Criminal Rehabilitation / Pardon

A foreign national may be inadmissible to Canada on the grounds of criminality. This will either prevent entry to Canada as a visitor, student or worker or prevent an individual from obtaining permanent residence or maintaining their PR status.

Will be found Inadmissible

For convictions outside Canada, if they have:

• been convicted outside Canada of an act that, if committed in Canada, would be equivalent to an indictable offence punishable by a sentence of less than ten years
• been convicted outside Canada of two or more acts that, if committed in Canada, would be equivalent to summary offences
• been convicted outside Canada of an act that, if committed in Canada, would be equivalent to a hybrid offence punishable by a sentence of less than ten years

For convictions inside Canada, if they have:

• been convicted in Canada of an indictable offence punishable by a sentence of less than ten years
• been convicted in Canada of two or more summary offences

Will not be found inadmissible under these scenarios

Record Suspension (Pardon), Withdrawn or Dismissed Charges, Discharged For charges withdrawn or dismissed:

• If the offence occurred outside Canada, you may be inadmissible.
• If the offence occurred in Canada, you are not inadmissible.

For an absolute or conditional discharge:

• If the offence occurred outside Canada, you may be inadmissible.
• If the offence occurred in Canada, you are not inadmissible.

Pardon granted:

• If the offence occurred outside Canada, you may be inadmissible.
• If the offence occurred in Canada, you are not inadmissible if you were pardoned under the Criminal Records Act in Canada.

If you may be inadmissible, you must provide an officer with complete details of all charges, convictions, court dispositions, pardons, photocopies of applicable sections of foreign law(s), and court proceedings to allow the officer to determine whether or not you are inadmissible to Canada. Even if you have a charge from outside Canada and it was dismissed or an offence that was pardoned, you must provide all the necessary documents or facts to ensure you are not found inadmissible to Canada

How to overcome Criminal Admissibility

Depending on the nature of the conviction, the place of conviction, the time that has passed since being convicted, end of parole and the time served individuals have several options to overcome their inadmissibility to Canada. These are:

• Temporary Resident Permit
• Rehabilitation (Deemed and Individual Rehabilitation)- Outside Canada Offences
• Record Suspension (Pardon)- In Canada Offences

Temporary Resident Permit (TRP)- Temporary waiver to enter Canada

A TRP grants an individual's legal entry to Canada for a certain period of time, despite the fact that the individual is in fact inadmissible. It is essentially a “hall pass” that temporarily excuses the individual's inadmissibility so that he or she may enter Canada. It can be valid for as short as a couple of days up to a maximum of three years.

A Temporary Resident Permit (TRP) will be issued at the discretion of Canadian Immigration Authorities to individuals who would otherwise be inadmissible to Canada because of health or criminality issues, permitting them to enter or stay in Canada, where justified by compelling circumstances. It is important to have a properly prepared application stating valid reasons and justification for gaining entry into Canada. We can help with this.

Criminal Rehabilitation

A person can also overcome criminal inadmissibility through rehabilitation.

Attaining rehabilitation usually depends on:

• The type of crime that was committed
• How long it has been since the crime was committed
• The way that a person has behaved since committing the crime.

A person’s individual rehabilitation application will be successful if:

• The person fulfills the criteria from the section above.
• The Canadian government is convinced that the person is rehabilitated.
• The Canadian government is convinced that the person will not commit more crimes in the future.

There are two types rehabilitation:

Deemed Rehabilitation

A person can be deemed to be rehabilitated if enough time has passed since he or she has committed a crime. In order to be deemed rehabilitated, a person must have committed a crime that comes with a jail term of less than ten years or less than five years depending on the crime. Being deemed rehabilitated does not involve an application process. It merely involves showing a Canadian official that enough time has passed since you last committed a crime. For more on Deemed Rehabilitation, click here.

Criminal Rehabilitation (individual)

As opposed to deemed rehabilitation, which is concerned with how much time has passed since a crime was committed, individual rehabilitation involves an assessment of whether a person is likely to commit new crimes. Individual rehabilitation also involves a formal application process. In order to apply for individual rehabilitation, individuals must be able to show:

• That they meet the relevant criteria
• That they have been rehabilitated
• That they are unlikely to take part in future crimes.
• That, at least five years have passed since the end of their criminal sentence, including probation.
• That, at least five years have passed since they committed the original crime.

If you were convicted of a crime outside of Canada that, if committed in Canada, would be an indictable crime:

You can apply for criminal rehabilitation if 5 years have passed since the latter date of conviction of the offense, being released from jail, probation ending, community service completed or fine being paid.

Record Suspension (Pardon) for Convictions/offences in Canada

If you have a criminal conviction in Canada, you must seek a record suspension (formerly a pardon) from the Parole Board of Canada (PBC) before you will be admissible to Canada.

Contact us for assistance in overcoming your inadmissibility and applying for a TRP, Criminal or Deemed Rehabilitation.