Individuals that are prohibited to enter Canada on the grounds of Criminality may still be allowed to enter Canada if they qualify for Deemed
Rehabilitation. For a person to qualify for Deemed Rehabilitation they must have the one of the following:
If they have been convicted outside of Canada for an offence that would be equal to an indictable offence punishable by a sentence of less than ten years and they meet the following requirements:
- Ten years have passed since they have completed their sentence;
- Have not been convicted of any indictable offence or summary offence in Canada in the past ten years, ore more than one summary conviction in the teen years prior to that; and
- Has not been convicted outside of Canada of an offence in the past ten years that would establish an indictable offence, or of more than summary conviction in the ten years earlier to that.
Or
Been convicted outside of Canada of two or more offences that are equal to summary offence and the following requirements are met:
- Five years have passed since the completion of their sentence
- They have not been convicted of any indictable offence or summary offence in Canada in the past ten years or more than one summary conviction in the ten years earlier to that; and
- Haven’t been convicted of an offence outside of Canada in the last five years that would establish an indictable offence, or more than one summary conviction in the ten years earlier to that.
Or
Committed an offence outside of Canada that would be equal to an indictable offence punishable by a sentence of less than ten years and the following requirements are met:
- Ten years have passed since the sentence has been completed
- Has not been convicted of any indictable offence or summary offence in Canada in the past ten years or more than one summary conviction on the ten years earlier to that; and
- Have not been convicted outside of Canada of an offence in the past ten years that would establish an indictable offence or more than one summary conviction in the ten years before that.
Deemed Rehabilitation cannot be qualified for individuals who are not permitted on the grounds of serious criminality; Rehabilitation status will not be achieved with simple passage of time after the completion of their sentence.
However, Individual rehabilitation can be an alternative option for persons who fall under the serious criminality classification as well as other who are not qualified for Deemed Rehabilitation.
To be qualified for Individual Rehabilitation, the person must:
- After the completion of their sentence they must wait 5 years before applying; and
- It must be demonstrated and proved that they have been rehabilitated and are no longer a risk for criminal activity. To prove that this may require demonstrating:
- A stable lifestyle
- Community ties
- Social and vocational skills
- That the criminal offence was isolated event
If requirements for rehabilitation are not met and an otherwise criminally inadmissible person has a need to enter Canada, then a Temporary Resident Permit (TRP) may be issued to overcome this inadmissibility.