DUI Entrance Question...AGAIN (sorry)

[MuskyBrian]

Alright guys, not to bring up a subject that is already been beaten to death, but I now find myself in this predicament. I have a trip planned for the 13th of August, one member of our group of 4 received a DUI a little over a year ago. It seems he was given probation, never lost his liscence, and claims it is now off of his record.

My question is.....assuming they do stop and check us, is there a chance this will not even show up as he claims?

Also, if he was to use his birth certificate as opposed to his Drivers Lisc., would that help our chances?

ALso, this temperory permit thing for 200$, is that almost automatic to get at the border as our worst case scenario??

Again, sorry to ask the same questions, but It seems difficult to get a concrete answer on this topic. I am very much looking forward to our trip, and this is the only dark cloud hovering above us. This man needs to get across the border!!

[hanson]

MuskyBrian-

You better have a good talk with your buddy about what exactly his citation was. DWI is not like a traffic ticket you pay and forget about.

I'm embarassed and deeply regret getting one myself, very recently. Yes you are arrested and have to go to court. After going through this entire process, I know EXACTLY what my penalties are and EXACTLY what is on my permanent record. I also know EXACTLY what will happen to me if I reoffend or violate probation. I think you really need to check with your friend again.

The NOT losing his license part has me puzzled. If you are arrested for DWI, you WILL lose your license for a number of days. Its just a given, its built into the system. If he plead guilty to a 1st offense DWI, he would have lost it for 30 days. If it was pleaded to Careless Driving, he would have lost it for 90 days. That is even in the MN Drivers Manual. Was this violation in MN?

Perhaps he was able to plead his case down to a careless driving charge. In that case, he is probably good to go across the border.

As far as the border crossing goes, I haven't attempted it yet. I'm not sure if the $200 CDN is worth it for me to go across, especially considering all the other great places I can go in MN and the rest of the states. (What I'm saying here is Canada is losing out on my tourism dollars because of this law)

As far as paying at the border for the TRP, I wouldn't count on it being smooth, especially if it is on the weekend or during a busy time. They might not even have the appropriate staff working to take care of that when you cross. Best bet is to complete the paperwork and get the TRP ahead of time or you guys might not be having a fun trip.

Please let us know your experiences when you go, it might help me out with some of my decisions to go back up there.

[Hemlock]

Hanson, sorry to hear about your very recent encounter. It does suck. Musky Brian, I think Hanson has said it fairly well. What exactly did your buddy get? I worked in the county jail in Crookston for two years, and when people come back from court, they have court papers in their hand that states exactly what they plead guilty to (or plead not guilty to) and if they did plead guilty, what kind of penalty/probation, etc..did they get. I'm sure you trust your friend, so just get the bottom line from him.

Canada does lose out on tourism dollars for every DUI offender they turn around. I guess trying to look at it optimistically, Canada is safer for not allowing felons.

"Disclaimer" Canada does not allow convicted felons across the border. DUI is a felony in Canada. I hope for every DUI they turn around, they have stopped 50 sex offenders, 50 drug offenders, murderers, etc...

Anyways, lets get back to fishing!

[fishyguy]

Musky,

We just went up there with one in our group that had one 3 years ago. He was fully prepared to hop a Greyhound home if turned around. We laid that out there up front if he was going to join us. We pulled up, they asked for our licences, and the standard questions about tobacco, drugs, guns, etc... They then had us stop and checked our vehicle and boat. It seemed they were looking for mainly our liquor count. They then sent us on our way. My guess is they did not run the licenses but only verified identity which allowed our friend to get through.

I know this does not solve your issue but I thought our experience might help.

Good Luck

[Hemlock]

I've said this before, and I'll say it again...there are many stories much like fishguy's, including my close friends and families. Of the 15 experiences I've had with friends/family that are in this situation that have tried to cross into Canada, they've all gotten in. Never rule out the Greyhound, though.

[MuskyBrian]

Thanks for the replies. To be honest, despite the fact this rule is in effect I have actually never talked to a person who has been turned away for this? Do you guys actually know anyone they have sent home??

I'm figuring the chances of getting through are greater then not getting through, it's just a worry I wish we didn't have. This offense by the way took place in IL, not MN. I will hammer down on him again to see EXACTLY what he got, and I will definetely post our experience as an example to others when we return.

[Hemlock]

I have no first hand experiences of anyone being turned around. I've read a couple posts here on FM about their sour experiences. Good luck!

[BruthaJed]

Howdy!

I have mentioned my experience on this site before and I will mention my experience again...

