Entering Canada with a criminal record – denied entry to Canada.

You’ve been entering Canada for years with no problems. You go to the Canadian border and all of a sudden you are pulled aside to secondary review. The officer tells you he’s not letting you into the country because of a conviction you received 20 years ago!

While we hope this doesn’t sound familiar, if it does, you will need to resolve your border denial to be able to enter Canada again. Every inadmissibility is unique, and the circumstances of a case are all very different. Why? Well, a person can be inadmissible to Canada for several reasons: security, human or international rights violations, serious criminality, criminality, organized criminality, health grounds, financial reasons, misrepresentation, non-compliance with the Act, and the list goes on.

For this post, we’re focussing on criminal inadmissibility and convictions from outside of Canada.

There are some essential things to keep in mind.

1. Overcoming Criminal Inadmissibility

Individual Rehabilitation

For the most part, we recommend pursuing a rehabilitation application if you are eligible to do so. As a general rule of thumb, if you have been convicted outside of Canada and five years have passed since the end of the sentence imposed, you can apply. The sentence imposed must be fully completed; this includes any fees or restitution payments required or course completion. The five-year period will start on the day you finish the last of your sentence conditions. If your application is approved, you will be able to travel freely to Canada without the need to apply for a TRP.

Temporary Resident Permit (TRP)

If you need to enter Canada while your criminal rehabilitation processes or you are not yet eligible for rehabilitation, you can explore a TRP. TRP’s are issued if you have a good reason to travel to Canada. For example, you have family in Canada, or you need to enter for business purposes. The reason for travel should justify the issuance of a TRP. TRP’s are usually issued for the length of your intended stay, but longer duration permits of up to three years can be obtained.

Deemed Rehabilitation

You do not have to apply for deemed rehabilitation; however, you should be sure you are eligible before you try and enter Canada. To qualify, you must have had only one conviction or committed only one crime, at least ten years must have passed since you completed the sentence imposed and if it had occurred in Canada, it would be punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of less than ten years. You can be assessed for deemed rehabilitation by the Canadian visa office responsible for your area, or if you are a U.S. citizen, at the Port of Entry.

2. The Equivalence in Canada

This one is a bit tricky and having a general understanding of the criminal code, and criminal procedure in Canada can be helpful. You will need to convert your foreign conviction to an offence in the criminal code by looking at the wording in each statue and the essential ingredients of the respective offences. You should consider the circumstances of the crime, as well as the punishment imposed. To further help the officer in a determination, you can also provide caselaw from criminal proceedings to show how the offence would be treated in Canada.

Based on this section alone, we recommend working with a professional to ensure you are putting forward the best possible legal arguments. The equivalency can mean the difference in a refusal or approval.

3. What to submit in your application?

When assessing an application for a TRP or Criminal Rehabilitation, the officer will look at a variety of different factors to make a decision. We recommend splitting your application into three main areas: why you want to enter Canada, what happened to make you inadmissible, and why are you are not a threat to Canada. Supporting documentation is critical. You need to collect as much evidence as possible to convince the officer a favourable decision is reasonable. The more documentation you obtain, the stronger your application will be.

We will be doing an inadmissibility series, so stay tuned for more information on inadmissibility to Canada.

Frequently Asked Questions

I wasn’t convicted of a crime; can I still enter Canada?

This can only be determined on a case by case basis. However, there is a provision which covers committing a crime but not convicted. Specifically, “committing an act outside Canada that is an offence in the place where it was committed and that, if committed in Canada, would constitute an indictable offence under an Act of Parliament.”

It will largely depend on what the crime was, and the outcome in the foreign country. This is often seen for charges in the United States due to the various state laws and sentencing outcomes.

For example, a drug trafficking and possession charge from the State of Florida, with a Nolo Contendre Plea and Adjudication Withheld would fall under the provision of committing an offence, ultimately rendering the applicant inadmissible to Canada.

I received another conviction after approval of my criminal rehabilitation, can I still travel to Canada?

No, you are considered inadmissible to Canada. You will need to go through the process of criminal rehabilitation again, provided you are eligible.

I was convicted as a juvenile, am I inadmissible?

A young offender in Canada is someone between the age of 12 to 18 years old. You are not inadmissible to Canada if you were treated as a young offender in a country which has provisions for young offenders, or you were convicted in a country which doesn’t have special provisions, but the circumstances of the conviction would not have received an adult sentence in Canada. You may still be stopped at a Canadian border, so we recommend ensuring you have all the necessary paperwork to show you are not inadmissible before trying to enter Canada.