Traveling to Canada After an OUI Arrest or Conviction in Massachusetts

A person convicted of operating under the influence in Massachusetts can be refused entry at the Canadian border. Since December 18, 2018, Canada has classified impaired driving as serious criminality under its immigration law. A Canada Border Services Agency officer can refuse entry to a traveler with an OUI conviction. In some cases, the officer can also refuse entry to a traveler whose OUI charge is still pending. This page explains how Canada treats each outcome of a Massachusetts OUI case and what a traveler can do before a trip.

This page is written for travelers who are not Canadian citizens. Canada cannot refuse entry to its own citizens. A Canadian permanent resident with a Massachusetts OUI conviction faces separate consequences under Canadian law and should speak with a Canadian immigration lawyer.

The Canadian Law That Applies to an OUI

Canada decides who may enter the country under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, S.C. 2001, c. 27. Section 36(1)(b) of that Act governs a conviction entered outside Canada. A foreign national with such a conviction is inadmissible for serious criminality if the same offense, committed in Canada, would carry a maximum prison sentence of ten years or more. Under section 36(1)(c), the same rule governs a person who committed such an act outside Canada, whether or not a court convicted the person.

An inadmissible person may not enter Canada. The later sections of this page describe the ways an inadmissible person can overcome that bar.

The Canadian offense that corresponds to a Massachusetts OUI is operation while impaired, under section 320.14(1) of the Criminal Code, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-46. Parliament raised the maximum sentence for that offense to ten years, effective December 18, 2018. Criminal Code, s. 320.19(1). Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada states that a person convicted of impaired driving may be inadmissible for serious criminality, wherever the conviction was entered.

OUI Convictions for Offenses Before December 18, 2018

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada applies the earlier Canadian law to an impaired driving offense committed before December 18, 2018. Before that date, the Canadian maximum sentence for impaired driving was less than ten years. For that reason, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada ordinarily treats an older OUI conviction as criminality rather than serious criminality.

A person with one older OUI conviction may be deemed rehabilitated once at least ten years have passed since the person completed the sentence. A person who is deemed rehabilitated does not need to file an application. For that person, Canada no longer treats the older OUI conviction as a bar to entry. A person with more than one conviction should not assume that deemed rehabilitation applies and should have a Canadian immigration lawyer review the record before a trip.

OUI Convictions for Offenses on or After December 18, 2018

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada treats a conviction for an OUI committed on or after December 18, 2018 as serious criminality. Canada recognizes deemed rehabilitation only for offenses that carry a Canadian maximum sentence of less than ten years. A person with a recent OUI conviction therefore cannot be deemed rehabilitated.

A person with a recent OUI conviction remains inadmissible to Canada, no matter how many years pass, until Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada approves an application for individual rehabilitation. Until that approval, the person can enter Canada only with a temporary resident permit. The sections below describe individual rehabilitation and temporary resident permits.

A Continuance Without a Finding and Canadian Entry

Many first-offense OUI cases in Massachusetts end with a continuance without a finding under G.L. c. 278, § 18. The defendant admits that the facts are sufficient for a finding of guilty. The judge does not enter a guilty finding and instead continues the case to a set date. If the defendant complies with the conditions, the judge dismisses the case on that date.

In an OUI case, the judge usually imposes probation and a driver alcohol education program under the first-offense OUI provision, G.L. c. 90, § 24D. Under § 24D, the defendant’s license is also suspended for 45 to 90 days. Under Massachusetts law, an admission to sufficient facts followed by a continuance without a finding is not a conviction. Commonwealth v. Villalobos, 437 Mass. 797, 802 (2002).

The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act does not mention the Massachusetts continuance without a finding by name. A Canadian officer decides whether to treat the continuance as a conviction under section 36(1)(b). The officer may decide that the continuance is not a conviction. Under section 36(1)(c), the officer can still find that the traveler committed the act of impaired driving. The officer can rely on the defendant’s admission to sufficient facts as proof of that act.

Under section 33 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, the officer needs only reasonable grounds to believe that the act occurred. When the judge dismisses the Massachusetts case at the end of the continuance, the admission remains on the court record. A traveler with a continuance without a finding on an OUI charge should have a Canadian immigration lawyer review the court record before the trip.

A Pending OUI Charge

A traveler whose Massachusetts OUI case is still open has not been convicted. Under section 36(1)(c), a Canadian officer can still refuse entry if the officer has reasonable grounds to believe that the traveler committed the act of impaired driving. The officer decides whether the information available at the border meets that standard.

