Are you planning on crossing the US/Canadian Border?

Here are 5 things you should never do.

DO NOT ever lie to the Border Agents.

The Border Agents are Federal Agents who have access to arrest, charge, and court records. So, if you’re ever asked if you’ve been arrested or charged with a crime, just because the charge was either dropped, expunged, or otherwise removed from a public record, nothing is ever removed from a court record and you should be answering YES. It’s always better to be honest than to get caught in a lie.

DO NOT ever forget to bring your passport or enhanced driver’s license.

You can and will likely be refused entry if you forget your passport or enhanced driver’s license. If you are refused entry once, you are very likely to be either closely scrutinized the next time you try to cross the border or refused entry again. Do not neglect or fail to renew your passport.

DO NOT ever bring packages across the border of which you do not know the entire contents.

With the increasing number of internet purchases, some online retailers will only ship products to one country and not the other. If you are bringing something across the border, make sure you know everything there is to know about what you’re bringing in and make sure you have the corresponding paperwork (i.e. receipts, invoices, bills of sale).

DO NOT bring firearms or ammunition across the border without all of the appropriate and necessary paperwork.

Forgetting a cartridge on the floor of your vehicle and failing to tell the Border Agent that you are bringing ammunition with you, will get you red-flagged and refused entry almost immediately. In the worst-case scenario, you could be arrested and charged with a criminal offense!

DO NOT ever bring controlled substances across the border.

This may seem like common sense, but with the growing number of patients who have medical marijuana prescriptions or licenses, too many people believe that this license will allow them to bring their marijuana products across the border. Remember that just because there is a growing trend to recognize marijuana for its medicinal purposes, that does not mean that marijuana is treated like mainstream medicine, yet. It is still considered a controlled substance and you could get into a lot of trouble if you try to bring it across the border.

For any further questions, please contact our lawyers (519-432-7780, Ontario; 517-708-7830, Michigan).

We are happy to elaborate on any of these five tips and to answer any other border-crossing questions you may have.