If you are an American citizen with a felony on your record, don’t wait until you are at the border to find out that you may not be allowed entry into Canada.
Contact UsAny felony offence could make you criminally inadmissible to Canada no matter the age or seriousness of the crime. Whether you need to enter Canada for a business meeting, family visit or for recreational reasons, it is important to stay informed about your options to be allowed to enter Canada.
A felony is considered to be the most serious crime in America. In the US, criminal offences are divided into two types; misdemeanours and felonies.
Misdemeanours are the less serious of the two, and include crimes such as simple assault, disorderly conduct, simple possession of marijuana, and petty theft.
Felonies on the other hand, often result in serving prison time longer than a year, and include crimes such as grand larceny, homicide, armed robbery and manufacturing/distribution of Schedule 1 drugs.
Canada does not classify criminal offences as felonies or misdemeanours, but Canada treats felony crimes just as seriously as the US does.
Canada categorizes criminal offences in three types:
Felonies are comparable to indictable offences in Canada as they are considered more serious of the three. Hybrid offences are offences that can be prosecuted as either indictable or summary conviction depending on the circumstances of each case. If your felony from the US has an equivalent as an indictable or hybrid offence in Canada, you will likely be denied entry into Canada due to criminal inadmissibility. Even if the felony is classified as a hybrid offence and not an indictable offence in Canada, hybrid offences are always considered to be indictable for the purpose of immigration.
Offences that do not have an equivalent law in Canada OR are equivalent to summary offences may not deem you to be inadmissible. Some examples are:
When you enter a foreign country, such as Canada, your passport will be screened for any criminal history that could make you inadmissible at the border.
Whether you are flying, driving or travelling by water to Canada, Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) officers will need to verify your identity. When your passport is screened, the CBSA officer will have access to all FBI databases and criminal history you might be linked to. They will have access to all of your past and current charges or convictions you have faced in the United States. With this information, CBSA officers will determine on a case-by-case basis whether you meet the criteria to be criminally inadmissible to Canada. If you possess a felony charge or conviction, you will likely be denied entry at the border in this stage.
If you have a felony on your record, you may be denied at the border and turned away. In order to enter Canada with a felony, you will need to apply for a special permit. If you follow the proper legal process and can show a valid reason for your trip, Canada may allow you to enter.
The options available to you will depend on several factors such as the nature, timing, and circumstances of your offence.
A TRP will let you enter Canada temporarily for a specific period of time that Canadian immigration officers will deem absolutely necessary. There are two ways to apply for a TRP, through the consulate and through a port of entry. TRPs are recommended for emergency trips or if you are not eligible to apply for a Criminal Rehabilitation yet.
You may be eligible to apply for a CR if five years have passed since the completion of your most recent sentence. In order to qualify, you must demonstrate that you have rehabilitated and prove that all conditions of your sentencing have been completed successfully. The application process is meticulous and time-consuming, requiring detailed, accurate documentation of your criminal history and supporting evidence of rehabilitation. If approved, criminal rehabilitation (CR) can permanently resolve your inadmissibility to Canada, unless you are charged with a new offence in the future. For serious crimes such as felonies, the Canadian government charges a higher processing fee ($1,199 CAD instead of the standard $239.75 CAD for less serious offences; updated as of July 2025). Considering the high processing fees and risks of applying for a CR, it is strongly recommended to seek professional legal assistance.
In Canada, a DUI is a hybrid offence that is always considered to be an indictable offence in Canada when determining inadmissibility. Even if it is considered to be a misdemeanor in the US, Canada takes all impaired driving charges (DUI, DWI, OWI, DWAI) to be serious criminality as it is punishable by a maximum imprisonment of ten years.
If you were convicted of an impaired driving charge before December 18, 2018, it is not considered to be serious criminality, since at the time it was punishable by a maximum of five years imprisonment in Canada. In this special circumstance, if you have a single DUI offence on your record from before December 18, 2018, and ten years have passed since the completion of your most recent sentencing, you can be automatically rehabilitated by the passage of time. However, this is only in the case that your DUI offence did NOT result in any serious injury or death or other aggravating factors.
Read more about entering Canada with a DUI and rehabilitation by the passage of time.
If your DUI offence was classified as a felony in the US, because it involved:
It will definitely make you inadmissible to Canada. You would need stronger supporting documents for Criminal Rehabilitation or Temporary Resident Permit that highlights your rehabilitation factors, pressing need to enter Canada and other court documents related to the offence. Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) officers will need to be convinced without doubt that you would not pose a threat to public health or safety.
Yes, hiring a Canadian immigration lawyer is highly recommended, especially if you have a felony on your record. An experienced Canadian lawyer will be able to interpret your criminal history accurately and determine which permit you qualify for. We can help you prepare a strong application, avoid common mistakes that often lead to refusals and do a thorough assessment for completion. While you can apply alone, mistakes on your application could lead to a permanent ban from entering Canada due to misrepresentation. A lawyer can improve your chances of success, especially for serious crimes like felonies.
If you are travelling by airplane and plan to land at a Canadian airport, a CBSA officer at immigration and customs will assess your criminality thoroughly. If you do not have the proper permits to enter Canada, you may have no choice but to buy the next available ticket back to the US and leave Canada immediately.
If you are travelling by car and plan to cross the border at a Canadian port of entry, a CBSA officer at the land border crossing will assess your criminality thoroughly. If you do not have the proper permits to enter Canada, you may have no choice but to turn your car around and be denied entry. There is an option to apply for a Temporary Resident Permit (TRP) at the port of entry, however you must have all of the complete and accurate documents at the time of travel, and are not guaranteed approval.
Generally no, if you committed a felony, you are likely to never be deemed rehabilitated. You may only be deemed rehabilitated if you only have one conviction on your record that is a non-serious crime (punishable by less than 10 years).
It depends on which type of application you decide to apply for. For a TRP, you may apply at any time, even before it has been five years since your conviction as long as you can prove a valid reason for the need to travel. However, for Criminal Rehabilitation, you must wait five years from the date you completed your last sentence of your most recent offence in order to be eligible to apply.
When applying for a TRP, the Canadian government processing fee as of July 2025, is $239.75 CAD. The cost of TRP is the same for all offences, both serious and non-serious.
When applying for a CR, the Canadian government processing fee depends on the seriousness of the offence. If you only have a non-serious crime(s) on your record, the processing fee will be $239.75 CAD. However, if you are applying with a serious crime(s) on your record, your processing fee will be $1199 CAD. An offence is considered to be non-serious if the equivalent Canadian law is punishable by less than 10 years. If the equivalent Canadian law is punishable by more than 10 years, including most felonies, it is considered a serious crime.
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