We often get asked, can a Canadian cross the border with a DUI? In most cases, entering the US with a DUI is possible without the need of a special Entry Waiver. Impaired driving (DUI) is the act of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. It is illegal in Canada to drive with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) in excess of 80 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood and is punishable under multiple offences in the Criminal Code of Canada. It is also illegal to refuse a breathalyzer test. Driving under the influence (DUI), also referred to as driving while intoxicated (DWI), is the most common crime committed in Canada with more than 90 thousand incidents each year.
If you are one of the many Canadians who has made a mistake in life and ended up with a DUI, you will be happy to know that it is one of the few crimes that does not affect your admissibility to the United States. Although Americans with a DUI conviction typically cannot enter Canada without special permission, Canadians can still enter USA with a DUI. Even if your DWI involved property damage or personal injury, or if you have multiple drunk driving charges on your record, you will usually still be eligible to travel south of the border. Normally having two or more summary convictions would disqualify an individual from being eligible to travel to USA, but DUIs are explicitly excluded from counting towards this rule. If you have any other criminal history, however, even if the conviction took place decades ago, chances are you will be deemed inadmissible to the United States and will need a US Entry Waiver to travel there.
As of December 2018, drunk driving in Canada can be an indictable offence punishable by up to ten years in prison. Even if a Canadian spent time in jail for a DUI in Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia, Alberta, or another area of the country, their conviction will usually not be problematic when driving or flying to the United States. Similar to driving after drinking alcohol, driving under the influence of drugs including marijuana can lead to a criminal record in Canada. As long as the individual was not charged with possession of a controlled substance, however, a drug DUI alone should not prevent a Canadian from visiting America (no need for a USA Travel Waiver).
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