A defendant with an open OUI case must also appear at every Massachusetts court date and obey every condition of release the judge set. If the defendant misses a court date while out of the country, the judge can issue a warrant for the defendant’s arrest.

OUI Cases That End Without a Conviction or an Admission

Some OUI cases end with a not guilty verdict, a dismissal, or a nolle prosequi. In others, a clerk-magistrate denies the application for a criminal complaint and no case is ever filed. In each of these outcomes, the court record shows no conviction and no admission. The site’s pages on how Massachusetts criminal cases are dismissed and on OUI clerk-magistrate hearings explain how those results are reached.

A Canadian officer may see an arrest in a criminal records check without seeing how the case ended. A traveler whose OUI case ended without a conviction or an admission should carry certified copies of the court docket showing that result. These outcomes do not guarantee entry. Under section 36(1)(c), an officer can still consider whether the act occurred. The certified record is the document the traveler shows the officer.

Individual Rehabilitation

A person with an OUI conviction can apply to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada for a finding of individual rehabilitation. The person becomes eligible to apply five years after the end of the sentence, including any probation. Five years must also have passed since the date of the offense. The application goes by mail or courier to the Canadian visa office responsible for the person’s region.

Section 36(3)(c) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act governs the effect of an approval. Once the Minister is satisfied that the person has been rehabilitated, Canada can no longer refuse entry based on that conviction. As of September 2026, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada lists the processing fee as CAD 1,231.00 for serious criminality and CAD 246.25 for criminality.

In a Massachusetts OUI case, the sentence ordinarily ends when the probation term ends and the person has paid every fine and fee. Under G.L. c. 90, § 24D, probation in a first-offense OUI case can last up to two years.

Temporary Resident Permits

A person who is inadmissible can request a temporary resident permit to enter Canada for a specific period. A traveler can make the request to the officer at the port of entry. The officer may issue a permit only if the traveler has a compelling reason to enter Canada. The traveler’s need to enter must also outweigh any risk to health or safety in Canada.

The officer can refuse the request. As of September 2026, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada lists the fee for a temporary resident permit as CAD 246.25. Some travelers must be in Canada on a set date, for a business meeting or a family event. Those travelers should have a Canadian immigration lawyer prepare the request before the trip.

Sealing a Massachusetts OUI Record

After a judge or the Commissioner of Probation seals a Massachusetts criminal record, most employers and landlords in Massachusetts can no longer see the record. A person whose Massachusetts record is sealed is not automatically admissible to Canada. Canadian officers decide whether a foreign sealing or expungement order has the same effect as a Canadian record suspension.

The Federal Court of Appeal set the test for that decision in Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration) v. Saini, 2001 FCA 311. Canada recognizes a foreign order only if the foreign legal system is similar to Canada’s and the foreign order has a similar aim and effect. The site’s page on the standards for sealing and expungement explains when a Massachusetts judge seals a record.

Questions From the Canadian Border Officer

A Canadian border officer can ask any traveler whether the traveler has ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime. A traveler who denies an OUI arrest or conviction can be found inadmissible for misrepresentation under section 40(1)(a) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. Under section 40(2)(a), a person found inadmissible for misrepresentation cannot enter Canada for five years. That five-year bar is separate from any bar based on the OUI itself.

The Massachusetts OUI Case and Canadian Travel

Which of these Canadian rules applies depends on how the Massachusetts OUI case ends. After a not guilty verdict or a dismissal without an admission, the court record shows no conviction and no admission. After a continuance without a finding, the court record shows an admission. After a guilty finding, the court record shows a conviction.

Attorney Joe Serpa defends OUI cases in the Massachusetts district courts. A client who travels to Canada for work or family should tell Attorney Serpa at the start of the case. Attorney Serpa then includes Canadian entry in his advice when the client decides between a trial, a continuance without a finding, and a plea. The Canadian application itself, for rehabilitation or for a temporary resident permit, is work for a Canadian immigration lawyer.

A traveler who is not a United States citizen also faces federal immigration consequences from an OUI. The site’s page on OUI immigration consequences explains that separate law.

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Serpa Law Office Resources

• Massachusetts OUI and Motor Vehicle Defense
• CWOF, Pretrial Probation, and Diversion in Massachusetts Criminal Law
• The Section 24D Disposition in a Massachusetts First Offense OUI
• Massachusetts OUI and Immigration Consequences
• Sealing and Expunging a Massachusetts Criminal Record
• Massachusetts OUI and DUI FAQs