Hi,
I'm taking a trip with some friends, and one person has a misdemeanor DUI. We are going to Germany and then on to Romania. Does anyone know if they refuse entry for that (like Canada does, that is a well known fact! :) )
Any info is much appreciated!
Thanks!!!
And who's gonna tell the German immigration officer?
yea, not sure...that's why I'm asking..maybe there is no issue but I wanted to check to see if anyone had any experience with this or knows for sure...
As Roberto says, how would they know? Unless it is stamped on your passport. You are not asked to make a declaration.
Yes, they can refuse entry for a criminal record, but unless someone tells them they wouldn't know.
German or Romanian immigraton officers would not have online access to your home country's crminal records (is it even online?).
A real problem could be if you want to rent a car. The car hire company would ask to see your licence, and often aks you to declare convictions. If yu have a drink drive conviction, they may refuse you.
Honestly curious - how does Canada know? Is there a shared US/Canada database or do they require a declaration?
Ah, Mira, we have our little ways .....
Mira, yes
I don't know how Canada knows but we were on a family drive vacation. We were going to do the Canadian Niagara Falls and onward to Toronto. At the border I handed all of our passports to the border patrol and after they looked at them they asked us to park the car and come inside. After about 10 minutes they asked my husband to come to a different counter and told him he was not allowed entry since he had a DUI. That had been well over 10 years ago. We had to take him to an airport and the rest of the family continued on with our vacation.
Canada and the US share all kinds of data bases.
k19, I note you say you "were on a family drive vacation". Were the Canadians banning you totally, or just saying you could not drive in Canada? I imagine many other countries would ban you from driving, if they knew.
Immigration in European countries is not online to the US criminal records. Schengen countries are not even online to each other; it is being discussed, but there are the usual issues of privacy and data security. When you enter or leave it is not recorded centrally, that is why they have to check passport stamps to enforce the 90 day limit.
If Canada denies entry to people who have DUI convictions in other countries, what do they do with their own people who get DUIs? Surely they don't kick them out. Is there a statute of limitations for how long it must be before you can be admitted to Canada, or are you now and forever banned? I'm genuinely curious.
This has come up once or twice on another forum (not specifically travel-related) that I frequent. Plenty of people are unable to get into Canada. I think for at least certain types of offenses, after a certain amount of time, you can go through some sort of procedure and possibly be permitted entry to Canada.
This Canadian government web page indicates that "You have been convicted of a crime, or you have committed an act outside Canada that would be a crime" is one of several reasons why they may not let a person into the country.
Uh - the US will also not let in Canadians who have a DUI...my mother-in-laws care giver was driving to Mass to visit her ailing mom and her husband has a DUI - they wouldn't let him over the border. They had to come home and she ended up flying down on her own. I'm not 100% sure how long ago it was, but I think at least 5-10 years ago that he got the DUI (she tried going down earlier this year)...maybe a little longer, so it is reciprocated...and no, we def don't want to become part of the US...
...and I know this is slightly off topic and will prob get deleted, but also know Canada won't let you in if you try to bring in undeclared guns/weapons...
"Yarberry, a retired teacher and home inspector, told the agent he had left his gun at his hotel in Calais, Maine, for a day trip to New Brunswick. A secondary search of his van, though, found a Glock handgun in a holster under his seat, its magazine loaded but the chamber empty, said Thorn.
Falvey arrived a few hours later, also denying he was carrying weapons in his motor home. On secondary inspection, an agent found five cans of pepper spray, four stun guns and a handgun under his bed. Asked about the gun, Falvey asked if that was the one under his sink, so the agents found and seized that gun too.
Both men pleaded guilty to failing to declare weapons and making false statements.
Thorn told Judge Alfred Brien that since June, about one American a week has appeared in court in New Brunswick for bringing guns across the border and misleading agents about it."
Hi all:
I live in Seattle and drive into Canada on a sporadic basis. Consequently, I follow what is going on with regard to DUI and border crossings.
First, barring DUIs from entering is not limited to people entering by car. There is a ferry service from Seattle to Victoria. The local newspaper quoted a border control officer that maybe once a month someone travelling by ferry is barred from entering. They will let the person stay in Canada until the next ferry back to Seattle leaves.
