Criminal Rehabilitation for Canada: Eligibility and How to Apply

On This Page, You Will Find:

• What Counts as Criminal Inadmissibility
• Canadian Convictions vs Foreign Convictions
• Deemed Rehabilitation: The Automatic Route
• Individual Rehabilitation: How to Apply
• Criminal Rehabilitation Application Fees
• Where to Submit Your Application
• Processing Times
• Impaired Driving Convictions Since December 2018
• Temporary Resident Permits: A Short-Term Alternative
• Frequently asked questions

If you have a criminal record – even a minor one, and even if the conviction happened outside Canada – you may be considered criminally inadmissible under Canada’s immigration law. That does not mean the door is closed permanently. Criminal rehabilitation is the process Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) uses to recognize that enough time has passed, or that you have demonstrably turned your life around, so that a past offence committed outside Canada no longer bars you from entering.

This page explains the two forms of rehabilitation – deemed and individual – along with the current government fees, where to submit an application, how long processing takes, and the special rules that now apply to impaired driving convictions.

Rehabilitation is separate from a Temporary Resident Permit (TRP), which allows temporary entry without permanently resolving inadmissibility, and from a Canadian record suspension, which is the remedy for convictions entered in Canada. We explain how these options relate to each other below.

What Counts as Criminal Inadmissibility

Under section 36 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA), you can be found criminally inadmissible for a conviction in Canada, a conviction outside Canada, or – even without a conviction – an act committed outside Canada that was an offence where it was committed and would also be an offence in Canada. Common examples include theft, assault, dangerous driving, drug offences and impaired driving. A conviction treated as minor in another country can still trigger inadmissibility if the equivalent Canadian offence is treated seriously.

IRPA sorts inadmissible criminal history into two tiers:

• Criminality – generally, one offence that is (or would be) indictable in Canada, or two offences not arising from a single occurrence. Offences that can be prosecuted either way (hybrid offences) are treated as indictable even if they were prosecuted summarily.
• Serious criminality – depends on where the conviction happened:
  • Convictions in Canada: an offence punishable by a maximum term of at least 10 years, or any federal offence for which a term of imprisonment of more than six months was imposed. The test looks at the sentence the court imposed, not the time you actually spent in custody.
  • Convictions or acts outside Canada: the test is the maximum penalty of the equivalent Canadian offence – at least 10 years. The length of the foreign sentence you received does not by itself create serious criminality.

Which tier applies determines whether deemed rehabilitation is available and which rehabilitation fee you pay. For a full breakdown of how inadmissibility is assessed, see our criminal inadmissibility overview.

Canadian Convictions vs Foreign Convictions

Criminal rehabilitation – deemed or individual – applies to convictions and acts outside Canada. IRPA’s rehabilitation provision covers only foreign convictions and foreign acts; it does not cover convictions entered by a Canadian court.

If you were convicted in Canada, the remedy is a record suspension (formerly called a pardon) from the Parole Board of Canada. IRPA states that inadmissibility may not be based on a conviction for which a record suspension has been ordered and remains in effect. A pardon or discharge granted in another country is not automatically recognized; the visa office serving your region can tell you whether it is valid for Canadian purposes.

Deemed Rehabilitation: The Automatic Route

Deemed rehabilitation is not something you apply for – under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, you are treated as rehabilitated once enough time has passed, provided your history fits one of the prescribed categories. You do not have to file anything, but IRCC recommends being assessed by a visa office before you travel so you are not refused entry at the border.

You may be deemed rehabilitated if:

• The Canadian equivalent of your offence carries a maximum prison term of less than 10 years (that is, it falls under criminality, not serious criminality).
• At least 10 years have passed since you completed the sentence for one offence that would be indictable in Canada.
• At least 5 years have passed since you completed the sentences for two or more offences that would be summary conviction offences in Canada.
• For a single act committed outside Canada with no conviction, at least 10 years have passed since the act was committed.
• You have no other convictions or acts that would disqualify you under the regulations.

