Countries You Cannot Visit With a Criminal Record

If you plan on traveling to a new country, you may remember your license and passport, but this isn’t all that you have to worry about. In fact, did you know that some countries may have restrictions based on your criminal record? Unfortunately, this is the case, and you’ll find that some countries are stricter than others.

The good news is that we have your back. We cover some of the countries you cannot visit with a criminal record. We also cover how to check your criminal history to determine if you won’t be able to go somewhere before you arrive at customs. Read on to learn more.

3 Countries You Cannot Visit With a Criminal Record

There are many countries that you cannot visit with a criminal record. We cover some of the most popular travel destinations that don’t allow you to enter with a criminal record below.

1. Canada

If you’re from the United States, you may be curious about your neighbors up North, especially when you consider the fact that Canada is a popular travel destination. That said, if you plan on traveling to Canada, you’ll be turned away if you try to drive through the border with a criminal record.

While this doesn’t apply to all criminal records, and there are some exceptions, organized crime, DUI, and homicide will prevent you from crossing the border, at least, without a permit.

2. Japan

Japan is another country that doesn’t allow you to enter if you have a criminal record. That said, it comes down to the type of crime you have on your record, especially if you’re applying for a visa. Japan doesn’t allow people to enter if they have committed sex crimes, homicides, or drug offenses. It’s important to note that if you weren’t in jail for more than a year, there’s a good chance that you can still get in.

On the other hand, if you spent more than a year behind bars, entry may be tough, although there are some exceptions for political crimes.

3. Australia

If you want to travel to Australia, you may need to get a visa, and during this process, officials will look into your criminal record. Typically, this background check goes back around 10 years, and if you have any felonies, you may be denied entry.

That said, you may be able to get into the country by passing a character test or by having police clearance to travel. Typically, you’ll have an issue if you’ve been in jail for more than 12 months across all of your sentences. Anything less, and you may have some wiggle room.

How to Prepare for Countries You Cannot Visit With a Criminal Record

If you plan on visiting a country that doesn’t allow you to enter with a criminal record, the good news is that you don’t have to show up at the border with any anxiety. In fact, there are tools that can help you check your criminal record to determine if you’ll have to worry about your entry to a specific country.

While there are various tools out there, we always recommend using a reliable arrest records search tool, which is why CheckPeople.com is our top choice. CheckPeople.com’s arrest record search tool allows you to view all available public records associated with yourself, so you can find out if there is anything on your record that may prevent you from entering a country.

All you need to do is enter your first and last name into the tool, and then you can open the full report to view all available public records. Not only does this include criminal records, but you can also find additional information, like sex offender status, websites, social media accounts, and much more.

In fact, you can leverage this tool to run searches on someone else. Therefore, if you’re bringing family or friends with you to a new country, you can ensure that everyone is able to enter.

Our Final Thoughts on Countries You Cannot Visit With a Criminal Record

We covered a handful of countries you cannot visit with a criminal record in this guide. While we covered some of the countries with the harshest restrictions, that doesn’t mean we got to all of them. After all, there are hundreds of different countries, and every single one of them has unique rules for entry.

For these reasons, always check with a country’s laws before you plan your next trip. We also recommend checking your criminal record before you travel to prevent any issues.