immigration restrictions in european countries - HELP

I doubt you'll have trouble, those countries are all famous for drinking!

Not sure, are you on probation and allowed by your PO to leave country?

I have no restrictions whatsoever on travel WITHIN the US, I have no PO to report to. I was more concerned about something coming up on the screen in Ireland or Germany, and having them bar entry as a result.

I know Canada is barring entry for DUI. Never heard about any other country doing it.

Bernie, I'm not an expert on the laws in the U.S., but my initial impression is that as your offence was a misdemeanor, you should be able to travel in Europe. Perhaps you could speak with a Lawyer to get some idea. You could also check the "official" websites for all the countries you plan to visit to determine if there are any entry restrictions. Although I live in Canada, I wasn't aware that we were restricting access to those with DUI convictions. I'll have to check into that further. Good luck!

Thanks to Ilja, Richard, Gail and Ken... Yes, it is a misdemeanor OVI. I have served my driver's license suspension, but the "probation" hangs on for another 10 months. I have no restrictions and I have no reporting assigments to a probation officer. From most of the posts I have read, at several different sites, it looks like it should not be a problem, but it would be nice to hear from someone who knows defivitively. Thanks again to all.

Good luck to you. Whatever you find out you might post so you can help someone else.

For the definitive answer....call the embassies, consulates or tourist bureaus of the countries you want to visit. Instead of getting it from someone here, get it officially.

Bernie, In the Penalty Grid for OVI convictions ( www.ohiodui.pro/ ) I assume your offense was in the first box as a "First Conviction / Misdemeanor"? If you go to the bottom of the page to the grey box titled Quick Answers to Random Ohio Drunk Driving Questions, it appears that even with a first conviction you will not be allowed into Canada for a period of 10-years. I believe CBSA officers have access to the NCIC / FBI computer database (not sure whether Misdemeanor information would be included in that?). Unfortunately, that doesn't help with your questions about travelling in Europe. As I mentioned previously, checking the websites for each of the countries for "entry restrictions" would be a good start, and would be a more discreet way of getting some information. A more definite way would be to contact the various Embassies as Frank II suggested. You might find it informative to read www.yelp.com/topic/chicago-dui-travel-to-europe (especially the last post). It's a few years old, but generally covers the topic you're asking about. Good luck!

Ken - I don't think it matters if the crime was a misdemeanor or felony in the USA, but what it would be the entering country. E.g. what is misdemeanor DUI in the USA is a felony in Canada and that is Canada's justification for barring entry. But I agree with those who say contact the respective countries embassies. It would not shock me if they let you come to the country but prohibit you from renting or driving a car.

This is a complete non-issue. There is no national database and not all states share this information. That a foreign country would be able to get this information or a rental company would be doing background checks is absurd. I just find it amusing that the OP is visiting countries that are all famous for drinking. Go tribe!
(Cleveland baseball reference from this former East sider)

Richard while those countries do have a rich drinking culture. Europe and most of the world treats drunk driving as a very serious crime and not as joke like we do in the US. With an increase concern for terrorism more and more countries are doing random background checks. Lying to a border control agent about past criminal convictions is a serious crime that is likely to get the attention of the anti-terrorism units. Bernie I would highly suggest you contact the embassies of the countries you wish to visit and ignore the horrible advice offered by Richard. Following Richard's advice if you were going to Canada could very well result in a lengthy jail sentence. And odds are the Canadian border agent would have the info. I have no idea about the countries you listed.

Ed,
Since you don't really know anything more on the subject than I do we are both offering horrible advice and he should be talking to a lawyer and not us. When would an opportunity to lie to a border control agent ever come up on a trip to Europe? Lengthy jail sentence in Canada? I think they just wouldn't let you in the country. Now you are just making stuff up to support your position. You want legal advice, ask a lawyer, don't post on forums.

Richard I am very very familiar with the laws of this regarding Canada, so I unlike you am not make stuff up. I just don't know if my knowledge is applicable to those countries. If you are honest with border control of Canada they won't let you in. If you lie to them the consequences are worse. My advice was contact the embassies. Contacting an atty knowldgeable in this area would be sound advice as well, but more expensive. Your advice was to ignore the possible consequences. They are not comparable. There is nothing wrong with Bernie asking for advice here. There is something seriously wrong with YOU offering advice that he should just laugh this off b/c these countries have a drinking culture.

Ladies, Gentlemen - Please, let's keep it civil and constructive! I took the advice offered early on, and I started contacting embassies. Germany said they knew of no one being turned away for a misdemeanor DUI, and I have not been able to get an answer from UK countries yet. I asked the question on this forum because I assumed there would be someone out there with first-hand experience Thank you all for your helpful and amusing responses. It was worth the effort. Peace!

Maybe I am overlooking something, but wouldn't this only be an issue in the arrival country - since there are no border/passport checks as you travel around among the Schengen countries. I would think you would only need to worry about the laws of, say Germany, if you flew into Frankfurt.

Bernie Thanks for responding to my new question and directing me toward your ongoing thread. We are flying into Zurich so I'm focusing my attention on Switzerland. I've been researching this for several days and am getting pretty frustrated with how difficult it is to get a simple answer. I've scoured the swiss consulate website and come up empty. I've talked to two different people at the swiss consulate, one in tourism and one the visa dept. Both told me they don't know the answer and didn't have any recommendations on how to find out. I aslo have several outstanding emails to the Swiss consulate. In contrast, I called the dutch consulate and and got an immediate answer that its not a problem. They couldn't say anything about other Shengen countries and suggested I call the other individual consulates. Overall, I think it should be fine. I've called two travel agents and both said they have never heard of a problem. Also, in all my internet searches I have not found a single case of any body being turned back in Europe. I'd just like to hear it straight from the Swiss Cosulate.

I suppose it's not practical to change your flight to one that lands in Amsterdam??

You won't have any problem with this, especially a misdemeanor offense. I have no basis for this other than a common sense judgement. If it were a problem, there would be accounts all over the Internet and the consulates would not have trouble answering.

Just heard back from Switzerland. They said no problem with entry to the country unless the US enters that information into an international data base which I don't think it does. I'm pretty sure this will apply to all the European countries.