Fingerprinting and Border Issues for Tax or Customs Evaders
By Hans 'John' Kalina | Originally published March 9, 2017 | Reviewed and updated October 7, 2026
A tax or customs prosecution can have consequences beyond repayment, a fine or a sentence. Fingerprinting, police records and foreign travel may also become issues. It is a mistake to assume that an offence is not criminal simply because it appears in tax or customs legislation rather than in the Criminal Code.
The original 2017 article discussed reports of changes to Canada Revenue Agency fingerprinting practices. This updated article does not treat those reports as proof of the agency’s present policy or suggest that every tax audit leads to fingerprinting.
An audit is not the same as a criminal investigation
CRA’s guidance on tax crimes distinguishes an audit, which checks compliance and tax liability, from a criminal investigation, which gathers evidence of offences for possible prosecution. Tax evasion under the Income Tax Act or Excise Tax Act can be criminal. Tax fraud may also be prosecuted under the Criminal Code. A dispute over an assessment or a civil penalty is not, by itself, a criminal conviction.
CRA identifies fingerprinting and restrictions on foreign travel among the possible additional consequences of tax crimes. Whether either arises in a particular case requires examination of the actual charge, procedural stage and applicable law. Allegations are not findings of guilt. In a criminal prosecution, the Crown must prove the offence beyond a reasonable doubt.
Fingerprinting may occur before a conviction
Section 2 of the Identification of Criminals Act permits fingerprinting in specified circumstances, including lawful custody on a charge or conviction for an indictable offence or a hybrid offence that may also be prosecuted summarily. It also addresses specified attendance requirements. The power is not limited to offences found in the Criminal Code and does not always require a conviction.
Do not ignore a fingerprinting appointment or assume that a charge being withdrawn automatically removes all records. Obtain advice about the attendance requirement, the outcome of the proceeding and any separate record-retention or destruction process. The position may differ between police services and between types of records.
A Canadian record and U.S. admissibility are different questions
A Canadian charge, conviction or fingerprint record does not produce the same U.S. immigration result in every case. U.S. admission depends on U.S. law, the offence and facts, the person’s status and other applicable grounds. The label ‘tax offence’ or ‘customs offence’ is not enough to decide the question. Neither a blanket assurance of entry nor a prediction of automatic refusal is reliable.
CBP’s Form I-192 guidance describes advance permission to enter temporarily for certain inadmissible nonimmigrants. It is not available or appropriate in every situation. The guidance calls for relevant criminal-record and court documentation. An application does not guarantee approval, and Canadian record relief should not be assumed to bind U.S. authorities.
Practical steps before travelling
Obtain the charging document and the court record showing the final disposition, rather than relying on a recollection of the outcome.
Check bail, probation or other court-imposed restrictions independently of the destination’s entry rules.
Ask counsel about fingerprinting and record-retention issues; seek U.S. immigration advice where admission is uncertain.
Answer border questions truthfully. Do not assume that an old record has disappeared or that all countries treat it in the same way.
Related guidance
For advice about your circumstances, contact our office. General information only, not legal advice.