How a felony could keep you from traveling

While many people may come to Colorado for vacation, if you live here, you may wish to visit another area. The U.S. offers many tourist attractions and great places to visit, but if you want to see the world, then you will need to go outside the country’s borders. This could pose a problem if you have a felony charge on your criminal record. 

Felony charges stay on your record forever unless you have an expungement. This means that anyone who runs a background check on you will see the charges. When traveling outside the country, you may face situations where you cannot gain admittance to another country because of your background. 

Canada is a special case 

According to USA Today, if you try to enter Canada, you may find that they will bar your entry if you are a felon. The country has certain crimes that automatically prevent you from entering. One such crime is a DUI. 

Canadian authorities will know about your criminal background because they have access to U.S. criminal records. This is a unique situation because other countries usually do not have this access. 

Check with the embassy 

For other countries, you may not have an issue getting into the country unless you need a visa because applications will ask about criminal history. In that case, the country may ban you if you have a charge for certain crimes. The best way to check if you will be able to enter a country is through its embassy. 

Also, keep in mind that while you are on parole or probation, you generally cannot leave the country. The court will usually revoke your passport until you complete your full sentence. In addition, being a felon means that you will not usually qualify for expedited programs that allow you to move through security checks faster when visiting other countries.