Conviction(s)

You may be inadmissible to enter Canada if have been convicted of a crime whether inside or outside of Canada.

You may be inadmissible to Canada if you have a medical condition, criminal conviction, or financial concern, or if you misrepresented information in your application or present a serious concern that you may commit a crime while in Canada. If you are deemed inadmissible, you cannot enter or remain in Canada without a Temporary Resident Permit (TRP).

If you are inadmissible to Canada but have a need to travel, you can apply for a TRP. These permits are intended for business travelers and those with pressing family-related reasons for travel.

What is a Temporary Resident Permit?

Temporary Resident Permits can be granted either for the duration of your trip (i.e. to allow you to stay in Canada for a week) or longer-term to allow a traveler multiple entries to the country over an established period of time. They can be granted for a maximum of three years. TRPs do not entitle the holder to move to Canada. If you are interested in working or studying in Canada but are inadmissible, you must be granted a TRP valid for at least six months to enable you to apply for a work and/or study permit.

In order to be granted a TRP you must successfully prove in your application that the importance of your reason for travelling outweighs the likelihood of your reoffending while in Canada. The ultimate decision on your application is made by a Canadian border services or immigration officer who deems that your reason for travel is “justified in the circumstances.”

How to apply

The application for a TRP can be confusing, as it requires a large volume of documents to be gathered and compiled into one package. These documents include letters of reference, court documents from your conviction, background checks, and personal statements regarding your reason for travel.

Every TRP application also requires payment of a non-refundable C$200 processing fee to the Canadian government.

If you have any questions regarding the TRP application process, fill out this form for a free consultation.

eTA-required countries

If you are traveling to Canada from an eTA-required country and are refused an eTA, you may be eligible to apply for a TRP dependent upon your reason for travel and the nature of your inadmissibility.

Kindly let us help you determine if you are inadmissible by clicking on ________.

You may be inadmissible to Canada if you have a medical condition, criminal conviction, or financial concern, or if you misrepresented information in your application or present a serious concern that you may commit a crime while in Canada.

You may be criminally inadmissible to Canada if you have been convicted of a crime which is the equivalent of a Canadian federal law. The only permanent solution for overcoming criminal inadmissibility is Criminal Rehabilitation (CR). The CR process is comprehensive and has a processing time of nine to twelve months. If you are eligible to apply for CR but require the ability to travel to Canada sooner than that, you can apply for a Temporary Resident Permit (TRP) while your CR application is in processing. Find more information regarding the TRP application process here.

What is Criminal Rehabilitation?

Criminal Rehabilitation clears your record for the purpose of traveling to Canada, and can only be revoked if you reoffend. In order to be granted CR, you must demonstrate to the immigration officer who processes your application that you are at no risk to reoffend. This is done through proving that it has been at least five years since you completed your sentence, that you have a stable life including reliable housing and employment, and that you are a person of good character.

Determining eligibility 

You are eligible to apply for Criminal Rehabilitation if five years have passed since you completed all terms of your sentence. For example, if you were convicted in 2010 and sentenced to three years of probation, you would become eligible to apply for CR in 2018; five years after the completion of your probation in 2013.

If the Canadian law that is equivalent to the law you were sentenced under carries a maximum punishment of less than ten years’ imprisonment:

You may be deemed rehabilitated ten years after the completion of all terms of your sentence. You can be deemed rehabilitated if you have only one conviction on your record. If you have more than one conviction, the only way to clear your record for the purposes of coming to Canada is to apply for CR.

If the Canadian law that is equivalent to the law you were sentenced under carried a maximum punishment of ten or more years’ imprisonment:

You cannot be deemed rehabilitated and the only way to clear your record for the purposes of coming to Canada is to apply for CR. The date that you become eligible is still five years after the completion of all terms of your sentence.

If you are unsure whether you are eligible to apply for CR, kindly fill out this form for a free consultation.

Please see the below table for a simplification of the above information.

*Even if you are deemed rehabilitated according to the above table, please note that the final decision always rests with the immigration officer reviewing your file. 

Though summary offences are somewhat equivalent to misdemeanors and indictable offences are somewhat equivalent to felonies, this is not a rule and you should always have a lawyer familiar with Canadian federal laws review the equivalence of the law you were convicted under before proceeding to the border or with an application.

An example of the exception to this rough equivalence is the New Jersey “Driving While Intoxicated” law, which is a traffic offence [2013 New Jersey Revised Statutes Section 39:4-50], whereas the Canadian equivalent is “Operating While Intoxicated,” an indictable offence punishable by a maximum of 10 years’ imprisonment [Canadian Criminal Code Section 320.19].

How to apply

The application for CR can be confusing, as it requires a large volume of documents to be gathered and compiled into one package. These documents include letters of reference, court documents from your conviction, background checks, and personal statements regarding your rehabilitation.

Every CR application also requires payment of a non-refundable processing fee to the Canadian government. The amount varies depending on the seriousness of the Canadian equivalent of the law you were convicted under.

If you have any questions regarding the CR application process, fill out this form for a free consultation.

Decision-making

The final decision made by the immigration officer, Immigration Program Manager, or Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship will be rendered in writing and will be either an approval or refusal.

The decision can be impacted by:

• The number of offences you have been convicted of
• The time period over which multiple offences were committed
• The seriousness of the offences
• Your behaviour post-conviction
• Your likelihood of reoffence
• The strength of your letters of reference
• The current stability of your life
• Your own statement regarding your rehabilitation

Please note that average processing times for Criminal Rehabilitation applications is nine to twelve months.

Kindly let us help you determine if you are inadmissible by clicking on ________.

Formal, written report by an attorney (or a firm of attorneys) to a client on a specific case or legal problem. It outlines the (1) attorney’s understanding and analysis of the facts basic to the case or problem, (2) implication of applicable laws, and (3) a suggested course of action.

Depending of your personal circumstances, a sponsorship with your partner can be filed from inside (Inland) or outside Canada.