Inadmissibility Visiting Canada
Can I Go to Canada With a Felony or Criminal Record?
Canada is a popular destination for many Americans, whether for business meetings, tourism, or family visits. While visiting Canada can be as easy as driving across the border, travelers with a criminal record or felony conviction may face serious complications.
Criminal records, including U.S. felonies, are carefully reviewed by Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) officers. If your criminal history makes you inadmissible, you can be denied entry at the border. This outcome is often avoidable by understanding Canada’s inadmissibility rules and applying for the proper permit in advance.
What Crimes Make Me Inadmissible to Canada?
Any foreign offence committed outside Canada, including a felony that has a Canadian legal equivalent can make you criminally inadmissible. This includes misdemeanors and felonies from the United States.
A legal equivalency check is required to determine how your U.S. offence would be classified under Canadian law. If the equivalent offence is categorized as indictable or hybrid, you will likely be denied entry. Most U.S. felonies have Canadian equivalents that fall into these serious categories.
Understanding Canadian Criminal Classifications:
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:
- Summary offences
- Indictable offences
- Hybrid offences
What Is a Summary Offence?
Summary offences are less serious crimes, punishable by a maximum of two years in jail. A single summary offence will generally not make you inadmissible to Canada.
What Is an Indictable Offence?
An indictable offence is similar to a felony in the United States. These are serious crimes punishable by up to life imprisonment in Canada. A single indictable offence, including a U.S. felony equivalent, can make you criminally inadmissible.
What Is a Hybrid Offence?
Hybrid offences can be prosecuted as either summary or indictable, depending on the circumstances. However, for immigration purposes, hybrid offences are always treated as indictable offences.
This means that even if your U.S. offence was a misdemeanor, or your felony was reduced, it may still be treated as serious criminality in Canada.
Common Felonies/Offences That Make You Inadmissible to Canada
- Driving Offences: Driving Under the Influence (DUI), Driving While Intoxicated (DWI), Operating While Intoxicated (OWI), Operating Under the Influence (OUI), Driving While Ability Impaired (DWAI), reckless driving, reckless operation.
- Drug offences: Drug trafficking, drug cultivation, Possession of a controlled substance. drug possession with intent to sell, manufacturing drugs
- Fraud offences: Identity Theft, Grand theft, Fraud, Embezzlement, Forgery, Wire Fraud
- Other criminal offences: Battery and Assault
Determine whether or not you are considered criminally inadmissible in Are You Criminally Inadmissible to Canada? Or read more about entering Canada with a DUI.
How Does Canada Know About My Felony or Criminal Record?
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.
The United States and Canada share criminal history information for immigration screening purposes. When you attempt to enter Canada, Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) officers screen your passport and access U.S. criminal databases, including the FBI’s National Crime Information Center (NCIC), which details all past or current charges they have faced in the United States. CBSA officers use this information to assess whether you are criminally inadmissible, determined on a case-by-case basis.
What Can I Do If I Am Inadmissible to Canada?
If you are inadmissible due to a criminal record or felony conviction, there are legal options available depending on your situation, the seriousness of the offence, and how much time has passed. One of the following legal options may be available to you:
1.Temporary Resident Permit (TRP)
TRP is an issued document that allows people who are otherwise criminally inadmissible to visit the country temporarily. You must successfully demonstrate a pressing need to enter Canada that outweighs the risks of letting you into the country. This is a temporary permit, and only allows you to stay in the country for a short and specific period of time.
There are two ways to apply for a TRP, each with their respective processing time, risk of rejection, and way of applying. You can apply directly at the Canadian port of entry, where the CBSA officer could immediately provide you with a TRP, but this method has high risk factors as you will face stricter scrutiny and will have to turn back if denied.
You can also mail a physical application to the Canadian consulate. This application method will take approximately 4-8 months to process, and is ideal for planned travelling that you can not afford to be turned away from. There is lower risk of rejection if the documents are all prepared correctly.
Read in more detail about the application process in Temporary Resident Permit (TRP)
2.Criminal Rehabilitation
If you have a non-serious offence(s) on your criminal record and it has been five (5) years since the completion of your most recent sentencing you qualify to apply for a criminal rehabilitation. A non-serious offence means an offence that if committed in Canada, would be punishable by a maximum prison term of less than 10 years.
If you have a serious offence(s) on your criminal record and five (5) years have passed since the completion of your most recent sentencing, you qualify to apply for a criminal rehabilitation. A serious offence means an offence that if committed in Canada, would be punishable by a maximum prison term of 10 years or more.
Criminal rehabilitation, if approved, would grant a permanent solution to criminal inadmissibility and allow you to be deemed no longer inadmissible to Canada and offer smooth travel until you are charged or convicted of another offense. Applying for a criminal rehabilitation is a lengthy and meticulous process that needs to be complete and accurate.
