Overcoming Criminal Inadmissibility: Canadian AND Foreign Convictions

If you have convictions in Canada and convictions/offenses outside of Canada, both an approval of rehabilitation and a pardon are required to overcome your inadmissibility.

Note: Your request for rehabilitation cannot be made until you have first obtained a pardon, except if you have only one summary conviction in Canada. In such instances, you may submit an application for rehabilitation for any convictions/offenses outside Canada if you can provide evidence that you have submitted an application for a pardon to the National Parole Board.

Overcoming Criminal Inadmissibility: Canadian Convictions.

If you have a criminal conviction in Canada, we can help you seek a pardon from the National Parole Board of Canada before you will be admissible to Canada. In order to be considered for a pardon under the Criminal Records Act, a specified period of time must pass after the end of the sentence imposed. The sentence may have been payment of a fine, period of probation, or imprisonment. The usual waiting period for offenses:

• if prosecuted by indictment is five (5) years.
• if punishable on summary conviction is three (3) years.

Once you have a copy of the pardon, send a photocopy to a Canadian visa office or Citizenship and Immigration Centre. If you are traveling to Canada carry a copy of the pardon with you. If you have had two or more summary convictions in Canada, you may no longer be inadmissible if:

•  at least five (5) years have passed since all sentences imposed were served or to be served,
•  you have had no other convictions.

Overcoming Criminal Inadmissibility: Foreign Convictions

If you were convicted of or committed a criminal offense outside Canada, you may overcome this criminal inadmissibility

• by applying for rehabilitation, or
• you may be deemed to have been rehabilitated if at least ten (10) years have passed since you completed the sentence imposed upon you, or since you committed the offense, if the offense is one that would, in Canada, be an indictable offense punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of less than ten years.
• If the offense is one that would, in Canada, be prosecuted summarily and if you were convicted for two (2) or more such offenses, that period is at least five (5) years after the sentences imposed were served or to be served.

Inadmissibility for those convicted as juveniles.

In Canada, a young offender is someone who is 12 years of age or older but less than 18 years of age.

You are not inadmissible if:

> you were convicted in Canada under the Young Offenders Act or the Youth Criminal Justice Act, unless you received an adult sentence;

> you were treated as a young offender in a country which has special provisions for young offenders, or

> you were convicted in a country which does not have special provisions for young offenders but the circumstances of your conviction are such that you would not have received an adult sentence in Canada.

You are inadmissible if:

> you were convicted in adult court in a country that has special provisions for young offenders.

> you were convicted in a country which does not have special provisions for young offenders but the circumstances of your conviction are such that you would have been treated as an adult in Canada

Criminal Inadmissibility for individuals who have only been charged, been discharged or pardoned.

If you have been charged, discharged or pardoned, this chart will help you determine if you are inadmissible:

*You must provide an officer with complete details of 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.

Am I "Criminally Inadmissible" to enter Canada?

In general, temporary residents and applicants applying for permanent residence are considered to be criminally inadmissible if the person:

> was convicted of an offense in Canada;

> was convicted of an offense outside of Canada that is considered a crime in Canada; and/or

> committed an act outside of Canada that is considered a crime under the laws of the country where it occurred and     would be punishable under Canadian law.

Note: In order to determine inadmissibility, foreign convictions and laws are equated to Canadian law as if they had occurred in Canada.

What is criminal inadmissibility?

In general, it is a term used to describe a person who will not be allowed to visit or stay in Canada because they have committed or been convicted of a crime in, or outside of, Canada.