Bottom line is, have your ducks in a row before heading up there. I live about 2 hours from the border. If I went up there and was turned away fine, its only 2 hours. But I lived a day or 2 ride away I would be pissed to be turned away becasue someone in our party didn't handle their business. As it was said before if you have a DUI and are hell bent on going to Canada, pay the "rehabilitation" fee and enjoy your visit.

 

well apparently theres some folks here who believe their more intelligent than the rest. Guess its typical everyone has an opinion. Forget about anything you read cause its all BS!!!! Teflon

 

I'm going to attempt to concentrate all 60 posts and summarize : People convicted for DUI can't / sometime can/can get into Canada. You must/should get a pardon. Don't get a pardon because neither country recognizes them .Turn your bike off , remove sunglass , hand over paper work , be respectful and above all don't lie to the "man" .. Or.. Turn your bike off , remove sunglasses , hand over paper work , be respectful and above all don't tell the "man" a dam thing . It's the USA's fault for conditions on the border. It's Canada's fault for conditions on the border. Both countries suck . It's a little confusing ,,no ?

 

Man, I think you have it all figured out now with all the consistent answers.

 

I cross the border often and what works best for me is:
As i pull up towards the booth, i try to stay away from the ones that have young females in them. They most often have something to proof and are a PITA.
Shut the bike off
Have your paperwork ready to hand over, instead of having to look for them
Make eye contact
Be friendly without sucking up...
Answer questions with real short answers without elaborations
Don't argue and annoy the border guards. If you do, they'll dig extra deep.

 

I've seen the Hip twice in concert here in Calgary. I really like the band as well.

There is a time frame on convictions, but I don't think it's set in stone. My impression is that it's up to the border guard to assess each case. You can probably cross if it was 20 yrs ago. What I know for sure is that the border guard has the final say, nobody had the right to cross. So your friend that had the dui 24 yrs prior might have just not made the right impression on the guard that day, maybe found a grumpy guard, or said the wrong thing then was bounced.

BTW, the rules are exactly the same both ways. The American guards are just as picky as the Canadian ones. They could switch posts and you couldn't tell the difference, except when they said "y'all" or "eh", that would be a give away.

 

Treat everyone like a terrorist? I cross into the US a few times a year and they think everyone is (or was) Osama Bin Laden.
There is good and bad guards on both sides but the US is the only placed I have been stopped and questioned at the border on the way out of the country

 

ok so i've done some homework, like i said earlier, shut it down at the gate before you get up to booth and roll it up, have your passport ready, no glasses or anything to block your face, be polite. Do not volunteer any info,THEY DO NOT KNOW IF YOU'VE BEEN CONVICTED OF ANYTHING WHEN YOU ROLL UP AND THEY HAVE SCANNED YOUR PASSPORT!!! its not info they are privy to, can they find it if you get hauled in and they suspect and do a search? Yes but they cant any other way. They also aren't liable to hold you if you tell them you have had a DUI but again its info they must search for in secondary inspection. Most dont tell them and get thru all day long unless your lookin like a hood. If they do catch it either way your goin back so the mis speak does nothing. Hell one buddy that did get hauled in said he didnt know they meant DUI he thought they meant real criminal, they let him go!!! Never asked about the pardon issue. You need insurance yes but your regular insurance is fine over here. All this came directly from a customs agent here in Windsor on the Canadian side. Hope this helps all those folks who want to come and enjoy our country, there really is alot of fun stuff to do and some great riding!!!

 

My latest crossing to the US. CND no issues!

Not a Bad Crossing, but unusual. My guard just struck a conversation, while my passport was scanned. Job, Old cars I owned, like my ford fairmont or AMC matador.... Dude was smart. Never ??? liked that.

Guess Foreigner's will fail.

 

When crossing the border we had to show passport, drivers license, and insurance card. We also got a terse interview: why are you coming to Canada, how long are you going to be here, where are you staying, are you here on business or pleasure? After about 5 minutes (each) we were allowed to proceed. I was the first in line and when he decided that I was not a terrorist or a criminal he said "You do realize that today is the Canada Grand Prix don't you?" I said that I hadn't realized that he wished me luck on the traffic.