Can You Travel to British Columbia from Washington State with a DUI?

If you live in Seattle, Spokane, Tacoma, Vancouver, Bellevue, Everett, or any other city in Washington State, chances are you have either visited Canada before or are considering going to the country at some point in the future. British Columbia is a beautiful province that makes for a great tourist destination, and being situated right next door to Washington State it is also an extremely convenient destination for WA residents to visit. Vancouver BC is one of the most scenic cities on earth, Whistler BC has some of the best skiing, snowboarding, and snowmobiling around, and the BC interior has exceptional hiking, hunting, and fishing. Whether you are traveling by ferry to Victoria BC for leisure, or by car to Vancouver BC for work purposes, if you have a DUI incident in your past you may be inadmissible to Canada and could be refused entry at the border.

The Canadian border can instantly access the criminal record of every American visitor. Consequently, even a first-time DUI plead down to a lesser charge such as reckless driving or negligent driving can result in a person being denied entry by border authorities. It does not matter if you drive to one of the popular Washington State-British Columbia land borders, such as Peace Arch, Blaine-Surrey, Lynden-Aldergrove, or Sumas-Huntingdon, or fly into Vancouver International Airport; if you have a drunk driving record you may need special permission from the Government of Canada in order to be permitted entry.

Official permission to enter Canada with a DUI from Washington State comes in the form of a Temporary Resident Permit (TRP), which is a waiver that allows a non-admissible foreign national to visit Canada for a fixed amount of time. Temporary Resident Permits can be issued for as long as three years but require a "compelling" reason for travel. There is also a permanent solution called Criminal Rehabilitation that can enable someone to overcome inadmissibility for life, but this is only possible if the person has had a clean record for more than five years.

Over the past decade, The Seattle Times has published numerous news stories about US residents being denied entry by Canada while on an Alaskan cruise ship anchored on Vancouver Island. Even the National Geographic Channel's television show "Border Security: Canada's Front Line" had an episode in which US residents sailing a boat from Puget Sound through Canadian waters to Alaska were stopped by Canadian border security and sent back home because of criminal ineligibility.

Canada takes drinking and driving offenses very seriously; a DUI is basically a felony north of the border. Consequently, without a Temporary Resident Permit or Canadian Rehabilitation crossing the border with a DUI can lead to problems. Now that impaired driving is considered serious criminality by Canada, a WA DUI can actually render a person inadmissible to the country for life. Reckless driving and negligent driving misdemeanors can also be problematic at the border, so if you have any alcohol-related driving violations in Washington it is always smart to confirm admissibility before attempting to get into Canada. Other types of criminality such as drug possession, assault, fraud, and domestic violence can also result in a Washington State resident being refused entry to British Columbia.

Interested in going to British Columbia but have a past DUI arrest in Washington State? Phone us today for a free consultation!

WA DUI Laws

Washington State's DUI law is RCW 46.61.502. This statute makes it illegal to drive with a blood alcohol level of 0.08 or higher or a THC concentration of five nanograms or more. Washington's DUI law also makes it illegal to operation a vehicle while impaired by alcohol or any other drug such as cannabis. A first offense DUI in Washington usually carries a minimum of one day in jail or electronic home monitoring, a fine of $350 or more, and a license suspension of at least ninety days.

Washington State's reckless driving law is RCW 46.61.500. This statute covers operating a vehicle with a willful disregard for the safety of others. In WA, reckless driving is typically treated as a misdemeanor with the potential for jail time, fines, and a mandatory driver's license suspension.

Washington State's first degree negligent driving law is RCW 46.61.5249. This is applicable to someone who drives negligently in a way that endangers others. In some cases, an experienced Canadian immigration lawyer may be able to argue a WA negligent driving conviction does not render a person criminally inadmissible under Canadian law.

Deferred Prosecution

Washington offers a unique option to some drunk drivers called "deferred prosecution", outlined in Chapter 10.05 RCW. This can allow certain individuals charged with a misdemeanor for intoxicated driving to enter an intensive treatment program instead of immediately facing criminal penalties. The court must make specific findings before granting a deferred prosecution petition, and eligibility can be rather limited for DUI cases so this can be difficult to get into. When granted, deferred prosecution can give someone the chance to address an underlying alcohol/drug or mental health issue while working towards a dismissal of the charge if they successfully complete the program. Since there is no presumption of innocence at the Canadian border, an American can be denied entry while going through deferred prosecution for a DUI charge despite not having any conviction.

Travel to Canada with Old DUI

As of December 2018, a DUI is considered a serious crime in Canada and offenders can end up locked away for up to a decade. This means any American with an old DUI in Washington State could be turned back by border agents since impaired driving offenses are now too serious to qualify for automatic Rehabilitation after ten years. If the incident happened before Canada updated their intoxicated driving laws, however, it might be possible to cross the border due to grandfathering of "deemed rehabilitated" status but a Canadian immigration attorney should always be consulted before attempting to travel. Even if your DUI charge was reduced to reckless driving or negligent driving ("neg 1"), it could still cause potential problems when trying to travel from Seattle to Vancouver.

Interested in visiting Canada but have a DUI history in Washington State? Contact our team for a free consultation!