Michigan shares a rather large border with Canada and so it is very common for Michigan residents to travel to Canada for both business and pleasure. Being convicted of even a single instance of drunk driving can complicate such travel.
According to an excellent In and Out of Canada Article written by top DUI lawyer Wayne R. Foote:
Canadian inadmissibility is governed by the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. It states that a Michigan resident is inadmissible if he or she committed a single “indictable” offense. This includes drunk driving.
Furthermore, Mr. Foote’s article indicates that if you’ve been convicted of more than one instance of drunk driving in Michigan then you can either wait ten years or after five years apply for “rehabilitation status.” If you’ve been convicted of “only” one Michigan drunk driving, then you need “only” wait five years.
If you can’t wait, or want to take a chance, you can seek a Temporary Resident Permit. The cost is between $200.00 and $1,000.00. It can be applied for and granted at the border, but waiting is risky. Applying before your trip can take six or more months.
If your Michigan drunk driving case is dismissed then you will still be able to get into Canada, but if it is reduced to something like impaired driving or reckless driving you may still have problems getting into Canada. A reduction to careless driving however will, like a dismissal, allow you to continue getting into Canada.
If you’ve been arrested in Michigan for drunk driving, and you think you may want to travel to Canada for business or pleasure, then you should do three things.
- Read the In and Out of Canada Article;
- Contact a top Michigan DUI lawyer;
- Contact a top immigration lawyer.
Get a FREE confidential CASE EVALUATION on your Michigan OWI/OWVI/DUI by calling (248) 306-9159, or filling out this consultation request form. Call now, there’s no obligation!
This post was written by...
baronedefensefirm – who has written 204 posts on Michigan Drunk Driving Lawyers.
Patrick T. Barone is the author on two books on DUI defense including the well respected two volume treatise Defending Drinking Drivers (James Publishing), and The DUI Book – A Citizen’s Guide to Understanding DUI Litigation in America. He is also the author of a monthly DUI defense column for the Criminal Defense Newsletter, published by Michigan’s State Appellate Defender’s Office. Mr. Barone is an adjunct professor at the Thomas M. Cooley Law School where he teaches Drunk Driving Law and Practice. He is also on the faculty of the Criminal Defense Attorney’s of Michigan’s Trial Lawyer’s College where he provides trial skills training to Michigan’s criminal defense practitioners. Mr. Barone lectures nationally on various DUI defense topics, and he has appeared in newspapers, on television and on radio as a drunk driving defense expert. Mr. Barone has been certified as an instructor and practitioner of the Standardized Field Sobriety Tests and has also attended a 24-hour certification course at National Patent Analytical Corporation (the manufacturer of the DataMaster) and has thereby been deemed competent by the manufacturer to operate, perform essential diagnostic verifications and calibration checks on the DataMaster. Mr. Barone is a Sustaining Member of College for DUI Defense. Mr. Barone is the principal and founding member of The Barone Defense Firm, whose practice is limited exclusively to defending drinking drivers. The Firm is headquartered in Birmingham, Michigan.
