Thinking of visiting Canada? There's a good chance you won't be allowed in.

[k4kyv]

My daughter's boyfriend was recently refused entry into Canada because of an underage drinking charge 5 years ago when he was 19.  This is even more ridiculous, considering that age 19 is already legal drinking age in Canada, and he was 24 when refused entry.

Two U.S. peace activists were denied entry into Canada after their names appeared on an FBI criminal database that the Canadian government is using at its borders.

The information comes from an FBI database called NCIC or National Crime Information Center. This database was created to assist U.S. law enforcement agencies in finding fugitives, convicted sex offenders, missing persons, and members of terrorist organizations and violent gangs. Its purpose is to track dangerous criminals, not peace activists and other minor offenders. Canada is the only foreign country that has access to this database.

According to officials, Canada does not allow anyone into the country who has committed a criminal offence, no matter how minor. Such a person is “inadmissible.” If (s)he ever wanted to enter Canada, (s)he would have to go to a Canadian consulate and try to get “criminally rehabilitated.” The request for “criminal rehabilitation” is a long, complex process that entails getting court records, police records, fingerprints, verification of residence for 10 years – 18 pages of information.

But don’t even bother, the head of the Consulate advised the peace activists, because they wouldn’t be eligible. You have to be clear of all offences for five years before applying.

Even if you have no convictions, if this is anything like the no-fly list, you could be refused because of an error in the data base, or similarity of names.

http://www.rabble.ca/in_her_own_words.shtml?x=63445

[Ed-VA3ES]

Don, you should know that Rabble is Canada's version of "DailyKos". It is a far-left website.   Anything published on that site is tendentious.

[ve6pg]

..about 25 yrs ago, i was with some friends, and we were driving from toronto, to south carolina, to play golf. ok, fine., but one of us, was denied access to the u.s. because he had an unpaid speeding fine, in georgia, from 10 yrs before.  considering we had reservations, we had to get moving and we had to leave bill at the border, where he hitched a ride back to toronto.
i have no idea what the fine was, but long before sept.11 the guys at the border were giving folks a hard time....tim...sk..

[TedN]

HI Don,

In 1998 I was detained at the airport in Montreal while trying to enter the country. I had a DUI in 1990. Really more of a PI. After 3-4 hours of deliberation I was informed that the only way I could enter the country was to be “criminally rehabilitated.”  OK so what was this going to consist of ?? Meetings, classes and many trips to Canada for rehab evaluation? NO. I was asked to do the finger printing and a 4-5 pages of paperwork, consisting mainly of fill in the blank. I was then "liberated" of $250.00 from my bank account and I WAS HEALED. For some reason, the fact that Canada now had $250.00 American made me a law abiding citizen.

I always smile when I hear Canada, border, and “criminally rehabilitated.”

If He really wants to enter Canada it shouldn't be too bad, just the "liberation" part.

BTW If He does this He will receive paperwork in the mail, many weeks later, save it and have it handy when crossing, only if it is asked for! NEVER volunteer information when crossing, both sides of the border view this with suspicion. Being too talky has always caused problems for my coworkers. Only do what is asked.

73
Ted / KC9LKE
 ;D ;D

[WB2RJR]

Canada has always excerised its right to deny admittance to people for a variety of reasons. The one In the past I was most familar with was not having enough money on your person. They also could require you show a passport as they were not required to accept your drivers license as proof of ID. Plus they want to know where you're going, why, and how long you are going to stay.

In 71 my cousin and I took his sister out to the Mayo Clinic to do her internship. We took a large U-Haul and our 2 bikes along. Drove north to Pigeon River planning to return to Buffalo via Ontario. The Canadian customs fellow wouldn't let us in as we had very little cash and he didn't care that we had credit cards up the yazoo. So we turn around and then the US customs guy doesn't want to let us back into the US. I asked him what are we supposed to do live on the bridge. Luckily the owner of the bar at the border lent us $100 and we were able to continue the trip.

