Convert.ToInt32 (Char) converts Unicode character to 32-bit signed integer.
Module Example Public Sub Main() Dim chars() As Char = { "a"c, "z"c, ChrW(7), ChrW(2010), _ ChrW(Short.MaxValue), ChrW(&hFFFE) } Dim result As Integer For Each ch As Char in chars Try result = Convert.ToInt32(ch) Console.WriteLine(result) Catch e As OverflowException Console.WriteLine("OverflowException") End Try Next End Sub End Module