Criminal Rehabilitation Q and A’s
Criminal Rehabilitation Q and A’sI will be addressing popular questions and answers that many criminally inadmissible individuals have with regards to criminal rehabilitation. Essentially, this article is meant for you to further understand what a criminal rehabilitation entails. A criminal rehabilitation was created for criminally inadmissible foreign nationals who wish to come to Canada but first need to overcome their criminal inadmissibility. Their criminal inadmissibility would come as a result of their criminal record. The criminal rehabilitation gives foreign nationals an opportunity to have their criminal records excused and proceed with entering Canada in the future with without any inadmissibility issues. If you think you would be eligible to apply for a criminal rehabilitation, I suggest you read our article on “The Best Solution for Criminal Inadmissibility – Criminal Rehabilitation” before reading this question and answer article. This article is intended to answer these specific questions regarding criminal rehabilitation.
Q: In August of 2007, I was convicted of driving while under the influence of alcohol and then my driver’s license was taken away from me for 3 years. Is it possible for me to apply for a Criminal Rehabilitation?
A: In order to successfully apply for and be eligible for the Criminal Rehabilitation application, you must ensure that you have successfully completed all sentencing. Once the sentencing is completed, then you must count five years from that date. The moment the five years has passed, you will be eligible for Criminal Rehabilitation. Therefore, in your particular circumstance, your sentencing would have been completed in August of 2010. You would start counting the five years from that time, and thus, you would be able to apply for the Criminal Rehabilitation application in August of 2015. As of right now, you may proceed to apply.
Q: I don’t qualify for a Criminal Rehabilitation. Do I have any other options? I must travel to Canada for an important business meeting!
A: This is a very interesting question as it can apply to many individuals who do not qualify for Criminal Rehabilitation. In these circumstances, especially if you need to travel to Canada for an important business meeting, you do have another viable option that you can apply for in order to potentially enter Canada. You may apply for the Temporary Resident Permit. It is important to note that it is not a permanent solution to your criminal inadmissibility; however, it does request Immigration to consider your reason for travelling to Canada and that you are not a threat to Canada when you apply for this type of permit. When applying for this type of permit, it is essential to provide sufficient documentary evidence to prove your reason for travel and that you are not a threat to Canadian society. If you have an urgent travel date to come to Canada, I would suggest using this option. If not, I would suggest waiting until you are eligible for the Criminal Rehabilitation in order to have your inadmissibility issues resolved on a permanent basis. For more information on TRPs, please visit our article “How to Apply for a Temporary Resident Permit”.
Q: Is a Criminal Rehabilitation a permanent solution to my criminal inadmissibility to Canada?
A: This is a very important question to ask. In most circumstances, the moment you receive an approved Criminal Rehabilitation, you will no longer have any criminal inadmissibility issues when entering Canada. However, it is worth mentioning that if you were to reoffend in the future, regardless of the severity of the offence, the Criminal Rehabilitation will become void and null. As a result, you must restart the entire process from the beginning, i.e. you must first complete your sentencing, wait five years after the completion of your sentence, and then reapply for the Criminal Rehabilitation. Evidently, this process can take several years to complete; therefore, it is best to guarantee that you will not reoffend or go back to the old behavior or lifestyle you had in the past, in order to prevent this from happening.
Q: How long will it take to receive a final decision on my Criminal Rehabilitation application?
A: The processing times for Criminal Rehabilitation applications are usually between a year to a year and a half (12 to 18 months). There are many foreign nationals from all over the world that apply for this type of application. As a result, there are an abundance of applications that are currently being processed at the Consulate. Therefore, it does take quite a long period of time in order for the Immigration officers to review all of the documentation and information in the applications accurately. If you, by chance, have an urgent travel date coming up, it is best to apply for a Temporary Resident Permit until you receive a decision for your Criminal Rehabilitation. Alternatively, you can postpone this upcoming travel date until you receive a final decision.
Contact Akrami & Associates
If you have any further questions or need further clarification on how to apply for a criminal rehabilitation, it is important to ask your questions to an Immigration professional. By talking to immigration professionals about your concerns, this will ease your worries and assist with the application process. Many immigration applications are difficult to pursue on your own, if you are unfamiliar. This is especially the case for Criminal Rehabilitation applications and because it has to do with criminal inadmissibility, it is highly recommended that you seek out professional and experienced help before attempting to apply. Here, at Akrami & Associates, we work and have experience with many different immigration issues. We have helped many of our clients enter Canada with inadmissibility issues and have applied for a criminal rehabilitation; they are now happy to be able to travel to Canada without any inadmissibility issues. If you think you may be eligible for criminal rehabilitation, 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!