I thought I would share my experience with Canada's criminal rehabilitation process now that my application was approved.
I was convicted of misdemeanor criminal damaging (similar to vandalism, but that is a felony in Ohio) in 1994 and DUI in 1995. I was informed in 1999 at the Sault Ste. Marie border crossing that I was inadmissible to Canada because of my previous convictions, both of which were considered felonies in Canada. I had visited Canada at least 20 times between 1994 and 1999 with no problems. The agent at the border said I was lucky and not to try it again. He also gave me instructions for applying for criminal rehabilitation. At the time it looked like a daunting task of gathering information from courts and law enforcement agencies in two states and I decided I wasn't going to do it.
Fast forward to 2012. Since I own property 15 miles from the Ontario border, I decided it's silly not to be able to visit Canada and I started gathering the necessary documents. This included even more law enforcement agencies since the states I have lived in increased. Fortunately Ohio and Florida make it fairly easy to get background checks done and my local Sheriff's Office is extremely helpful in getting fingerprint cards made. The FBI background check took a couple of months to come back but there were no real problems. Getting court dispositions from two courts on cases that happened in the 1990's was more difficult. They had the files, they just weren't as easy to decipher as today's all computerized stuff would be. For example, the judge's handwriting was atrocious and totally unreadable and nobody in the probation office was there in 1994. I was apprehensive about what the reviewing officer would think so I got copies of every single page in the files and sent it all with the applications. It had been almost 20 years since my convictions so I didn't go out of my way to include a bunch of character references and letters of recommendation. Instead I included a letter explaining that since my convictions I graduated from college, served 8 years as an officer in the US Navy Reserve, sailed all over the world as an officer on merchant ships and have been gainfully employed by a major railroad in the US for 8 years.
I sent the application to the Consulate General in New York in late February 2013 with the $200 money order. It was promptly returned as incomplete because I did not include two passport photos. I saw no requirement for passport photos anywhere on the checklist I was using. I emailed the New York visa section and received a reply that I must include passport photos. The money order was returned and I reused it when I resent my application (including photos) in early March 2013. I received a letter stating my application had been received on March 25, 2013 and was given an UCI and application number. Next thing you know the Canadian foreign service employees are on strike. I have no idea what impact this had on my application.
I heard nothing from them for 20 months and 2 weeks. That's when I received a letter dated December 8, 2014 that my application was approved and I am no longer considered criminally inadmissible to Canada. The process works, it's just very slow. I did have informal consultations with a law firm in Montreal about my case and they wanted $3500 up front and I probably would have still had to obtain most of the documents myself. I'm glad I didn't waste my money on that. All in all, including postage the entire process cost me about $350.
Although this is a lengthy post I hope it helps those who aren't sure if the process works or have general questions about it. My offences were not considered "serious criminality" and I knew that since I was first stopped at the border in 1999. Someone with more serious or more recent offences might have a different experience.
I was convicted of misdemeanor criminal damaging (similar to vandalism, but that is a felony in Ohio) in 1994 and DUI in 1995. I was informed in 1999 at the Sault Ste. Marie border crossing that I was inadmissible to Canada because of my previous convictions, both of which were considered felonies in Canada. I had visited Canada at least 20 times between 1994 and 1999 with no problems. The agent at the border said I was lucky and not to try it again. He also gave me instructions for applying for criminal rehabilitation. At the time it looked like a daunting task of gathering information from courts and law enforcement agencies in two states and I decided I wasn't going to do it.
Fast forward to 2012. Since I own property 15 miles from the Ontario border, I decided it's silly not to be able to visit Canada and I started gathering the necessary documents. This included even more law enforcement agencies since the states I have lived in increased. Fortunately Ohio and Florida make it fairly easy to get background checks done and my local Sheriff's Office is extremely helpful in getting fingerprint cards made. The FBI background check took a couple of months to come back but there were no real problems. Getting court dispositions from two courts on cases that happened in the 1990's was more difficult. They had the files, they just weren't as easy to decipher as today's all computerized stuff would be. For example, the judge's handwriting was atrocious and totally unreadable and nobody in the probation office was there in 1994. I was apprehensive about what the reviewing officer would think so I got copies of every single page in the files and sent it all with the applications. It had been almost 20 years since my convictions so I didn't go out of my way to include a bunch of character references and letters of recommendation. Instead I included a letter explaining that since my convictions I graduated from college, served 8 years as an officer in the US Navy Reserve, sailed all over the world as an officer on merchant ships and have been gainfully employed by a major railroad in the US for 8 years.
I sent the application to the Consulate General in New York in late February 2013 with the $200 money order. It was promptly returned as incomplete because I did not include two passport photos. I saw no requirement for passport photos anywhere on the checklist I was using. I emailed the New York visa section and received a reply that I must include passport photos. The money order was returned and I reused it when I resent my application (including photos) in early March 2013. I received a letter stating my application had been received on March 25, 2013 and was given an UCI and application number. Next thing you know the Canadian foreign service employees are on strike. I have no idea what impact this had on my application.
I heard nothing from them for 20 months and 2 weeks. That's when I received a letter dated December 8, 2014 that my application was approved and I am no longer considered criminally inadmissible to Canada. The process works, it's just very slow. I did have informal consultations with a law firm in Montreal about my case and they wanted $3500 up front and I probably would have still had to obtain most of the documents myself. I'm glad I didn't waste my money on that. All in all, including postage the entire process cost me about $350.
Although this is a lengthy post I hope it helps those who aren't sure if the process works or have general questions about it. My offences were not considered "serious criminality" and I knew that since I was first stopped at the border in 1999. Someone with more serious or more recent offences might have a different experience.