“Completing the sentence” means everything: custody served, fines and restitution paid, and probation finished. IRCC’s self-assessment criteria for asking to be deemed rehabilitated at a port of entry are stricter: one conviction in total, at least 10 years since all sentences were completed, a crime not considered serious in Canada, and no serious property damage, physical harm or weapon involved. Even then, a request is not guaranteed to be approved.

Deemed rehabilitation is never available for serious criminality. If your foreign offence falls into that tier, you will need to apply for individual rehabilitation instead.

Individual Rehabilitation: How to Apply

Individual rehabilitation is a formal application to the Minister, or their delegate, in which you show that you are rehabilitated and highly unlikely to reoffend. Unlike deemed rehabilitation, it is available for both criminality and serious criminality, which makes it the permanent route for resolving a serious-criminality finding based on a foreign conviction or act.

To be eligible, at least five years must have passed since:

• the end of your criminal sentence, including any probation, for a foreign conviction; or
• the day you committed the act that made you inadmissible, where there was no conviction.

IRCC also expects you to meet the criteria in its rehabilitation guide and to show that you have genuinely been rehabilitated. Officers consider the number of offences, their circumstances and seriousness, your conduct since, your explanation of why you will not reoffend, community support and your present situation.

A complete application typically includes the IRCC rehabilitation application form, certified court and sentencing documents, proof that every part of the sentence was completed, recent police certificates, and a personal statement and reference letters addressing your conduct since the offence.

Criminal Rehabilitation Application Fees

IRCC charges a non-refundable processing fee for rehabilitation applications, and the amount depends on the tier your offence falls into. The current fees took effect on December 1, 2025:

IRCC adjusts inadmissibility fees for inflation each December 1, so check IRCC’s fee changes page or our Government of Canada immigration fee schedule before paying. The fee is not refunded if the application is refused.

Where to Submit Your Application

A standalone criminal rehabilitation application must be mailed or couriered – not submitted online or dropped off in person – to the visa office responsible for your country or region of residence. If you are applying for rehabilitation at the same time as a temporary resident application (a visitor visa, study permit or work permit), you can submit everything together at the nearest Visa Application Centre.

If you need an Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) to fly to Canada, IRCC says you must submit your rehabilitation application first and apply for the eTA only after you receive confirmation of rehabilitation. An eTA application filed earlier is assessed on the information then available and may be refused.

Processing Times

IRCC warns that criminal rehabilitation applications can take over a year to process, and that routine visa-office assessments of deemed rehabilitation can take six months or more. Processing time depends on the visa office, the complexity of your criminal history and whether your package is complete. Build this into any travel, work or study plans well in advance and do not book travel to Canada before your rehabilitation is confirmed.

Impaired Driving Convictions Since December 2018

Tougher penalties for impaired driving took effect in Canada on December 18, 2018, raising the maximum penalty on indictment to 10 years. As a result, IRCC states that a conviction for driving while impaired by alcohol or drugs, including cannabis, may make you inadmissible for serious criminality, whether it happened in Canada or abroad.

The practical consequence is that deemed rehabilitation does not apply to impaired driving offences committed on or after December 18, 2018, because the Canadian maximum is no longer less than 10 years. For a foreign conviction, your options are individual rehabilitation (once five years have passed since the end of your sentence) or a Temporary Resident Permit. For a Canadian conviction, the route is a record suspension from the Parole Board of Canada.

If your impaired driving offence occurred before December 18, 2018, IRCC assesses it under the penalties in force at the time. You may then be inadmissible only for criminality – unless a Canadian court imposed a prison sentence longer than six months – which means deemed rehabilitation may be available once 10 years have passed since you completed your sentence.

Temporary Resident Permits: A Short-Term Alternative

A Temporary Resident Permit (TRP) lets you enter or remain in Canada temporarily despite being inadmissible if you have a valid reason to travel and an officer decides your need to be in Canada outweighs any health or safety risk to Canadians. A TRP is discretionary, can be issued for up to three years, can be cancelled at any time and does not permanently remove your inadmissibility the way rehabilitation does.

A TRP is useful if you need to travel before you become eligible for rehabilitation, or while a rehabilitation application is still in process. There is no guarantee one will be issued, and the processing fee is $246.25. If you are unsure which route fits your situation, book a consultation before you apply.

Frequently Asked Questions