The USA and Canada do share databases for purposes of border control. Not too long ago a group of us - strangers to each other who happen to be members of a social group - stopped at the border to go through border control. We were asked collectively if anyone was bringing a weapon into the country. Nope. Then she pointed at me and asked if I was bringing a firearm into the country. I was the only person asked.this question. I surmise that I was addressed because my file would indicate that I have a concealed pistol permit issued by the Seattle Police Department. Of course I wasn't bringing a firearm into Canada.
Now this part gets a bit murky: Canada does not allow entry of anyone convicted of a felony, and DUI is considered to be a felony in that country. Hence, no entry. However, I have heard that they do not allow DUIs into the country because they know that that person will be denied entry back into the USA. They do not want to be stuck with that person. So I can understand why a DUI might be denied entry into the USA which was the experience of someone else contributing to this forum.
However, I have heard that they do not allow DUIs into the country because they know that that person will be denied entry back into the USA. They do not want to be stuck with that person. So I can understand why a DUI might be denied entry into the USA which was the experience of someone else contributing to this forum.
But, surely the US authorities cannot refuse to let a US citizen back into the US (fundamental human rights)? And the Canadian authorities can't legally refuse to let a Canadian citizen into Canada, no matter what offences (s)he has committed.
So the only persons they could be "stuck with" are third country citizens. Or am I missing something?
When you enter or leave it is not recorded centrally, that is why they
have to check passport stamps to enforce the 90 day limit.
Dunno know about that. On a couple of occasions my entry stamp into a Schengen country has been illegible, and the when exiting Schengen in route to the US, they have been able to look up my entry data on their computers.
Also, when at US immigration returning from Europe I'm often asked if I'm the "Michael Schneider who has warrants in Germany for domestic battery" after my passport is scanned. So there is some sort of shared database across the pond.
Thanks all for all the responses...it sounds like we should be ok then in Europe--Romania and Germany....good thing we are NOT traveling to Canada!! ;)
they have been able to look up my entry data on their computers.
Please explain how I can look up my Schengen entry and exit data online? What is the internet address?
Also, when at US immigration returning from Europe I'm often asked if I'm the "Michael Schneider who has warrants in Germany for domestic battery"
"Domestic Battery" is US legal terminology. How come you have a warrant in Germany for something that is a US offence?
How come you have a warrant in Germany
I don't have a warrant for anything:) I'm paraphrasing; obviously someone with the same name. Simply saying "no" was all that sufficed to let me be on my way.
Please explain how I can look up my Schengen entry and exit data
online? What is the internet address?
I'm unaware of any possible way. The immigration dude was likely using some sort of internal network.
Thanks all for all the responses...it sounds like we should be ok then
in Europe-
I wouldn't chance it. Call the German Consulate nearest where you live and ask. Should take no more than fifteen minutes:
Please explain how I can look up my Schengen entry and exit data online? What is the internet address?
I don't think that data base is on the internet, but when the immigration officer scans the bar code on your passport or passes it over the RFID chip reader, a record goes into some kind of data base that you are entering or exiting, and if your name is on any kind of bad-guy list.
And I really don't think it is necessary to call the German consulate about entry. Germany is not Canada. Trust me, that is not what they care about. I did hear that President George W. Bush had to get special permission for a state visit to Canada because of his past conviction.
Nancy, in her response to my comment, is correct. I was confusing the DUI issue with the issue regarding a passport. The issue that I had in mind but garbled is: you can, back in 2010 and maybe even now, enter Canada without a passport. All you need is a birth certificate and photo ID. However, when you return to the USA you will need a passport. Consequently, the Canadians want to see your passport before they let you in their country because they don't want you there as you try to reenter the USA.
I didn't say anything about passports, I only asked if there is a statue of limitations regarding how long they would keep you out for a DUI. But something Chris said makes me wonder something else: if a Canadian citizen were to come to the US and get a DUI, they would have to let them back into Canada, wouldn't they, even if it breaks their own rule? (Same for the US ban.)
Not wishing to stray off the original topic and belabor the issue of going into Canada anyone who is still interested in the topic should read the following web site that is prepared by immigration attorneys:
http://www.canadaduientrylaw.com/
Among other things it says that you can be denied entry to Canada if you are a rap singer who associates with gangs.
There is a process by which people who have been denied entry for DWI/DUI can regain the right to enter the country.
I had a DUI in New York about 14 years ago. I had to drive friends from out of state to Toronto about 7 years ago. I had no problem entering Canada when I presented my passport. So maybe there is a statute of limitations.
