HYBRID OFFENCES AND HOW TO ENTER CANADA

People who want to come to Canada should not have a criminal record. Having an offence on record might make you inadmissible to Canada. If you are convicted of a hybrid offence, you may be eligible to enter Canada or may be determined as criminally inadmissible and is denied to come in Canada. If it happens, fortunately, there are still options for you to overcome your criminally inadmissible and give your opportunity to be accepted in Canada.

What a Hybrid Offence Is

When you convicted an offence, the Crown counsel will decide what kind of offences you will be charged with. Depending on which offences, you will know what kind of punishment you might receive such as maximum or minimum penalty. Hybrid offence is one kind of those offence which standing between summary offences and indictable offences. Those three types of offences are explained as seeing below:

1. Summary offences: These offences are less serious. The maximum punishment for summary offences is a $5000 fine or 6 months in jail. However, there is some situation where the summary offences have higher maximum sentences; for example, in case of breaching probation order.
2. Indictable offences: These offences are more serious. The maximum penalty for indictable offences is variety and including life in prison.
3. Hybrid offences: These are offences that can be applied to both summary offences and indictable offences.

With hybrid offences, the Crown has more options and can be more flexible. Some examples of hybrid offences are matters involving driving while under the influence or assault in certain situation. In those hybrid offence cases, the Crown will treat the issues either as summary offence or indictable offence by weighing the serious consequences that a person affected to the victims.

Conviction of Hybrid Offence And Its Consequences In Immigration

If the hybrid offences which you were convicted outside Canada, they must have an equivalent to those offences in Canada. And if there is no similar offence in Canada, then you will be able to enter Canada because your conviction seems not bring in any dangers for Canada. For example, in some country, a woman will be convicted an offence if she shows her smile in public; there is no equivalent offence in Canada for that conviction, so she is welcome to Canada even with a criminal record.

If your offence is equal to hybrid offences and treated as a summary offence in Canada, you will likely be able to enter Canada.

If your case is equal to hybrid offences and determined as an indictable offence in Canada, you will be considered as criminally inadmissible and may not enter Canada. If the penalty for your conviction is at least 10 years, you will likely not be able to enter Canada.

Options for Hybrid Offence Conviction

The options for hybrid offence conviction depend on particular situations which are listed below:

1. Young offenders

By the time of your conviction, you were under 18 years old; you will likely be able to enter Canada as it is equivalent to the offences under Youth Criminal Justice Act in Canada.

2. Minor conviction

If your case is treated as summary offence, a single conviction will not prevent you enter Canada. But if you committed two or more convictions abroad, you cannot enter Canada until 5 years after you completed your sentencing and no more conviction during this time.

3. Major conviction

If your case is treated as indictable offence, you cannot enter Canada until 10 years after you completed your sentencing and no more conviction during this time

4. Deem or individual rehabilitation

After 5 years since you completed your sentencing without any conviction during that time, you may apply to Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) for a rehabilitation order

5. Temporary resident permit

If less than 5 years since you completed your sentencing without any conviction during that time, you may apply to Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) for a temporary resident permit. Your application will only approved if:

your reason to travel to Canada is considered justified in the circumstances; and
you do not pose a risk because of your inadmissibility.

Trust Us! We Can Help You

To be certain about whether your criminal offence which was committed outside Canada is a hybrid offence in Canada and how your issue is prosecuted as a summary offence or indictable offence, contact us.

We promise to provide you with the best professional legal services to solve your problem. Because we know how you are feeling, we know everyone makes mistakes and everyone needs a chance to start new.

Salim Nabi