3 Factors Immigration Officers Will Consider
If you have a criminal record, even if it’s from over ten years ago, you will most likely be denied entry into Canada and will be criminally inadmissible. In these circumstances, individuals may feel as though they are stuck and not able to travel to Canada due to their inadmissibility. Thankfully, a Temporary Resident Permit may allow these individuals to temporarily overcome their criminal inadmissibility and enter Canada. When applying for a Temporary Resident Permit, it is highly suggested to understand exactly what the Immigration officer is considering in the application. Therefore, in this article, I will address the 3 factors Immigration officers consider in Temporary Resident Permits.
What is a Temporary Resident Permit (TRP)
The Temporary Resident Permit is an official document intended for individuals who have criminal inadmissibility. Additionally, these individuals cannot apply for a Criminal Rehabilitation yet as they are not eligible. Therefore, in many circumstances, these individuals who apply for a Temporary Resident Permit have a legitimate reason for their entry into Canada and, thus, must apply for the TRP. However, as mentioned in the name itself, the individual can only enter Canada on a temporary basis. The permit, unfortunately, does not overcome the criminal inadmissibility permanently. The validity period of a Temporary Resident Permit can be from one day to three years. Note, this is entirely determined by the Immigration officer that is assessing the application. When an individual applies for a Temporary Resident Permit, they can either apply at the port of entry or at the Canadian consulate. This is also dependent on how urgent they need to travel and enter Canada. It is important to recognize that applying at the Canadian consulate is highly regarded by Immigration officers as it indicates that the individual is serious about overcoming their criminal inadmissibility.
3 Factors Immigration Officers Consider in Temporary Resident Permits
Reason for Entering Canada
The Immigration officer will assess the application by reviewing why the foreign national needs to enter Canada. For instance, if an individual is a business person and has a very important business meeting in Canada that requires their physical presence, the Immigration officer will take this into consideration. Business individuals that come to Canada for business, but do not enter the Canadian labour market, are highly regarded in the eyes of Immigration as Canada wants to create international business relations. However, there are other circumstances that individuals may indicate for their reasoning to travel to Canada. For example, if an individual has family members in Canada and there is an important event happening, such as a wedding, then they may submit a Temporary Resident Permit for these reasons. In contrast, leisure reasons, such as family events or tourism trips, are less regarded by Immigration and the chances of entry do decrease slightly. Yet, even in these cases, it is always important to show how important your physical presence is in Canada and, as a result, that is why you are requesting a Temporary Resident Permit.
Risk to Canadians
The Immigration officer will assess the application by reviewing whether the foreign national creates a risk to Canadians. How the Immigration officer does this is by examining the offences that took place; how many offences took place; the severity of the offences; how long ago the offences took place; and many more factors. Consequently, it is the responsibility of the individual to demonstrate and show the Immigration officer that they have changed their way of life since the offence(s) and that they are truly remorseful that the offence happened. Another very important factor to consider is indicating to the Immigration officer that you have successfully completed all aspects of the sentencing and have remained a law abiding citizen ever since. This will show the Immigration officer that you are not a risk to Canadian society and your chances of approval will become higher.
Need to Enter Canada Outweighs the Risk
The Immigration officer will assess the application by reviewing both previous factors – the need to enter Canada must outweigh the risk to Canadians. So, an example of this circumstance could be an individual coming to Canada for business reasons and to meet with potential Canadian businesses and their physical presence is required as they are conducting these meetings; however, their criminal offence happened only a year ago and sentencing has not yet been completed. In this case, the Immigration officer has to take both aspects into consideration before allowing or denying the individual entry into Canada. Therefore, it is very important for any individual applying for a Temporary Resident Permit to thoroughly indicate their intentions while in Canada and why they must travel here as well as the remorse and growth that has happened as a result of the criminal offence(s). As previously mentioned, the responsibility is up to the individual applying and they must ensure that they are providing the Immigration officer with sufficient documentation and information to come to the appropriate solution.
Contact Akrami & Associates
It is essential that you have taken all the aforementioned information into consideration, especially if you are trying to submit a strong Temporary Resident Permit application. If you believe you are eligible and would like to apply for a Temporary Resident Permit, it is essential to note that TRPs are difficult applications to pursue on your own. Therefore, it is highly recommended that you seek out professional and experienced help prior to submitting a Temporary Resident Permit application. Here, at Akrami & Associates, we work and have experience with many different immigration matters. We have helped many of our clients create strong Temporary Resident Permit applications that include all of the aforementioned factors. If you believe that you may be eligible to apply, 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.
At Akrami & Associates, there is always a way!