7]

Start here: Overcome criminal convictions

[wayne robson]

Yes ,funny this came up, we here in Australia have this customs program
and it features Vancouver customs and that is correct comes up alot,especially
if you dont inform them makes it worse.

[rattlsnak]

Originally Posted by Scott R

Was she arrested? Reckless is often a misdemeanor, however if she was "printed" that's part of NCIC now and available to Canadian border agents, along with the misdemeanor. Depending on the amount of time that's past you can apply for "rehabilitation" through the embassy, or at the border.

Originally Posted by jorian

My understanding from a CBSA friend is that a reckless driving charge will NOT keep you out if the charge started and ended as reckless driving. If the charge included DUI and reckless you can be denied because Canada views a DUI charge as an aggregated felony. If the DUI was reduced to a reckless charge you can still be denied entry. .

Yes, the $1,500 fee the lawyer wanted was to fill out the forms to get 'rehabilitated' and yes, it was a DUI that got reduced to reckless driving.

I can almost understand her allowed in and then not being allowed to drive while in Canada, but to deny her entry completely is ridiculous for that charge. We will be going by air and she won't be driving at all anyway.

[Scott R]

Originally Posted by rattlsnak

Yes, the $1,500 fee the lawyer wanted was to fill out the forms to get 'rehabilitated' and yes, it was a DUI that got reduced to reckless driving.

I can almost understand her allowed in and then not being allowed to drive while in Canada, but to deny her entry completely is ridiculous for that charge. We will be going by air and she won't be driving at all anyway.

As mentioned above it's mutual. Canada, the US, we both deny the same same class of defenses.

[Arizona_928]

Could you tell them you are going to Alaska?
Might hold a little more weight?

[SCadaddle]

The last time I traveled into Canada was in 1985, north of Seattle enroute to Vancouver in a 1970 VW camper with Georgia plates and me with a MS drivers license. Having been across the boarder from Michigan as a kid with my parents once upon a time I knew the drill.

So there I am, full of beer and a smoke hanging out of my mouth. I tell the nice lady at the booth we are going to Vancouver for a day or two and be right back. She hits me with the declarations. Alcohol? (burp) Nope! Tobacco? (take a drag and forget about the carton on the dash in front of me) Nope! Do you see that building up there with the flashing yellow light? Yep! Go see them please sir.....lets just say I have NO plans to visit Canada again after sitting on the Group W bench playing with the pencils.

31 years later and 6 years since the passing of my Mom, one of my siblings tells me "Mom was really worried about you when you went on that trip in the VW bus, she didn't think you were going to come back home." Well, I did and it turned out to be my best "don't tell Mom" story.

[LakeCleElum]

Originally Posted by rattlsnak

Question is, how the heck does Canada know if you have a reckless driving ticket?

They have Computers now....