DUI affecting your Immigration Status

Driving under influence of alcohol or drugs is considered to be a serious offence as far as immigration status is concerned. This can also make it difficult to enter Canada if a person has already been convicted of this offence. Past criminal records or criminal conduct are valid grounds for denial of entry to Canada. This affects immigration status adversely.

However, there are options for a person to enter into Canada temporarily or to become admissible again. A Temporary Resident Permit visa can be considered under such circumstances. There are certain parameters that are certainly required to be complied for this visa and hence there is no surety of issuance of this type of visa.

DUI offence is now classified as serious criminality and this may have an impact on employers who need their newly hired employees to work in Canada under short notice. Accordingly, when hiring a foreign national, the employer should find out when the DUI offence occurred because this will determine whether or not the foreign national will be eligible to apply for a Work Permit and TRP at the port-of-entry.

Criminal inadmissibility can be overcome permanently by Criminal Rehabilitation or temporarily by obtaining a Temporary Resident Permit.

If an inadmissible person’s entry into Canada is deemed to be “justified in the circumstances”, they can be granted a TRP and allowed to enter Canada for a limited time.

A temporary resident permit will have a validity period of between one day and three years depending on the specific circumstances of the person applying for the temporary resident permit.