Living just 12 miles south of the border I went to Canada often and was always stopped on my bike. I always had my passport and 3 or $400. The Canadian customs guys would always say, "You've been through this before."

All of this is not a big deal. Canada allows hundreds of thousands of loons into Canada every spring. They have every right to keep a few human loons out.

[KB2WIG]

   "  All of this is not a big deal. Canada allows hundreds of thousands of loons into Canada every spring. They have every right to keep a few human loons out.  "

As long as you spend a few 'loonies', they'll love you .... ..     klc

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

I can assure you Don, from many first hand experiences - it's a whole lot more difficult getting back into the US from Canada than getting in there to start with. I recall taking the Amtrak Montrealer there a few years back. Maybe 20-30 minutes at the border going north. 2+ hours returning.

And to top it off, a former co-worker had moved to INS/Border detail and spied me on the train. He took great delight in alerting his fellow agents and everyone else in the car to me, and that they needed to be very careful when dealing with me. His idea of bullshitting nearly started a panic in the car. Come to think of it, his loud nature was the reason he was asked to leave his previous job. 

Canada is our best neighbor and one of our closest allies on most matters. The recent change in leadership appears to be looking at previous policies with regard to immigration, firearms, security and so on. But we live in a different world than we did ten years ago. If you have a criminal record, regardless of how innocent or trivial you think the offense might be, it has the potential to come back to haunt you. We can't expect everyone to view these issues through our eyes - particularly when we're looking at everyone else more closely.

Wasn't this already a thread last week? Or in another thread perhaps? Sounds very familiar...

[k4kyv]

A trick I have seen used in the past to satisfy the money requirement at border crossings was to purchase several hundred dollars worth of travellers cheques (using money borrowed from a trusting friend if necessary), then you conveniently "lose" them and apply for duplicates.  You cash in the duplicate cheques (and repay your friend if you went that route).  The "lost" cheques would be worthless (you would probably end up in jail if you attempted to cash them), but you keep them on hand to show immigration officials that you have enough money to enter the country.  One bundle of cheques should last a lifetime. They never expire; in fact the companies encourage you not to cash in your unused ones so they can profit from inflation.

This should still work if they don't have a  data base available at border check points these days with the serial numbers of travellers cheques reported lost and stolen.

I have never had any problem crossing the US/Can border one way or the other.  I have entered Canada without them even asking me for documentation; they just asked if I was a US citizen.  When I answered yes, they waved me through without even asking for papers.  As for getting back, I always found the US customs agents more rude than the Canadian ones.  But I have had Canadian friends tell me just the opposite.  Maybe immigration people tend to be less rude to "guests" than to citizens of their own country.

[W3LSN]

Just this past October I took the wife and stepson to visit Niagara Falls and we basically had no problem getting into Canada. The Candian Customs border agent was quite friendly, asked the typical perfunctory questions, but threw in a ringer; "Who owns the car?"  The car was registered in my wife's name and she must have been tied into the motor vehicle database.  I didn't quite get her drift, but she allowed us into the country after scanning only my passport.

The trip back home was a different story and perhaps a lesson for "blended" families where everyone has a different name. The US Customs agent at Niagara wanted to see documentation that my stepson was indeed my stepson despite the fact that he has a Green Card and the CIS bureacracy gave him the right to live here. Not quite knowing how to reply, we started to argue that he was asking a question that should have been asked on the way out, not the way in. The matter ended abruptly once it was determined he was 21 years old. He's passed across and back from the Canadian border with college mates several times before without incident, so I'm still not sure what the purpose of the hassle was supposed to be. In any case I definitely recommend using passports on the land crossing journey into Canada. The are required now for all airline travel into the country.

73, Jim
WA2AJM/3

[W3SLK]

Crossing in Alberta, (actually flying in), they would tag me $72 every time for a 'working permit'. When I flew into Montreal, I had been there so many times that the Customs agent told me, "You know where the coffee pot and the guest mugs are..." Never got charged a dime there or in Toronto.

