Criminal Rehabilitation
Criminal Rehabilitation
If you have been deemed criminally inadmissible to Canada due to past criminal convictions, you may need special permission to enter Canada such as a Temporary Resident Permit (TRP) or criminal rehabilitation.
What is rehabilitation?
Rehabilitation removes the grounds of criminal inadmissibility. Rehabilitation means that you lead a stable lifestyle and that you are unlikely to be involved in any further criminal activity.
You may be eligible to apply for rehabilitation:
committed an act outside of Canada and five (5) years have elapsed since the act.
been convicted outside of Canada and five (5) years have passed since the end of the sentence imposed.
Although this may seem straightforward there are a large number of factors in determining and calculating whether or not the 5 years have elapsed.
Deemed rehabilitation
For crimes committed outside Canada if the maximum sentence for the equivalent offense in Canada is less than ten years and if more than ten years have passed since the sentence was complete, the individual may be deemed rehabilitated. This means they are not inadmissible to Canada and can enter Canada subject to the normal examination at the border.
Similarly, if an individual has committed two or more minor offenses outside of Canada which in Canada are called summary offenses and five or more years have passed since their sentence was completed they are also deemed rehabilitated. If an individual only has one summary conviction on their record they are not criminally inadmissible to Canada.
Note that If the maximum sentence for the equivalent offense in Canada is ten years or more deemed rehabilitation does not apply and they must always apply for criminal rehabilitation if they wish to overcome their inadmissibility and enter Canada.
Criminal rehabilitation vs (TRP)
The processing time for criminal rehabilitation applications is much longer than for TRP applications, withan average processing time for a criminal rehabilitation application of 18 months. However, the advantage of applying for criminal rehabilitation is that if you are successful in your application you will be allowed entry into Canada and your criminal inadmissibility will be removed for future entry. Therefore, provided you meet all the other requirements for entry into Canada you will be allowed to enter again in the future.
If you are ineligible to apply for criminal rehabilitation or need to enter Canada within a year or less and only need to enter Canada one time for a specific purpose a TRP might be a better option. A TRP is usually issued for the length of your visit to Canada—for example, one week to attend a conference. You must leave Canada by the expiry date of the permit or get a new permit before your current one expires.
Government fees
The cost to apply for Rehabilitation is $200. CAD
How can a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant (RCIC)help?
RCIC’s that specialize in refusals and inadmissibility are experienced with dealing with criminal admissibility and can:
Assess your case and help you decide which option is best for dealing with your inadmissibility ( temporary resident permit or criminal rehabilitation)
Review your supporting documents including court documents to make sure they are satisfactory
Draft strong personal statements and reference letters that are an important component of your criminal rehabilitation application
Whether you believe you are criminally inadmissible or have been found to be criminally inadmissible we are here to help! We specialize in helping clients overcome refusals and inadmissibility issues and have assisted numerous clients in overcoming their inadmissibility issues and entering Canada. Please contact us and one of our Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultants will revert to you within 48 hours.
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