It is already challenging enough, if not entirely impossible to try to cross the border to Canada when there are existing, criminal convictions. A recent FOIA request by The Canadian Press revealed even more astonishing details about an upcoming plan by both, the United States Government and Canada, to further increase measures to thoroughly track travelers from and to the United States and Canada:
Those briefing notes, obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act, provide fresh details about how the two countries will co-operate more closely on documenting and controlling the movement of citizens and visitors.
Canada and the United States plan to join forces in order to better deal with “irregular flows” of refugees that turn up in North America or migrate within the continent, newly declassified documents show.
By 2014, the two countries will also begin routinely sharing biometric information about travelers, such as fingerprints.
And Canada is laying the groundwork for legislative and regulatory changes that will require all travelers — including Canadian and U.S. citizens — to present a secure document such as a passport or enhanced driver’s license when entering Canada.
In case there is still any doubt about the effectiveness of how both countries jointly work together in sharing data about travelers, including and in particular criminal backgrounds and conviction history, this document will surely lay all doubts to rest once and for all.
By 2014, traffic across both borders will be even more closely monitored than it is today. The sharing of biometric data and other information will not leave any sort of “loophole” for those travelers that have criminal records which bar them from entry into the country.
If anything, border control will become far more stringent, resulting in an even more increased likelihood that even the slightest misdemeanors or violations in one’s record will surely be discovered. Only a skilled immigration lawyer can help you getting entry into Canada in such a case. It is not a game of chance or luck.
Any type of conviction in your criminal past can make it impossible to go to Canada: You will need to be prepared.
On the basis of those developments, it is clear how important it is to get the help of an immigration lawyer before you plan your next travel to Canada, in particular if there is any doubt about your criminal conviction record.
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