Can You Go to Canada with a DUI Florida?

Any foreign national that has a conviction for driving drunk in Florida may be considered ineligible to travel to Canada and refused entry when crossing the border. It is possible for a criminally inadmissible individual to enter Canada with a DWI, DUI, or DUBAL from Florida, however, as long as they obtain entry permission through a Temporary Resident Permit or Criminal Rehabilitation. In urgent situations it may possible to get a Canada Temporary Resident Permit (TRP) instantly at the border, but the standard process of requesting such a waiver is by mailing an application to the Canadian consulate. A TRP can enable a person to overcome their Florida DWI and travel to Canada for a limited amount of time provided they have a legitimate reason to do so. Canada TRPs are available for a duration of up to three years. Rehabilitation is a permanent fix to criminal inadmissibility caused by a Florida DUI but takes up to 12 months to receive and only people who have completed all sentencing including probation at least five years earlier are eligible to apply.

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Florida DUI Laws

Florida treats driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs as a very serious criminal offense. The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles law s. 316.193 states that a first conviction must include a minimum fine of $500 or for cases where the offender had a blood alcohol level (BAL) of 0.15 of more the minimum fine is $1000. A first conviction must also include a mandatory 50 hours of community service, and can also involve as much as nine months of incarceration. Florida also has underage DUIs for people under 21 and has implied consent rules which make it a crime for a driver to refuse a breathalyzer or other chemical test.

Whether you have a felony or misdemeanor Florida DUI, or a lesser charge such as reckless driving (wet reckless), any alcohol related driving offense in the state can render a person ineligible for Canadian entry without special permission. It does not matter if the driving while intoxicated arrest occurred in Miami, Jacksonville, Tampa, Saint Petersburg, Orlando, Hialeah, Tallahassee, Fort Lauderdale, or any other city in Florida, if you have been arrested or convicted of a DUI or DWI in the state you risk being denied entry at the Canadian border. An experienced Temporary Resident Permit lawyer can assist people with DUI Florida on their criminal record with the process of visiting the country without getting rejected at the border.

Some "snowbirds" spend so much time in Florida they eventually renounce their Canadian passport and become citizens of the United States of America. Canadian "snowbirds" that are no longer Canadian nationals may have issues flying back to Canada if they have a DUI Florida on their criminal record unless they have successfully obtained entrance permission from the government. For more details about traveling across the border with a criminal record, read our full guide on how to get into Canada with a DUI. Even if a FL DUI involved physical control of a motor vehicle instead of drunk driving, or impairment by marijuana instead of alcohol, it can still equate to a serious crime north of the border.