Visa for Canada

[Bmac]

We cruise out of Vancouver in 88 days and I just found out that I most likely will be denied entry into Canada due to a DUI from 33 years ago. I seems that I will need a TRP visa to enter Canada and it takes 9 months to secure one. Has anybody else been in a similar situation? What was the resolution?

My only option at this point is to cancel my cruise. I've tried contacting my travel agent but it seems every time I try to contact her she is on vacation herself. I called RCL and was told I would have to pay a 25% penalty for cancellation which is unacceptable to me as I was never made aware of this requirement. RCL and travel agents should make people aware of this. I can only imagine how many people have lost out on their cruise due to this.

[Xaa]

You may be able to change with a $100 rebook penalty and paying whatever the rate is for the new sailing either from a US port or after you've had a chance to take care of your Visa issue.

It really isn't RCI's duty to manage your specific Visa needs.  That's your responsibility.  Is your TA even aware that you have a DUI on your record?

Good luck, but you're not in the best situation currently.

[teddy]

I was busted for OUI in 1997 and live in a border state.  My wife was born in Canada and her parents live there, so entering Canada is kind of necessary.  I paid the fees and went on with my life.  While I agree that it's too bad you are finding out this way, it's not anyone else's responsibility to know the future impact of stupid choices made in the past.

 

All that said, contact Canadian Immigration.  If you have had no other violations that are defined as criminal in Canada, you may be deemed rehabilitated.  33 years is a long time, and it seems to me like a Temporary Resident Permit doesn't apply in this situation....unless it's been less than five years since the end of a sentence for another crime.

 

[teddy]

Here's a good starting point if you need it:

https://help.cbp.gov/s/article/Article-402?language=en_US

[Zacharius]

1 hour ago, Bmac said:

I called RCL and was told I would have to pay a 25% penalty for cancellation which is unacceptable to me as I was never made aware of this requirement. 

If you book a flight to China, American Airlines isn't going to hold your hand on visa/entry documentation at booking. It's up to you to sort it and them to verify it when you check in. Cruises aren't really any different...you, as the passenger, need to make sure you have the proper documentation (however obscure it may be) for every country you're visiting. 

[CanHardlyWait]

Gotta go with everyone else on this. It's not anyone's place to make you aware of this. 25% penalty is what they charge. I really would think about salvaging the money spent and do a $100 change fee for a carribean trip. Eastern Caribbean. Mexico has similar laws, but are only enforced randomly, but why take that chance.

I'll add Canada can do this temporary on the spot admission based on your record and amount of years past. But that's for driving over the boarder. Really don't think they do it for this kind of travel.

[smokeybandit]

10 minutes ago, Zacharius said:

If you book a flight to China, American Airlines isn't going to hold your hand on visa/entry documentation at booking. It's up to you to sort it and them to verify it when you check in. Cruises aren't really any different...you, as the passenger, need to make sure you have the proper documentation (however obscure it may be) for every country you're visiting. 

This would be at Canada immigrations at the airport, not the cruise port.

 

[CanHardlyWait]

I should point out if you wait too long to decide on an action, you will loose more than 25%. 

Again, I would pay the $100 change fee and roll your money into a Caribbean trip.

[Zacharius]

16 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

This would be at Canada immigrations at the airport, not the cruise port.

 

I understand, I was just using another means of transportation and another country to highlight. It's on the passenger at the time of booking to make sure they're able to actually get in to the country; it's generally not on the transportation provider to verify that until travel actually occurs. 

[Bmac]

Thanks for replies.

Yes I understand the onus is on me to make sure I have all the proper documents but this caught me off guard as I've never heard this before. My travel company got back to me and gave me a way to work through this. It is not without risk but the risk is small. What he recommended (which all responsibility falls on me) is to obtain a transcript of my criminal records and to fill out the application for a TRP visa and bring these with me to Vancouver. He explained that I can apply for a TRP visa right at the border so if I can't enter with just my passport I'll have all the necessary paperwork to get a TRP visa right there  and being as I've done all the legwork they usually just have you pay the application fee and let you go through.

Also if when I get my transcript and the offense isn't listed it's no longer a problem. I will bring everything with me regardless and hope for the best.

36 minutes ago, Zacharius said:

If you book a flight to China, American Airlines isn't going to hold your hand on visa/entry documentation at booking. It's up to you to sort it and them to verify it when you check in. Cruises aren't really any different...you, as the passenger, need to make sure you have the proper documentation (however obscure it may be) for every country you're visiting. 

I understand what you're saying but I think that a travel agent who has more than likely encountered this before which the gentleman I spoke with said "it happens all the time" would have some type of FAQ page with something like this posted on it to make their clients aware.

[tjcruisers]

Have to agree with everybody else. It's not reasonable for RCL or the TA to know the entry requirements for every country and for every situation. Given they could change over time time, I wouldn't trust them if they did. In the end the up to the person travelling to do the legwork. There have been multiple threads on this topic just in the last few months.

 

As many said your safest/best bet might be see if you can transfer to a different cruise and pay the $100 penalty.

 

This might help as well

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/visit-canada.html

This link below has 2 examples of DUI

https://ircc.canada.ca/english/helpcentre/answer.asp?qnum=159&top=8 

[teddy]

I don't know how current this info is for 2023, but before I got my pardon, I was told by a Canadian Immigration officer that if I wasn't asked when crossing the border, I didn't have to volunteer the info about my OUI, but if I was asked and got caught lying, I would be banned from entering Canada.

[Vancity Cruiser]

40 minutes ago, Bmac said:

Thanks for replies.

Yes I understand the onus is on me to make sure I have all the proper documents but this caught me off guard as I've never heard this before. My travel company got back to me and gave me a way to work through this. It is not without risk but the risk is small. What he recommended (which all responsibility falls on me) is to obtain a transcript of my criminal records and to fill out the application for a TRP visa and bring these with me to Vancouver. He explained that I can apply for a TRP visa right at the border so if I can't enter with just my passport I'll have all the necessary paperwork to get a TRP visa right there  and being as I've done all the legwork they usually just have you pay the application fee and let you go through.

Also if when I get my transcript and the offense isn't listed it's no longer a problem. I will bring everything with me regardless and hope for the best.

I understand what you're saying but I think that a travel agent who has more than likely encountered this before which the gentleman I spoke with said "it happens all the time" would have some type of FAQ page with something like this posted on it to make their clients aware.

I suspect it won't even come up, however, the advice to have everything ready to go is prudent. If you have filled it all out, and the offence was 33 years ago, I'm sure that you won't be denied entry. You will also have documents to prove you are leaving by a certain date as well. They get more squirrely if you are coming for an indefinite stay.