I received my DWI 20 years ago and we went into Canada last year. When we arrived at the border, they told us to get out of the camper and check in inside with the people behind the counter. Our group consisted of 6 people. The gal (or I should say moose)asked us a series of questions and took each of our licenses to run a check. One of the questions was have I ever been charged with a felony. I said no, thinking they only cared about the most recent 5 or 10 years, which is something I thought I had read somewhere. Anyway, after she dissapeared to run our licenses, she came back and called out my last name. I went to the counter and she asked if I understood the questions she asked me and I said yes. Then she asked why I didn't tell her about the DWI that was on my record from 20 years ago. i told her that I thought they were only concerned with the last 5 or 10 years and she went off on me. She got loud. She asked "What part of the question - Have you ever been charged with a felony before - don't you understand. Then she started to accuse me of not respecting the border patrol. She summed it up by saying that the only reason she is letting me in is because she wanted me to babysit the other 5 ugly guys that were with me. (just kidding Glenn) Actuall she said it was only because there were 5 other guys waiting and I said C-U-Bye! and we were gone. What did I learn from that? I have been told that if you do have a DUI, call the border to find out where you get the proper paper work to fill out that pertains to your DUI. Once that paper is filled out and faxed back you will get documentation that will allow the DUI person to cross, although there will probably be a price tag behind it. That is all I know and i think they reat everyone different. All they ask for is the truth. Good luck fishing and knock a few back for me too!

[snowgoose]

Brian

If your buddy is not sure of his record he can go to the Police station and have them print out his record for $5.00. That might help you have some piece of mind.

If he does have a DWI within the past 5 years. He is not permitted to go into Canada.

The $200.00 thing you talked about is a application for rehabilation. You can only do that after your 5 years of waiting is up. It is good until the 10th year when he will be accepted into canada again with out the papwerwork. I know. I had to do it.

You need to check with the border crossing that you are going to use to see if a Immagration Officer will be on duty at the time you plan to cross. They are the only ones that can approve your application and accept your payment of $200.00

Good luck to your friend. It is not a fun process.

I called ahead 2 months in advance and they faxed me the paperwork I needed to fill out. I faxed it back to them along with a written statemnet on how I had been rehabilitated (sp). They then contacted me and let me know that my application had been approved and I needed to come to the border to have my picture taken and pay my money in person.

I did all of this at the Emerson border crossing. They were very nice to deal with. They have a job to do and they do it well.

I will admit that I did go to cananda every year that was less than 5 years. I have a Canandian PAL card that I use for hunting. they accepted that as my ID. In order to have a PAL card your record is suppost to have been checked already. I guess I slipped through the cracks. I did get my PAL card when they first came out. I don't think they checked everyone that first year.

Hope this helps.

Todd

[dirtking]

Actually if your DWI is less than 5 years old you need to apply for the "Temporary Resident Permit” This is for a single entry or for a limited period, however. After 5 years has passed then you apply for the "Approval of Rehabilitation"

Here is your link - explains things pretty well - plus tells you how to go about the process http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/can-am/detroit/visas/inadmissible-en.asp

I do know one person that was turned away. Hid did have a lengthy rap sheet, however. They let the guy he was traveling with in - he lied and told them the DWI on his record was really a minor consumption and he was never charged with a DWI - they told him if he ever came back he needed to bring court documents with.

I have a co-worker that crosses the border a couple of times a year - He has a DWI but uses his passport - he has never been hassled at all.

[hanson]

Quote:

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This offense by the way took place in IL, not MN.

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He might very well have gotten it dropped. Every state is a little different with how they apply the law.

By the way, Minnesota will be the last state to adopt .08 effective August 1. Be careful everybody. It does not take many beers to get yourself above .08.

Quote:

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I have a co-worker that crosses the border a couple of times a year - He has a DWI but uses his passport - he has never been hassled at all.

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Hmmm... I haven't used my passport in a few years. Might have to try that one. I don't have many reasons to head up to Canada other than to go fish at Cats on the Red. This was the year I was going to go until things came crumbling apart.

[Warbucks]

It will make no difference if you give them a pass port or a drivers license. I gave them my pass port only. They went inside and came back with my 14 year old violation. Be straight up with them, you can't fool these guys.

[TeamGriz]

Can anyone steer me in the right direction for more info on what to do (the leagle way) to get in if the offense was more than 5 years ago.

any help would be great

[MuskyBrian]

I just thought I would update anyone curious on this issue. As I said earlier, the person I was traveling with had a DUI aproximately a year and a half ago but thought it may be off his record...We crossed the border on a Friday night around 10 PM, we were stopped, they did a backround check in the facility. As my nerves started cranking, 5 minutes later we were handed our ID's and they did a very quick search on the vehicle, and we got in. I am sure there are different variables to each situation, but this one was a success.

P.S....we also got stopped coming back into the states, that it twice this year already when I have never been stopped once in previous times.

[knoppers]

have been to canada every year for the last 15 years, and this year they checked our ID's for the first time.

I hade two DUI's 18 years ago, and I had to pay 200 bucks (canadian) to cross the border. then they give me some paper work saying to send it in to get my record cleared, but for another 200 bucks! Its got nothing to do with my bad past record, and everything to do with getting money from us, period. If I was a risk to drivers in canada (which I was not even driving), how does paying 200 bucks protect poeple, I already payed my fines for my stupidity 18 years ago.

they gave me a tempory resident pass, would that make me a resident, so I can bye a resident fishing license?

the resort owners are very unhappy with there goverments actions on this one.

the fishing is great here in minnesota, so screw them, they are not getting anymore of my money, good bye canada. Its not bad enough they stop the spring bear hunt, now they find other ways to screw there resort owners.