Deemed rehabilitation for immigration to Canada

Where a national is deemed rehabilitated, they may still enter Canada lawfully despite having a previous criminal record.

Where a foreign national with a previous conviction wishes to enter Canada, a Canadian immigration officer may rely on that conviction to refuse entry on grounds of criminal inadmissibility.

There are, however, several ways for an individual to overcome inadmissibility and enter Canada lawfully.

Application criteria

To be deemed rehabilitated, the immigration authorities may determine that a person is no longer refused entry to Canada on criminal grounds, based on a number of factors, including where they:

Were convicted outside Canada of an act that, if committed in Canada, would be equivalent to an indictable offence carrying a sentence of less than 10 years, and they meet the following requirements:

• 10 years have passed since they completed their custodial sentence.
• They have not been convicted of any indictable or summary offence in Canada in the past 10 years, or of more than one summary conviction in the preceding 10 years.
• They have not been convicted outside Canada in the past 10 years of an offence that, if committed in Canada, would be treated as an indictable offence, or of more than one summary conviction in the preceding 10 years.

Or

Were convicted outside Canada of two or more acts that, if committed in Canada, would be equivalent to summary offences, and they meet the following requirements:

• 5 years have passed since they completed their sentences.
• They have not been convicted of any indictable or summary offence in Canada in the past 5 years, or of more than one summary conviction in the preceding 5 years.
• They have not been convicted outside Canada in the past 5 years of an offence that, if committed in Canada, would be treated as an indictable offence, or of more than one summary conviction in the preceding 5 years.

Or

Committed an act outside Canada that, if committed in Canada, would be equivalent to an indictable offence carrying a sentence of less than 10 years, and they meet the following requirements:

• 10 years have passed since they completed their sentence;
• They have not been convicted of any indictable or summary offence in Canada in the past 10 years, or of more than one summary conviction in the preceding 10 years; and
• They have not been convicted outside Canada in the past 10 years of an offence that, if committed in Canada, would be treated as an indictable offence, or of more than one summary conviction in the preceding 10 years.

Individuals need not apply to be deemed rehabilitated, but anyone with a previous conviction who wishes to enter Canada should ensure they have been deemed rehabilitated before travelling, in order to avoid problems at the Canadian border.

Otherwise, an immigration officer may determine that they have not been deemed rehabilitated, and they will be refused entry to Canada on grounds of criminal inadmissibility and have to return.

Where they have a previous conviction, they should discuss their potential inadmissibility with the Canadian consulate responsible for their region or with a Canadian immigration law firm. This helps ensure they do not travel to Canada only to be refused entry or face other enforcement measures.

Criminal rehabilitation

Individuals who do not qualify to be deemed rehabilitated on grounds of criminal inadmissibility mustapply for criminal rehabilitationin order to secure entry to Canada in future.

Criminal rehabilitation is an application offered by the Government of Canada to those refused entry to the country who are eligible to have a previous criminal conviction history permanently cleared. Where they have been convicted of one or more offences in a foreign country, and more than 5 years have passed since they completed their sentence, they are likely to be eligible to apply.

Approval for criminal rehabilitation by the Government of Canada is a permanent decision, permitting travel into and out of Canada indefinitely.

Where they have previously been refused entry to Canada, a Canadian border officer may suggest applying for criminal rehabilitation as a way of ensuring they are not refused in future. Once criminal rehabilitation is approved, a Temporary Resident Permit is no longer required.

The usual processing time for a criminal rehabilitation application is 6 to 12 months from submission.

Criminal rehabilitation processing fees

For non-serious criminality, the Government of Canada charges a processing fee of CAD 239.75.

For serious criminality, the Government of Canada charges a processing fee of CAD 1,199.00.

Find out more about deemed rehabilitation for immigration to Canada on the Government of Canada website athere.