Canadian Criminal Rehabilitation

The Requirements for Criminal Rehabilitation

There are certain requirements that must be fulfilled to obtain criminal rehabilitation. These include:

The criminal offence you committed must fall under the Criminal Code of Canada or the federal statute
The amount of time required based on your offence must have been passed

Completing criminal rehabilitation will ensure that you won’t be denied entry into Canada because of your criminal inadmissibility. Once you have completed criminal rehabilitation and want to go to Canada temporarily on a temporary resident visa you will need to show certain documentation as listed below:

Identification proof (i.e. of citizenship, of birth, etc.)
Clearance of your criminal inadmissibility
Your criminal record

Listed below is the amount of time you can be deemed rehabilitated or to apply for rehabilitation:

Offence	Length	Deemed Rehabilitated?	Apply for Rehabilitation?
Indictable Offence	>10 years	No	After 5 years
Indictable Offence	<10 years	After 10 years	After 5 years
Summary offence	——	—–	recommended
2 Summary Offences	——	——	recommended

If you had a suspended sentence, then it would be five years from which the sentence was laid, but if it was with a fine then it would be five years from which the fine is paid. If there was probation then it would be 5 years from the probation period.

You can be denied entry even if you are deemed rehabilitated. It is advisable you obtain a letter from a legal adviser and show it to the border officer.

When the officer is reviewing your application, they will assess the need vs risk. If they feel you will commit another offence, they will reject your application.