TEMPORARY RESIDENT PERMIT (INADMISSIBILITY/ REHABILITATION):

Some people are not admissible to come to Canada under Immigration Refugee Protection Act.

A Canadian immigration officer will validate if you can enter Canada when you:

• apply for a visa or an Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) or
• when you arrive at a port of entry.

There are different reasons why CBSA officer may not let you into Canada such as security, criminal or medical reasons.

If you are inadmissible to Canada

Normally, if you are inadmissible to Canada, you will not be allowed to enter the country. If you have a valid reason to travel to Canada that is justified in the circumstances, CBSA may issue you a temporary resident permit.

If you’ve committed or been convicted of a crime, you have a few options to overcome your criminal inadmissibility.

Under Canada’s immigration law, if you have committed or been convicted of a crime, you may not be allowed into Canada. In other words, you may be “criminally inadmissible”.

This includes both minor and serious crimes, such as:

• theft,
• assault,
• manslaughter,
• dangerous driving,
• driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and
• possession of or trafficking in drugs or controlled substances

What you can do

Depending on the crime, how long ago it was and how you have behaved since, you may still be allowed to come to Canada, if you:

• convince an immigration officer that you meet the legal terms to be deemed rehabilitated, or
• applied for rehabilitation and were approved, or
• were granted a record suspension or
• have a temporary resident permit.

Deemed rehabilitation

Deemed rehabilitation, under IRPA, means that enough time has passed since you were convicted that your crime may no longer bar you from entering Canada.

You may be deemed rehabilitated depending on:

In all cases, you may only be deemed rehabiliated if the crime committed outside Canada has a maximum prison term of less than 10 years if committed in Canada.

Individual rehabilitation

Rehabilitation means that you are not likely to commit new crimes.

You can apply for individual rehabilitation to enter Canada. The Minister may decide to grant it or not. To apply, you must:

• show that you meet the criteria,
• have been rehabilitated and
• be highly unlikely to take part in further crimes.

Also, at least five years must have passed since:

• the end of your criminal sentence (this includes probation) and
• the day you committed the act that made you inadmissible.

Contact me to discuss your concerns regarding being inadmissible to Canada and how we can assist you in obtaining a temporary resident permit.