# Criminal Record visiting Dubai?!



## INFAMOUS (Apr 19, 2011)

May be a stupid question but I didn't see much on it... A friend of mind has a criminal record from several years ago (pardon process is currently pending) but he wants to come visit Dubai.

He is Canadian, would they even question him or just grant the 30 day visitors visa?

Cheers.


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## pamela0810 (Apr 5, 2010)

Is it a Canadian criminal record and is he allowed to leave the country? If yes, then I don't think there should be any issues.


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## INFAMOUS (Apr 19, 2011)

Yes Canadian record and yes he can leave the country... he has a passport. Just obviously he cannot travel to the US until his pardon is approved.


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## pamela0810 (Apr 5, 2010)

If he is not allowed to travel to the US, are you sure he is allowed to travel to other countries? I was thinking, if he's Canadian, he will need to apply for a visa in advance anyway. So it's better if he checks with the Canadian Immigration authorities first if there are any restrictions, even better if he gets a written approval as a back up.


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## dubss (Apr 7, 2011)

INFAMOUS said:


> Yes Canadian record and yes he can leave the country... he has a passport. Just obviously he cannot travel to the US until his pardon is approved.


As long as he has a passport he will have no issues entering UAE whatsoever. It is only the US that checks Canadian records databases. And it's a good thing ur friend doesn't travel to the US until he gets his pardon since the US does not recognize Canadian pardons. If he travels States side before getting his pardon and they check him out at the border (or at immigration while flying), they will see his Canadian record, flag him in the US system and deny him entry. Once in the US system, his record will NEVER come off. Then he will never be allowed into the US again regardless if he gets a Canadian pardon in the future or not. 

All governments recognize your passport as the official "green light" for travel purposes. A traveler is issued a passport by his government only if he is not wanted for a crime or is not serving a sentence. They would either arrest a wanted person at the airport trying to flee or have the suspect surrender their passport to their respective authorities. Either way, a valid passport "usually means the holder is not wanted for any crimes and should have no issues visiting other countries (except with Canadians going to US and vice versa).


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