Heading to Canada? You Better Have a Clean Record.
Travel Blog • Jim Benning • 02.23.07 | 12:31 PM ET
That’s because Canadian immigration officials have been turning away U.S. citizens with even minor criminal records, including a California man on a ski trip to Whistler who had been convicted of marijuana possession—in 1975. “Welcome to the new world of border security,” writes C.W. Nevius in today’s San Francisco Chronicle. “Unsuspecting Americans are turning up at the Canadian border expecting clear sailing, only to find that their past—sometimes their distant past—is suddenly an issue. While Canada officially has barred travelers convicted of criminal offenses for years, attorneys say post-9/11 information-gathering, combined with a sweeping agreement between Canada and the United States to share data, has resulted in a spike in phone calls from concerned travelers. They are shocked to hear that the sins of their youth might keep them out of Canada. But what they don’t know is that this is just the beginning. Soon other nations will be able to look into your past when you want to travel there.” Creepy.
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Jim Benning is the cofounder and coeditor of World Hum.
Andy 05.06.07 | 3:56 PM ET
40 years ago I screwed up. Here I am at 70 and I can not go to my neice’s wedding. That is lunacy. How much of a danger am I to them. This world we live in is just going crazy. I have been there many times in the past. I guess I was just lucky.
California 06.01.07 | 6:28 AM ET
I plan on moving to Canada to become a Canadian citizen. I don’t have a criminal record of any kind. I’ve never been convicted or anything. But what if I participated in an anti-war march in Hollywood organized by A.N.S.W.E.R., who many people suspect of being a front for Al Queda? At the time I didn’t know and just thought it was a general anti-war march. I’ve caught some independent media attention, not a lot, but just some when I exposed neo nazi types in a Minuteman group. My name was out and known and I’ve posted on Indymedia, a news forum that could be on a terror watch list for all I know. Will Canada immigration officials look at this stuff and turn me away?
John Hopkinson 06.18.07 | 7:34 PM ET
Well Andy,how about that. Sorry that you were turned away. But surely you are aware that Canadians have suffered this same indignity in the other direction?
You dummies started it!
California: just call the Canadian consulate!! Explain your case. And ask someone on the street in LA. You have a 10% chance of talking to a Canadian.
Marie Lee 11.30.07 | 3:36 PM ET
I myself made a mistake when I was younger. I live in Seattle and travel to Canada religiously—well, at least I used to until it became economically inefficient with the Canadian dollar costing more than the U.S. dollar. When I heard about the random boarder checks and people being turned away I had my record expunged. If you only have a minor conviction or two, you will probably qualify for an expungment. You can get all your records sealed and the legally answer that you have nothing on your record. I had an attorney help me, but you can expunge yourself. Just leave yourself plenty of time before traveling. This article can help you get started:
http://recordgone.com/articles/entering_canada_criminal_record.htm