{"id":2908,"date":"2014-10-30T14:12:40","date_gmt":"2014-10-30T14:12:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/clearit.ca\/?p=2908"},"modified":"2015-02-26T12:14:23","modified_gmt":"2015-02-26T17:14:23","slug":"temporary-resident-permits-offer-way-canada-americans-criminal-records","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/clearit.ca\/canadian-customs-broker-blog\/temporary-resident-permits-offer-way-canada-americans-criminal-records\/","title":{"rendered":"Temporary resident permits offer a way into Canada for Americans with criminal records"},"content":{"rendered":"

For most U.S. citizens and permanent residents, Canada is the easiest foreign country to travel to. But that changes drastically for people who meet one of Canada\u2019s criteria for inadmissibility<\/a>. Those include involvement in espionage, terrorism or human rights violations, as well as having a medical condition likely to endanger public health. Although that last category may become more important if the current Ebola crisis continues to worsen, it\u2019s criminal inadmissibility that trips up by far the most would-be travelers.<\/p>\n

Many people assume that only a conviction for a serious felony would render them unable to cross the border. In fact, even a relatively minor crime can bar an individual from entering Canada, including theft, assault, drug possession, driving under the influence, and even reckless driving. It doesn\u2019t always happen, but if a Border Services Officer (BSO) decides to run a criminal record check, such a traveler is automatically denied entry, without exception. George Bush the Younger, for example, had a 1976 DUI conviction and was therefore ineligible for admission without special permission.<\/p>\n

\"canadapassport\"<\/center><\/p>\n

He got it, of course, and for the past couple of years a Canadian program known as the Tourism Facilitation Action Plan<\/em> has allowed ordinary people in a similar situation to sidestep their criminal inadmissibility by applying for a Temporary Resident Permit<\/a>. It\u2019s nowhere near as easy \u2013 or cheap \u2013 as showing an ID at the border, but for Americans with a shady past and a pressing reason to be in Canada, it\u2019s the best option available.<\/p>\n

An applicant for the permit must demonstrate that he has a \u201creason to travel to Canada that is justified in the circumstances\u201d and show that his need to enter the country outweighs the \u201csafety risks to Canadian society\u201d. He must also pay a nonrefundable application fee of 200 Canadian dollars, submit a slew of documentation, and be prepared to attend an in-person interview if requested. Processing time is upwards of three months, so advance planning is a definite necessity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For most U.S. citizens and permanent residents, Canada is the easiest foreign country to travel to. But that changes drastically for people who meet one of Canada\u2019s criteria for inadmissibility. Those include involvement in espionage, terrorism or human rights violations, as well as having a medical condition likely to endanger public health. Although that last […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":2912,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[278,9,364,1],"tags":[501,499,500],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/clearit.ca\/canadian-customs-broker-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2908"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/clearit.ca\/canadian-customs-broker-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/clearit.ca\/canadian-customs-broker-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearit.ca\/canadian-customs-broker-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearit.ca\/canadian-customs-broker-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2908"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/clearit.ca\/canadian-customs-broker-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2908\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2916,"href":"https:\/\/clearit.ca\/canadian-customs-broker-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2908\/revisions\/2916"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearit.ca\/canadian-customs-broker-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2912"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/clearit.ca\/canadian-customs-broker-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2908"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearit.ca\/canadian-customs-broker-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2908"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearit.ca\/canadian-customs-broker-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2908"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}