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Posts: 439
Location: Lake of the Woods, Morson, Ontario | Received this text from one of our tourism associations:
New border rules – What does it mean for guests?
There is still a lot of confusion over the announcement made by Immigration Minister, Jason Kenny and MP Greg Rickford regarding relaxed admission procedures for guests who have minor criminal records, such as DUIs. We are aware that a number of operators have circulated notices to their guests that indicate that these past offenses are no longer a barrier to admission. We believe that this greatly overstates the nature of the actual change that has been made, and have been confirming details in original documents and with our sources in the Canada Border Services Agency.
Finally, the Operational Bulletin for this initiative has been posted outlining the details of the initiative and its application.
This change does not make all formerly inadmissible guests admissible!Although it is an important step forward, it does not significantly change the rules for admissibility. It does not replace or change the existing procedure for applying for Criminal Rehabilitation, and really only applies to the process of obtaining a Temporary Residency Permit (TRP) – the traditional $200 one-time admission that is granted at the border.
This initiative does not change the fact that front-line border officials have very broad discretionary authority. Although this initiative reflects a policy direction from the political leadership, final decisions will continue to be made on the spot as you cross the border.
What Changes?
•The normal $200 fee can be waived.
•A TRP can be granted even for a recent offense – guest with a single DUI a year ago may now be admitted.
What Stays the Same?
•The rules and process for criminal admissibility have not changed.
•It is still a one-time admission. Guests will still be expected to use the Criminal Rehabilitation process if they want to come back in the future.
•It is not being offered to guests with more than one offense. As before, the guest with several DUIs from many years ago still needs to apply for rehabilitation.
•Guests with a single offense that is more than ten years old were already eligible to be considered Deemed Rehabilitated and admitted. This does not change.
•A guest who would appear to qualify for Criminal Rehabilitation but who has not yet completed the process can still be admitted with a TRP. This was already the case and has not changed.
These changes are a very positive step forward and will make life easier for many guests. They are not, however, a “magic bullet”. We urge you to advise your guests to check carefully the details of their individual situation, and, of course, to call NOTO for individual advice.
The full bulletin can be found at:
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/manuals/bulletins/2012/ob389... |
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Posts: 439
Location: Lake of the Woods, Morson, Ontario | For those that would like to make multiple trips, it may be possible to have the TRP dated so that you can make multiple trips in one year. We have seen this happen before so please enquire about this when making your plans or speaking to CBSA officials about your personal situation.
All of our tourism association people involved in working on this issue believe/hope this is something that will be expanded in the future.
It will likely help to be able to show those government types that this can and will make a difference in a positive way.
I'm sure I can speak for most operators in the industry when I say we looked forward to welcoming many of you back to Ontario.
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Posts: 357
Location: Duluth, MN | So....I had my dui in 2009. My only offence ever. What do I need to do in order to get in? Hopefully planning a trip in June.
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Posts: 349
| MyliesPlace(Justin) - 3/2/2012 3:28 PM
For those that would like to make multiple trips, it may be possible to have the TRP dated so that you can make multiple trips in one year. We have seen this happen before so please enquire about this when making your plans or speaking to CBSA officials about your personal situation.
Are you saying its possible to get one TRP per year? Do you need to know all dates in advance or how does that work? I had a very minor offense in jan 2009 and crossed the border 6 times after that with no problem but then last summer i had to pay the 200 dollar trp fee to cross. They made it sound like i would have to do this ecerytime from now on and pay the 200 each time as well. |
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Posts: 439
Location: Lake of the Woods, Morson, Ontario | Hey Guys,
I'm sure there will be a lot of questions. I can't answer them all and may not even know enough to help with most of them. As operators, Im confortable saying we sure would like to see this policy expanded and don't believe the this would be a good final solution to the issue.
What is new is that TRPs should be offered many more times than they have been previously because the guideline is no longer 5 years since the expiration of any sentence has been completed.
I can tell you that one of our guests received a TRP that allowed him to make a trip that was either in June or July and then again September of the same year. It was the only time I have ever heard of that and it came up when he was at the border after years of passing through without incident.
Typically, a TRP is always a one time thing. You are epxected to apply for the permanent fix if you are eligible to do so once your TRP has expired. If you were allowed in on a TRP without being eligible for deemed rehabilitation, you likely had a very undersdtanding immigration officer that allowed you the option to proceed with a TRP rather than turn you back.
I can also tell you that the same guest had to apply for rehabilitation after the TRP expired. This cost the same arount as the TRP, but it was then a permaent fix. He did so and has not had any issues since it was granted. Rehabilitation fees are not thousands of dollars, but if you use an attorney to help you, then it could easily run that high. The fee itself is the same or close to the same as one TRP.
A TRP should never cost more than the amount in the operational bulletins. If there is paperwork showing someone paid more, I would be happy to show it to an immigration officer I know personally and see what can be done, if anything.
Your best bet with questions is to call the border crossing you will be using when your make your trip. It is not uncommon for the immigration officials in RR to run SSN and advise people on what to expect if/when they present at the border.
If anyone wants to PM me with specific information, I will do what I can to help and attempt to provide contact information for you to investigate further. |
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