07-05-12
According to Statistics Canada, approximately 724,000 British nationals visit Canada each year. While the vast majority of these visits are problem-free, it is important that British travelers stay informed on immigration laws governing entry into Canada. One particular policy area of Canadian immigration which often goes unnoticed is that regarding criminal inadmissibility to Canada.
Canadian immigration policy dictates that any foreign national seeking entry into the country, even those from within the Commonwealth, can be turned away at the port of entry based on their criminal history, thus making them criminally inadmissible to Canada. Grounds for criminal inadmissibility can include a single conviction of an offense which is considered criminal in Canada. For British citizens, this can translate into a single conviction of drink driving preventing entry into Canada.
As outlined in the amended Road Traffic Act, drink driving in the United Kingdom is defined as attempting to drive a “mechanically propelled vehicle” on a road or public place while impaired due to the use of alcohol or drugs. Similar to Canada, the legal limit of blood alcohol limit in the UK is 0.08% or measured as 35 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood or 107 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of urine.
As governed by the laws of the United Kingdom and subject to the circumstances of the incident in question, a conviction of drink driving can result in punishments ranging from a driving ban, a fine, community service hours, curfew orders, and in some cases, even a prison sentence.
Although British nationals do not need a visitor’s visa to travel to Canada, British citizens with criminal records will need to obtain additional documentation to successfully enter the country. In order to overcome their criminal inadmissibility, any foreign national with a criminal record will need to apply for either a Temporary Resident Permit (TRP) or Criminal Rehabilitation, two similar application processes which differ in scope. While a TRP can grant temporary entry into Canada for a specified period of time, criminal rehabilitation can offer eligible applicants a permanent solution to their criminal inadmissibility.
To learn more about Temporary Resident Permits, Criminal Rehabilitation, Criminal Inadmissibility or any other matter regarding Canadian Immigration please consult our range of info-graphics at http://visual.ly/users/fwcanada and contact FWCanada directly at https://www.duicanadaentry.com/contact-us/
