Attending the A.A. International Convention 2025? What to know about entering Canada with your past DUI

The 2025 International Convention of Alcoholics Anonymous will be held in Vancouver from July 3-6 next year. If you’re considering attending, but have had previous altercations with the law, it’s best to start planning your visit to Canada as soon as possible.

This year’s event will mark the 90th anniversary of the birth of A.A. in 1935. The event takes place once every five years, but its previous edition in 2020 was cancelled due to the pandemic, making this a highly anticipated return.

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The 2025 edition will feature meetings, workshops, dances and events to celebrate sobriety worldwide.

So, if you – or a loved one – would like to attend, here are some things you need to know:

Having a prior DUI offence can lead to you being denied entry into Canada.

If you have a past conviction, arrest, warrant, or pending charge for ‘driving under the influence’ (‘DUI’), you could be barred from entering Canada.

This is because DUI is now considered a serious criminal offence in Canada and can render a person inadmissible. If found inadmissible, you can be denied a visa or electronic travel authorization (eTA), or you may be refused entry at the border.

If you have other past criminal offences stemming from alcohol consumption, this can also lead to problems when trying to enter Canada. For example, if you have committed two or more summary offences (similar to misdemeanors in the US) – such as public intoxication, indecent exhibition, or causing a disturbance – you may be inadmissible.

You need not have been convicted to be found inadmissible. You could be found inadmissible if you have simply been arrested and are still awaiting formal charges or the final verdict.

How to interpret Canadian law when it comes to a prior DUI offence

For immigration purposes, Canadian authorities convert foreign crimes into their Canadian equivalents. This equivalency test involves comparing the laws of foreign countries with the Canadian Criminal Code and other Acts of Parliament.

On December 18, 2018, Canada imposed tougher penalties for those convicted of impaired driving, doubling the DUI maximum punishment from five years to 10 years in prison.

This means if you committed a DUI offence abroad on or after December 18, 2018, you may be inadmissible to Canada on grounds of serious criminality.

If you are unfamiliar with Canadian laws, or lack the expertise to interpret foreign laws and how they compare to Canadian laws, you may wish to consult an immigration lawyer.

There are ways to overcome inadmissibility and enter Canada

There are different ways to overcome your criminal inadmissibility, depending on the severity of your offence(s), the number of offences committed, and when you completed your last sentence.

Here are your options, if you have a prior DUI offence:

Temporary resident permit (TRP)

If you are inadmissible but have compelling reasons to travel to Canada, you can apply for a temporary resident permit (TRP) or temporary waiver of inadmissibility.

To obtain a TRP, you must prove that your need to enter Canada outweighs the health and safety risks to Canadian society, as determined by an immigration or border services official.

Since the ultimate decision to grant your TRP will rest with the immigration officer, it is best to prepare the strongest TRP application possible, justifying your reasons for entry.

It is also important to note that the TRP would only grant you temporary entry to Canada. They are typically only issued for short periods – to cover the length of your visit to Canada. At most, your TRP may be issued for up to three years, if you have very strong reasons to be inside the country.

Most individuals must apply for their TRP through the visa application centre in their country of residence. Americans (and other visa-exempt travelers entering Canada by land) may apply for TRPs at the border, but this can be risky since the decision rests entirely with the immigration officer. As such, it is best to plan in advance if you need a TRP for an important event, like the A.A. International Convention 2025. The Government does not list processing times for TRP applications, but they may take over six months to process.

Criminal rehabilitation

If five years have passed since the completion of your DUI sentence, you may be eligible to apply for criminal rehabilitation (also known as individual rehabilitation). Unlike the TRP, criminal rehabilitation permanently waives inadmissibility. If approved, you will no longer be considered criminally inadmissible to Canada (as long as your criminal record stays the same).

To be approved, you need to demonstrate that you are unlikely to be involved in any future criminal activity.

*If it has been less than five years since completion of your sentence, you are not yet eligible for criminal rehabilitation and need to apply for a TRP.

When applying for criminal rehabilitation, an officer will review the application and any supporting documents before making the final decision.

The entire process can take six months to a year or longer. The Government does not list processing times for criminal rehabilitation.

If you are inadmissible and eligible for criminal rehabilitation, it is also best to start planning this as soon as possible to ensure smooth entry into Canada.

No one can apply for criminal rehabilitation at the border – you must apply through your appropriate visa application centre.

Deemed rehabilitation

If over 10 years have passed since the completion of your DUI sentence; and you only have one single, non-serious conviction on your record, you may be deemed rehabilitated.

You do not need to apply for deemed rehabilitation. If you meet criteria, you are automatically deemed rehabilitated for the crime that rendered you inadmissible and can enter the country.

Even so, if you have doubts about claiming deemed rehabilitation, it is best to consult an immigration lawyer well in advance. An immigration lawyer can prepare a legal opinion letter (see more below) for you, clearly explaining that you are deemed rehabilitated.

*If you have more than one non-serious conviction, or your DUI offence occurred after December 2018, you are not eligible for deemed rehabilitation. In these cases, you need to apply for a TRP or criminal rehabilitation.

Legal opinion letter

Beyond deemed rehabilitation, there are other situations where you may not be inadmissible to Canada, despite the DUI (or other charge) on your record. For example, if your DUI was expunged, or if you were granted and successfully completed ‘withheld’ or ‘deferred’ adjudication.

In such cases, it is best to consult with an immigration lawyer. They may be able to prepare arguments in the form of a legal opinion letter, explaining why you should not be considered inadmissible to Canada on grounds of criminality.

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