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Apply for Citizenship with DUI Need Help

vbsask1

Star Member
Jan 10, 2014
52
0
Hello everyone need just advice regarding citizenship application.
I fulfilled all the requirements to apply only one thing is bothering me. I got DUI in Nov 2015 and got convicted in January 2016 and my license for suspended for a year till January 2017.
As per court papers its considered as summary conviction.
Just worried about application for citizenship.
Any advice what should I do
Thanks and Good Luck everyone.
 

Alurra71

VIP Member
Oct 5, 2012
3,237
309
Ontario
Visa Office......
Vegreville
App. Filed.......
07-12-2012
AOR Received.
21-01-2013
Interview........
waived
VISA ISSUED...
28-11-2013
LANDED..........
19-12-2013
Because it was a summary conviction it wasn't an indictable offence. I THINK you would be OK to apply, but I would also see if anyone else has an opinion on the matter.

On a more personal note. Don't drink and drive. You could hurt many more than just yourself ...
 

dpenabill

VIP Member
Apr 2, 2010
6,252
3,018
Hello everyone need just advice regarding citizenship application.
I fulfilled all the requirements to apply only one thing is bothering me. I got DUI in Nov 2015 and got convicted in January 2016 and my license for suspended for a year till January 2017.
As per court papers its considered as summary conviction.
Just worried about application for citizenship.
Any advice what should I do
Thanks and Good Luck everyone.
I have not seen a definitive answer about the impact on citizenship eligibility for summary convictions of hybrid offences, which includes driving while impaired.

Last I knew, under IRPA, for example, a hybrid offence (a criminal offence which may be prosecuted as either an indictable offence or as a summary offence) is considered an indictable offence even if it results in a summary conviction (my guess the reasoning is that since it is an offence which can be prosecuted by indictment, it is an "indictable" offence).

An immigration lawyer should easily know and be able to explain whether a summary conviction for a hybrid offence constitutes a prohibition. Obviously, if it does that would preclude eligibility for citizenship until a full four years has passed from the date of conviction.


There are other considerations to take into account:

For example, my understanding is that there is usually at least a period of probation for even the summary conviction. Any time spent on probation will NOT COUNT toward meeting the physical presence requirement.

A consultation with a competent immigration lawyer should suffice to learn how this affects you in particular.

No need to hire a lawyer to represent you. But you will need to pay for a consultation (typically, last I knew, $300 to $600), and to prepare for it as well. Free consultations are worth as much as you pay for them. They rarely offer much more than general information. You need to prepare in the sense of making sure you have a copy of all your case-records, which might require going to the court and obtaining a copy of the disposition, and otherwise being able to succinctly present the relevant facts to the lawyer. You do not want to waste time and thus lots of dollars listening to a lawyer give you information you do not need. Be prepared to ask very specific questions based on actual information (which is why it is important to have a copy of all the relevant documents). In scheduling an appointment with a lawyer, be clear you need advice about how YOUR summary conviction for driving while impaired will affect an application for citizenship . . . I put emphasis on "your summary conviction" because you do not need general information about these things, you need a lawyer to look at your paperwork, consider the facts in your specific case, including the disposition of the criminal case, and advise you about how that affects your eligibility for citizenship.
 

hangincanada

Star Member
Oct 6, 2016
155
30
those eligibility period is really tough and should be extremely careful about. such as criminal offences, us travels, home country travels and so on...
 

rrajendra

Star Member
Mar 10, 2017
146
31
Hello everyone need just advice regarding citizenship application.
I fulfilled all the requirements to apply only one thing is bothering me. I got DUI in Nov 2015 and got convicted in January 2016 and my license for suspended for a year till January 2017.
As per court papers its considered as summary conviction.
Just worried about application for citizenship.
Any advice what should I do
Thanks and Good Luck everyone.
Please read the following link
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/citizenship/situations.asp
 

trebor

Newbie
Dec 8, 2017
8
0
Hello everyone need just advice regarding citizenship application.
I fulfilled all the requirements to apply only one thing is bothering me. I got DUI in Nov 2015 and got convicted in January 2016 and my license for suspended for a year till January 2017.
As per court papers its considered as summary conviction.
Just worried about application for citizenship.
Any advice what should I do
Thanks and Good Luck everyone.
you can still apply for citizenship as we were in the same situation.im talking about the dui alone; if theres no hurt it is not indictible offence.
 

meyakanor

Hero Member
Jul 26, 2013
519
109
Visa Office......
CPP-Ottawa
App. Filed.......
16-02-2012
Doc's Request.
26-02-2013
AOR Received.
21-03-2012
Med's Request
21-03-2013
Passport Req..
16-04-2013
VISA ISSUED...
29-04-2013
LANDED..........
16-05-2013
This is one interpretation of how hybrid offences should be treated for the purposes of citizenship application:

Hybrid offences, such as impaired driving or assault, are considered indictable until the Crown elects to proceed by summary conviction. Once the Crown has elected to proceed summarily, the prohibition does not apply.


https://defencelaw.com/criminal-charges-impact-on-citizenship/
Again, this is but an interpretation of that one particular lawyer, who seems knowledgeable about the subject, and is up to date with respect to the current citizenship rules.

I suggest you give them (or other lawyers) a call for some some (paid) consultation. I would imagine, though, that most lawyers would just say that hybrid offences are considered indictable offences, and that you should wait for two more years before applying, though as Ahmed vs. Canada showed, it's more nuanced than that for citizenship.

So on Ahmed vs. Canada:

The citizenship judge erred in law in finding that the applicant was subject to a statutory bar. While paragraph 34(1)(a) of the Interpretation Act provides that where an enactment creates an offence, the offence is deemed to be an indictable offence if the enactment provides that the offender may be prosecuted for the offence by indictment, recent case law at the appellate level interprets paragraph 34(1)(a) to mean that hybrid offences are indictable unless and until the Crown elects to proceed summarily.

http://reports.fja.gc.ca/eng/2010/2009fc672.html
 
Last edited:

ottawaalex

Member
Nov 25, 2019
11
1
Hello everyone need just advice regarding citizenship application.
I fulfilled all the requirements to apply only one thing is bothering me. I got DUI in Nov 2015 and got convicted in January 2016 and my license for suspended for a year till January 2017.
As per court papers its considered as summary conviction.
Just worried about application for citizenship.
Any advice what should I do
Thanks and Good Luck everyone.
Hello! I have the same situation. Did you get citizenship after DUI?
Thank you