Travelling to Alaska with Criminal Inadmissibility

How to Travel to Alaska with Criminal Inadmissibility

Often American citizens or permanent residents believe that travelling to Alaska will be a simple endeavor, especially if they are only transiting through Canada. However, unfortunately, this is not the case. Even if a foreign national is travelling through Canada in transit, they must still go through a Canadian border and they may be refused entry due to criminal inadmissibility. It is extremely important to overcome your criminal inadmissibility prior to travelling to Canada. Therefore, in this article, I will explain how to travel to Alaska with criminal inadmissibility and ultimately how to successfully enter Canada to in turn enter Alaska.

Travelling to Alaska

Whenever an American decides they would like to travel to Alaska, whether for business reasons, for leisure or for family, they must pass through Canada in order to enter Alaska. If the American has criminal inadmissibility issues that are not resolved, this may cause complications at the Canadian border. The Canadian Immigration officers at Canadian borders still assess whether the foreign national, in this case the American, is admissible to Canada or not. If they do see that the American is criminally inadmissible to Canada, they can refuse their entry into Canada and thus the trip to Alaska would never happen. Therefore, it is best to determine first whether you are criminally inadmissible to Canada before planning a trip to Alaska. Remember, it is essential to enter and exit Canada to arrive in Alaska.

Many Americans travel to Alaska for its beautiful and enchanting nature and scenic views. There are many Alaskan cruises that are a popular activity that a lot of Americans like to engage in. Because of the icy scenes, it is an alternative travel destination for Americans, compared to other more tropical places in the United States. Moreover, if an American wants to go on an Alaskan cruise, they also have to consider their inadmissibility issues to Canada as these cruises often have a stop in Canada. The most popular stops are usually in Victoria or Vancouver, British Columbia. Therefore, if an American with criminal inadmissibility decides to go on one of these cruises and potentially visits any destination in Canada, they must ensure their criminal inadmissibility will not prevent them. Essentially, they must first overcome their criminal inadmissibility before going on the cruise.

In the worst case scenario, if they have successfully boarded the Alaskan cruise ship and they touch down in a Canadian city, and the Immigration officer finds out that they are criminally inadmissible, they can potentially ask the American to be escorted off the cruise ship and return back to the United States. This would be very unfortunate for any individual who has paid a large amount of money to be on a cruise and to be sent back home for inadmissibility that could have been resolved beforehand.

How to Overcome Criminal Inadmissibility to Successfully Travel to Alaska

In order to not experience any delays or complications at the Canadian border, it is best to overcome your criminal inadmissibility by applying for the appropriate Immigration application beforehand. When an American has criminal inadmissibility to Canada, they can either apply for a Temporary Resident Permit or a Criminal Rehabilitation application. Both these applications help overcome criminal inadmissibility; however, there are some differences between the two.

Temporary Resident Permit

In order to apply for a Temporary Resident Permit, you must provide Canadian Immigration with a valid and legitimate reason for why you need to enter Canada. Additionally, if you have an urgent reason for travel, the Temporary Resident Permit would be the best option for you. This type of application allows foreign nationals with criminal inadmissibility to enter Canada temporarily based on the reasons for their travel or the urgency of their travels. For instance, if an individual needs to enter Canada urgently for a business meeting or conference, they may apply for a Temporary Resident Permit. It is also very important to remember that a Temporary Resident Permit is only issued for a temporary period. The validity period of a Temporary Resident Permit is determined based on the reason for travel to Canada. It can range from one day to three years. Lastly, in order to be eligible to apply for a Temporary Resident Permit, you must ensure that five years have passed since the completion of your sentence.

Criminal Rehabilitation

On the other hand, if you are a foreign national or an American, in this case, and would like to overcome their criminal inadmissibility on a more permanent basis, then you can apply for a Criminal Rehabilitation application. Fortunately, for any foreign national that applies for a Criminal Rehabilitation application, their criminal inadmissibility will be dissolved for any future travels to Canada. However, it is important to note that if the foreign national incurs any other criminal charges after obtaining an approved Criminal Rehabilitation, the Criminal Rehabilitation will become void and they would have to apply for a new application. The eligibility requirement for a Criminal Rehabilitation application is having been charged of an indictable offence that is punishable for a maximum of ten years of imprisonment. You can only apply for the Criminal Rehabilitation application only after five years have elapsed since the completion of the sentence imposed.

Contact Akrami & Associates

It is essential that you have taken all of the aforementioned requirements and documentation into consideration before you attempt to apply for a Temporary Resident Permit or a Criminal Rehabilitation. These applications are difficult applications to pursue on your own and it is highly recommended that you seek out professional and experienced help before attempting to submit the application. Here, at Akrami & Associates, we work and have experience with many different immigration issues. We have helped many of our clients that have inadmissibility issues gain lawful entry into Canada and thus gain entry into Alaska. If you believe that you may be eligible, please feel free to contact Akrami & Associates at our office at 416-477-2545 for more information or if you would like to book a consultation with an immigration professional for more advice.

With Akrami & Associates, there is always a way!