Read more about eligibility and the application process in Criminal Rehabilitation (CR)
3.Deemed rehabilitation
Deemed rehabilitation is a unique status, an automatic process that can make you admissible to Canada again after ten years has passed since finishing your sentence if you have committed a single non-serious crime. There is no application process once eligible, but it is not a guaranteed entry pass. CBSA officers always hold the final decision and it is recommended to carry a legal opinion letter for your first time crossing the border after being deemed rehabilitated.
Read more about the process and eligibility to be deemed rehabilitated.
4.Legal Opinion Letter
A legal opinion letter is a letter drafted by an immigration lawyer to explain your unique case to the CBSA officer and justify why you should not be considered inadmissible to Canada.
A legal opinion letter can help you if you:
- Have a currently pending charge
- Are crossing the border for the first time as deemed rehabilitated
- Have a non-conviction(s) on your record such as a dismissed charge, expunged record, deferred imposition, or a pre-trial diversion.
An immigration lawyer can assess your records and ensure that you should not be considered inadmissible. However, if a CBSA officer is not provided with a clear organization of your criminal history, you could still be denied entry.
Read more about legal opinion letters or contact a lawyer to get your criminality assessed right away.
Is a DUI a felony in Canada?
If your DUI was classified as a felony due to injury, death, repeat offences, or other aggravating factors, you will be inadmissible and will require a TRP or Criminal Rehabilitation to enter Canada.
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.
Does felony DUI make me inadmissible to Canada?
If your DUI offence was classified as a felony in the US, because it involved:
- Serious injury or death
- Repeated offence
- Other aggravating factors
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.
Contact Us
A felony or criminal record does not automatically mean you can never enter Canada but attempting to cross the border without preparation often leads to denial. Understanding how Canada views U.S. felonies and taking the proper legal steps in advance is essential.
For a full assessment of your criminal history and guidance on the best path forward, contact an experienced Canadian immigration professional before planning your trip.
Contact us for assistanceFrequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Can I go to Canada with a criminal record or felony if I am just visiting?
Yea, but not without the proper paperwork. Even if you are only planning a short visit, having a criminal record or felony will make you criminally inadmissible to Canada. You must go through the proper application process and obtain the appropriate permit or document in order to enter Canadian grounds. Otherwise, you could be turned away at the border.
Can I enter Canada for a family emergency or special reason?
If you have a criminal record and urgently need to enter Canada due to an emergency with short notice, you will still need to go through the proper process. In urgent cases, you may apply for a temporary resident permit at the port of entry (border). While this approach is riskier than applying in advance to the consulate, CBSA may allow it in genuine emergencies. You will need to bring all necessary documents, including court records and proof of emergency.
What is the fastest way to get into Canada with a criminal record?
The fastest way to get into Canada with a criminal history depends on several factors such as date you were convicted, severity of the crime, and number of charges on your record. A Temporary Resident Permit (TRP) at the port of entry would allow you to enter the country on the same day if approved. Approval for same-day entry is usually only reserved for emergency entries and urgent family matters. For non-urgent travel, applying in advance for a TRP or CR and consulting an experienced immigration lawyer to assess your criminality is most recommended.
Can I drive to Canada with a felony?
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.
Can I be deemed rehabilitated as a felon?
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).
How long after a felony can I enter Canada?
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.
How much is it to apply for a TRP with a felony?
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.
How much is it to apply for Criminal Rehabilitation with a felony?
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.
Will I be stopped at the Canadian border if I have a criminal record?
Yes, if you have a criminal record that is visible to the CBSA officer, you will be flagged and pulled aside for screening. CBSA officers will do a thorough investigation and determine your admissibility on a case-by-case basis depending on factors such as circumstance and severity of the offence.
Will I be stopped at the Canadian airport if I have a criminal record?
Yes, when you arrive at a Canadian airport and go through customs, the customs officer will investigate your record and screen you further. If you are deemed inadmissible by the officer due to not having the appropriate permits, you will be denied entry and must take the first flight back to the U.S. at your expense.
Can I go to Canada if my record was expunged or pardoned?
If you have a non-conviction such as an expunction or a pardon on your record, you may still be admissible to Canada. However, each criminal history is different and an experienced immigration lawyer would need to do a detailed assessment of your records to be able to determine your admissibility. Please note that if the officer believes that there still is a risk in letting you enter Canada regardless of the absence of a conviction, it is in their authority to turn you away.
Do I need a lawyer to visit Canada with a criminal record or felony?
Hiring a lawyer can significantly lower your chances of denial and delay in your visit to Canada. An experienced immigration lawyer would be able to assess your criminality, determine your eligibility and prepare a strong application with the appropriate and accurate information. 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.