Information on the two main ways in which a person can be rehabilitated and allowed to enter Canada.
Under Canadian law, a person will be inadmissible to Canada if he or she has committed certain crimes. For more information on the kinds of crimes that can lead to a person being found inadmissible to Canada, click the following links.
- Determining Inadmissibility for Individual Criminality
- Determining Inadmissibility for Organized Criminality
There are many ways, however, for a person who has been deemed inadmissible to Canada for criminal acts to overcome an inadmissibility finding and be allowed to enter Canada.
One way of overcoming a finding of criminal admissibility is to get a Temporary Residence Permit (TRP). For an Overview of TRPs, click here.
A person can also overcome an inadmissibility finding via rehabilitation. Attaining rehabilitation usually depends on:
- The type of crime that was committed
- How long it has been since the crime was committed
- The way that a person has behaved since committing the crime.
There are two main kinds of rehabilitation: Deemed Rehabilitation and Individual Rehabilitation.
I. Deemed Rehabilitation
A person can be deemed to be rehabilitated if enough time has passed since he or she has committed a crime. In order to be deemed rehabilitated, a person must have committed a crime that comes with a jail term of less than ten years or less than five years depending on the crime. Being deemed rehabilitated does not involve an application process. It merely involves showing a Canadian official that enough time has passed since you last committed a crime. For more on Deemed Rehabilitation, click here.
II. Individual Rehabilitation
As opposed to deemed rehabilitation, which is concerned with how much time has passed since a crime was committed, individual rehabilitation involves an assessment of whether a person is likely to commit new crimes. Individual rehabilitation also involves a formal application process. In order to apply for individual rehabilitation, individuals must be able to show:
- That they meet the relevant criteria
- That they have been rehabilitated
- That they are unlikely to take part in future crimes.
- That, at least five years have passed since the end of their criminal sentence, including probation.
- That, at least five years have passed since they committed the original crime.
For more on Individual Rehabilitation, click here.
