International airlines usually require that flight attendants be able to enter all the destinations they fly to. For most of them, that includes Canada, where even relatively minor criminal charges in an applicant’s home country can be a serious obstacle to being deemed admissible to enter.
If you cannot enter Canada due to criminal inadmissibility, it is unlikely that you will be able to secure a flight attendant position with a major airline. But you can still be a flight attendant with a DUI because there are a range of options to overcome this obstacle.
Read on to find out more about the background checks that are carried out by many airlines and how a criminal history could affect your chances of becoming employed as a flight attendant.
Airline Criminal Background Checks
Most job applicants within the airline industry will be subject to a range of checks and tests before they get hired. This often includes credit checks, drug and alcohol tests, a criminal background check, and a deep dive into your employment history and driving record. A third-party security company hired by the airline usually carries out these checks.
Most background checks by airlines for prospective flight attendants will focus on the ten years immediately preceding an application.
United Airlines, Delta Airlines, JetBlue, Southwest Airlines, and American Airlines may all consider flight attendant applicants with a criminal history, but the success of your application will depend on the seriousness of the criminality as well as how long ago it took place. It’s important to be upfront and honest about your criminal record during the hiring process to make sure you get a verdict as soon as possible, as each airline’s hiring policy will be different.
Being dishonest or submitting false information about your criminal record could lead to prosecution and being banned from working for any other airline in the future.
What disqualifies you from being a flight attendant?
A criminal record does not always disqualify you from being a flight attendant. Airlines have been known to hire flight attendants even if they have been convicted of minor crimes such as DUIs in the past. However, offers of employment are usually contingent on being able to enter countries such as Canada, where a DUI is regarded as a serious crime. Applying for criminal rehabilitation in Canada is one way to overcome this obstacle.
An American airline background check will usually look into the past 10 years of your criminal history before you get a flight attendant job to comply with Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Transport Security Agency (TSA) regulations. This is to make sure you will not present a risk in a security-sensitive environment.
You will instantly be disqualified during a TSA background check if you have ever pled guilty to or been convicted of espionage, sedition, terrorism, murder, making bomb threats, crimes involving a transport security incident, or improper transportation of a hazardous material.
You will also be disqualified if you have pled guilty to or been convicted of one of the following crimes in the last seven years or have been released from incarceration in the last five years for: firearms offenses, extortion, fraud, bribery, smuggling, immigration violations, distribution of a controlled substance, arson, kidnapping, rape, robbery, or voluntary manslaughter.
Entry into Canada with a DUI
Since 2018, Canada has regarded impaired driving offenses as serious crimes. This means that any convictions for offences such as DUI, DWI, OWI, DWAI, or reckless driving could mean you would be deemed criminally inadmissible according to Canadian law.
Another consequence of this change is that individuals with these kinds of convictions on their record are no longer automatically deemed rehabilitated ten years after the offenses have taken place. It is likely that they will, therefore, need to apply for a Temporary Resident Permit or Criminal Rehabilitation before attempting to cross the border (even if only as a flight crew member).
How Dogen Law Can Help
Marjan Dogen is a licensed lawyer in both the United States and Canada and has years of experience helping those with past criminal convictions overcome criminal inadmissibility issues, including many cases where it has allowed individuals to obtain employment that requires international travel.
If you have a criminal record and think that not being able to enter Canada might prevent you from being employed as a flight attendant, Dogen Law is a Canadian immigration law firm that can help. Canada’s criminal rehabilitation process sets out a clear path for those with foreign convictions to potentially completely overcome inadmissibility.
If you would like to apply for criminal rehabilitation or a temporary resident permit to enter Canada, get in touch today by completing our online assessment to see if you are eligible. If you still have questions about the process, you can also call our toll-free number for more information.
With experienced Canadian immigration lawyers on your side, you can rest assured that you will have the best possible chance of success and receive a response from Canadian immigration authorities as quickly as possible.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do flight attendants have to pass criminal background checks?
Yes. All prospective flight attendants will go through a series of background checks before being offered a role, including a criminal background check by a third party security company that will go back ten years before the date of the application.
This usually occurs after an applicant receives a conditional job offer (CJO) for a flight attendant position. If an applicant is successful, they will continue to be subject to random drug and alcohol tests throughout their flight attendant career.
How can you overcome criminal inadmissibility to Canada?
If you are thinking about applying for your first flight attendant job, having a DUI on your record can significantly complicate the process because it could prevent you from gaining entry into Canada. Criminal Rehabilitation is a permanent solution for those seeking entry into Canada with a DUI conviction. By demonstrating that you’ve undergone a positive transformation and rehabilitation since your offense, you can become admissible to the country.
Criminal rehabilitation application processing times can be quite lengthy, so you should make sure you plan ahead and get the process started as soon as possible. To apply, you must have completed all sentencing and probation requirements at least 5 years ago. Once granted, criminal rehabilitation never expires (unless you pick up new criminal offenses of your record).
Can you have a criminal record and be a flight attendant?
It depends. Some convictions (listed in the article above) would completely disqualify a candidate from starting out in a flight attendant career. Other more minor convictions, or convictions that happened a long time ago (more than 10 years), on the other hand, may not immediately disqualify you, but could still prevent you from being successful as an applicant if you are assessed to present a heightened security risk as a result.
Individual airline hiring policies do vary, so it would be a good idea to get in touch with the ones you are interested in to ask about their recruitment process and interview process to find out whether an impaired driving record could prevent you from being a successful applicant.
It’s also important that any previous felonies or misdemeanors do not prevent you from being able to enter countries such as Canada – a requirement for most airlines. If you would be denied entry and therefore not be able to cross the Canadian border because of a past DUI, it would likely make a career as a flight attendant unfeasible.
