How to Enter Canada with Criminal Inadmissibility

Solutions to Overcome Criminal Inadmissibility

If you have been charged and/or convicted of a criminal offence outside of Canada, then you most likely will be criminal inadmissible when trying to enter Canada. If this comes to a surprise to you, it is important to recognize that most criminal convictions in the United States, for instance, are comparable to the Canadian Criminal Code. Therefore, if you were charged in the United States with a DUI, this will result in criminal inadmissibility to Canada. In order to overcome your criminal inadmissibility to Canada, it is very important to know your options before attempting to cross the Canadian border. Therefore, in this article, I will address the solutions to overcome your criminal inadmissibility and how to enter Canada with criminal inadmissibility.

Determining Criminal Inadmissibility to Canada

If you are a foreign national and have a criminal offence from outside of Canada, whether from the United States or another country in the world, you most likely will be criminally inadmissible to Canada. Specifically, if you have committed either an indictable offence or a hybrid offence, you will be criminally inadmissible to Canada. Summary offences are less serious and thus you may not be criminally inadmissible, however, this depends on several different factors. To determine which solution and application you should apply for you must first consider the severity of the crime committed and the time that has passed since the completion of the sentencing of the offence. The solutions to overcoming criminal inadmissibility include either a Temporary Resident Permit, a Criminal Rehabilitation or Deemed Rehabilitation. The biggest determining factor in determining which application to apply for is the time that has passed since the completion of the sentencing. Please note that the completion of the sentencing is only done once all fines are paid, all probation is passed, all imprisonment has been completed, parole is complete, and more.

Solutions to Overcome Criminal Inadmissibility

As aforementioned, in order to determine which solution is best for you, you must first determine how much time has elapsed since the completion of all sentencing. Therefore, below I will explain which scenario works best for each application.

• If less than five years have passed since the completion of the sentence, your solution to overcome your criminal inadmissibility would be to apply for a Temporary Resident Permit as you are not yet eligible to apply for a Criminal Rehabilitation.
• If more than five years have passed but less than ten years have passed since the completion of the sentence, your solution to overcome your criminal inadmissibility would be to apply for a Criminal Rehabilitation.
• If more than ten years have passed since the completion of the sentence, then your solution to overcome your criminal inadmissibility would be Deemed Rehabilitation. However, it is important to note that this option is only available for foreign nationals who have only one minor offence on their criminal record.

Temporary Resident Permit

The Temporary Resident Permit is a viable option for anyone that has criminal inadmissibility. It is important to remember that a Temporary Resident Permit is only temporary and does not permanently overcome your criminal inadmissibility. Additionally, when applying for a Temporary Resident Permit, you must show the Immigration officer your reasoning for travelling to Canada and how important it is that you be physically present in the country. You must also demonstrate that you will not pose a threat or a risk to Canadian society by entering the country. In most cases, foreign nationals apply for a Temporary Resident Permit because of an urgent travel date. For instance, if a foreign national must enter Canada for business reasons, i.e. to attend an important business meeting or conference, then they can apply for a Temporary Resident Permit at the port of entry in order to obtain a same day decision. However, one can also apply for a Temporary Resident Permit at the Canadian consulate which is highly valued by Immigration officers as it demonstrates that the foreign national is very serious about overcoming their criminal inadmissibility to Canada

Criminal Rehabilitation

A Criminal Rehabilitation application is for those individuals who have completed all aspects of their sentencing over five years ago. Thankfully, the Criminal Rehabilitation application offers a more permanent solution to foreign nationals with criminal inadmissibility. In other words, if a foreign national were to attempt to enter Canada and they have an approved Criminal Rehabilitation, they will have no issues entering Canada as the Criminal Rehabilitation dissolves their criminal inadmissibility. Yet, if the foreign national reoffends, the Criminal Rehabilitation then becomes void. Additionally, the only option when applying for a Criminal Rehabilitation is to submit to the Canadian consulate.

Deemed Rehabilitated

Deemed Rehabilitation is for foreign nationals who have completed all aspects of their sentencing over ten years ago. This only applies if the foreign national only has one minor offence on their criminal record. In addition, if the foreign national has been convicted of a summary offence, they may be eligible for deemed rehabilitation after five years has passed since the completion of all sentencing. Fortunately for these foreign nationals, there is no application process for deemed rehabilitation.

Contact Akrami & Associates

It is essential that you have taken all the aforementioned information into consideration, especially if you are unsure of which application you should apply for. If you would like to overcome your criminal inadmissibility to Canada, it is extremely important to note that these are difficult applications to pursue on your own. Therefore, it is highly recommended that you seek out professional and experienced help prior to submitting the appropriate application. Here, at Akrami & Associates, we work and have experience with many different immigration matters. We have helped many of our clients apply for the appropriate application in order to overcome their criminal inadmissibility. If you believe that you may be eligible to apply for a TRP, 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!