[k4kyv]

With all the new border hassles, do many of the New England AM gang still take a short cut through Canada to get to Dayton?  I recall back in the 70's and 80's it was common practice, if you lived in Maine, NH or VT, and I never heard anyone complain of any problems hauling their car load of heavy metal through Canada.

[Vortex Joe - N3IBX]

Mack,
       A good Canadian friend of mine brought me a literal carload full of boatanchor type radios of US and Canadian manufacture to my house about 3 months ago. He is a Canadian citizen, and drove from Ontario to Pa, stopping at my place to lighten the load. Fortunately, there were no incidents at the Canadian or US borders. He was concerned about it though!

Regards,
            Joe Cro N3IBX
   

[John K5PRO]

A friend of mine, who has, shall I say, a rough look and a checkered past (some DUIs on his drivers record) was turned down at the Vancouver border this year, they told him that he was NOT welcome to visit. Sent him and his companion back, on their motorcycles.

[Tom WA3KLR]

Hmmm, a new term emerges - the border-crossing challenged.

[Vortex Joe - N3IBX]

Hmmm, a new term emerges - the border-crossing challenged.

Tom,
      Not to worry. Most of those in that catagory probably operate slopbucket!

[WA1GFZ]

Hey maybe we could outsource protection of our Southern border to Canada.
and we could give them guns.

[VE7 Kilohertz]

Hey maybe we could outsource protection of our Southern border to Canada.
and we could give them guns.

Ya, you'd have to give us guns. Our .303 is in the shop getting maple leaves engraved.

cheers

Paul

[VE7 Kilohertz]

Well, I have my share of border crossing stories. My worst experience was going into WA state for Winterfest last year, got stopped at a little BF boarder crossing, I had a load of boatanchors in the box of my truck, along with a Sockey for the BBQ, a grouse I nailed with the F250, (took careful aim to get just the head under the tire) but no beer, smokes or other contraband stuff.  Well, I was personally searched, jacket lining removed, the truck went into the garage and had door panels removed and boxes routed thru...took over 2 hours...they finally let me thru with no explaination, apologies or anything. They even called the host of the event to make sure that was where I was going. All I can say is what a bunch of prixxx.

I have also had, with absolutely no problems, hauled thousands of pounds of broadcast TX's, laiden with PCBs, back and forth, with maybe at best, a raised eyebrow, like, what do you want with THIS junk? See ya later. Makes no sense to the guy who knows nothing about national security.

And ya, when I worked for someone else and was crossing from Brockville to Ogdensburg for my work, we were just "consultants" and weren't actually working.  Otherwise, the $72 fee or green card would have been required.

Man, haven't we come a long way since we discovered fire??  Makes ya wonder about how we got so far in this world with all the distrust and .... oh shxxt....sorry soapbax mode off.

cheers

Paul

[k4kyv]

Well, I was personally searched, jacket lining removed, the truck went into the garage and had door panels removed and boxes routed thru...took over 2 hours...they finally let me thru with no explaination, apologies or anything.

If we didn't have a Bill of Rights here in the USA, it would be like that going from one state to another, or simply walking down the street. The international border is just an excuse because they can do it.

What really pisses me off is when they tear your car apart, then, with no apology, leave the mess there for you to get back together yourself the best you can at your own expense.

There ought to be a law that if they find no contraband, they have to reassemble  everything back to the condition they they found it.  I have heard many stories from the 60's and 70's about how the border guards would take great pleasure in practically stripping down to the frame any car carrying young "hippie" types, and leave it as a pile of rubble in the middle of the road.

And from some of the stories I have heard lately about people being refused, I suspect it is getting to be easier to enter Russia than it would be to enter Canada... The terrorists have won.

[ka3zlr]

Good Morning,

 Ya know,, there's alot of pretty country in Canada, wonderful people..I've been on three Hunting and fishing excursions up there, had a wonderful time...Ate very well...enjoyed it emensely...

 The Border action...it's a Joke...