If you have a criminal conviction or charge from outside of Canada, whether in the United States or elsewhere, you may have a challenging time trying to enter Canada. Immigration officers at the Canadian border as well as in Canadian airports have the discretion and authority to refuse the entry of any foreign national who has a criminal history into Canada. However, the foreign national does have a few options to choose from in order to gain entry into Canada; of course, so long as they are eligible. It is important to note that the option you choose does depend on the crime that was committed and how long ago it was committed. Therefore, in this article, I will explain how to resolve your criminal inadmissibility in order to enter Canada.
If you have committed a crime outside of Canada, specifically in the United States, or anywhere overseas, you may be potentially deemed inadmissible to Canada. The crime committed should include a hybrid or indictable offence in order to be deemed inadmissible. However, based on the severity of the crime committed, as well as the time that has elapsed since the conviction or charge, will ultimately determine which application you should apply for. For instance, in order to enter Canada legally with inadmissibility issues, a foreign national can apply for a Temporary Resident Permit, a Criminal Rehabilitation, or be Deemed Rehabilitated.
It is important to recognize that the solution for your inadmissibility will be determined by the time that has elapsed since the completion of the sentence. In other words, you must ensure that the sentence, including any imprisonment, probation, payment of fines, parole, etc. has been completed. If you have completed your entire sentence, then you can start counting down the days from that point on. You should aim to have 5 years elapse since the completion of the sentence.
Below, I will explain which solution would be best suited for the foreign national based on how much time has elapsed since the completion of the sentence imposed.
| Time Elapsed Since Completion of Sentence | Solution to your Inadmissibility
|
| Less than 5 years elapsed | Temporary Resident Permit Not yet eligible for a Criminal Rehabilitation |
| More than 5 years have elapsed but less than 10 years | Criminal Rehabilitation |
| 10 years or more have elapsed | Deemed Rehabilitated Only for foreign nationals who have one minor offence on their criminal record |
A Temporary Resident Permit (TRP) is one of the best solutions for foreign nationals who have criminal inadmissibility issues. Keep in mind, TRPs are temporary and will not remove your criminal inadmissibility indefinitely. The permit essentially allows foreign nationals to gain entry into Canada for a specific time and for a specific reason. For instance, if you are a business individual who needs to enter Canada to attend an important business meeting, you may apply for a Temporary Resident Permit. If this is the case, the Immigration officer will determine how long the permit would be issued for depending on your reasons for travel; so, in the case of a business trip, the officer could issue the permit for a week.
The validity period of a TRP can differ based on the reason for travel. The Immigration officer can issue the permit for a minimum of one day or a maximum of three years. The ultimate discretion is in the hands of the Immigration officer. Additionally, the goal of the Temporary Resident Permit is to adequately prove that the foreign national is not a threat or risk to Canadian society during their period of travel to Canada as well as their reasons to enter Canada are justified.
Another important factor of Temporary Resident Permits is that there are two ways to apply. You could either apply and submit the application to the Canadian Consulate, or you can apply and submit the application at a Canadian port of entry. Applying at a Canadian port of entry will lead to a faster decision as the Immigration officer will determine whether you will enter Canada the same day. Whereas, applying at the Canadian consulate can take anywhere from eight to twelve months to receive a decision.
In contrast to the Temporary Resident Permit, a Criminal Rehabilitation application will permanently resolve a foreign national’s criminal inadmissibility issues. If and once the foreign national receives an approved Criminal Rehabilitation, they will be able to travel in and out of Canada with no need to apply for another permit or rehabilitation as the inadmissibility issues will no longer impede on their travel. This is only the case if the foreign national does not incur any other criminal offences.
The only option for applying for a Criminal Rehabilitation is to apply at the Canadian consulate. As previously mentioned, the processing times when applying at the Canadian consulate can range from anywhere between eight to twelve months. However, if you need to travel to Canada urgently while your Criminal Rehabilitation is being processed, you can apply for a Temporary Resident Permit.
If you have been charged or convicted of a criminal offence and ten years have elapsed since the completion of the sentence imposed, then you will be deemed rehabilitated. However, it is important to note that this only applies if the criminal offence was a single non-serious indictable offence and there are no other convictions or charges on their criminal record. Additionally, if the foreign national is convicted of a summary offence, they can be deemed rehabilitated after 5 years have elapsed since the completion of the sentence. This is even the case if they have two offences on their criminal record. The reasoning behind this is because summary offences are considered to be minor offences.
Thankfully, to be deemed rehabilitated, there is no application needed. However, if the crimes committed are considered serious in nature, then the foreign national will have to apply for a Criminal Rehabilitation.
It is essential that you have taken all of the aforementioned requirements and documentation into consideration before you attempt to apply for any of the applications to resolve your criminal inadmissibility. These applications are difficult applications to pursue on your own and it is highly recommended that you seek out professional and experienced help before attempting to submit the application. Here, at Akrami & Associates, we work and have experience with many different immigration issues. We have helped many of our clients that have criminal inadmissibility apply for these applications to resolve their criminal inadmissibility. If you believe that you may be eligible, please feel free to contact Akrami & Associates at our office at 416-477-2545 for more information or if you would like to book a consultation with an immigration professional for more advice.
With Akrami & Associates, there is always a way!
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