Clear Criminal Record Needed for Travel to Canada

It is not just the United States that takes border security seriously. If a foreigner who has a criminal record attempts to enter Canada and Canada has information on their conviction, they may be denied entry, as is the case with the United States. How could Canada find out about a person’s conviction in another country? Some ex-convicts may have a name and face that is known to the general public or at least the police; in addition, some countries share their criminal databases with Canada. If at the border, a person’s name turns up in a criminal record database during a background check, the lack of a clear criminal record may well result in the person being refused entry. However, Canada allows ex-convicts to eventually circumvent this prohibition through a process called "rehabilitation", which will vary from case to case.



The procedure and requirements for obtaining rehabilitation vary with the kind of offence one has been convicted of. Crimes committed in other countries will be judged against equivalent Canadian offences; in Canada, all criminal offences are either "indictable", "summary" or "hybrid". An indictable offence is a more serious crime, the equivalent of a felony; a summary offence is a less serious crime, equivalent to a misdemeanour. In the case of a hybrid offence, such as impaired driving, the prosecutor can choose whether to have it tried as a summary or an indictable offence. How serious an offence is will directly affect how rehabilitation will be obtainable.



In Canada, there are two ways of obtaining rehabilitation: "granted rehabilitation" and "deemed" rehabilitation. A person may apply for granted rehabilitation to a Canadian consulate, or even directly at some border crossing points. The rehabilitation will be granted depending on factors such as how much time has passed since the person was charged or convicted. Also depending on the offence, an administrative fee of either $200 or $1000 will be imposed, but once the rehabilitation is granted, a person in possession of the relevant document that will be issued has a right to travel to Canada at any time, unlike the equivalent American waiver of inadmissibility, which allows a person with a conviction to travel to the United States only for a period of one to five years.



Without applying to have rehabilitation granted, a person may be deemed rehabilitated if they have committed:



• One or more summary offences (or equivalent) and five years have passed, crime-free, after the person finished serving their sentence.



• A single indictable offence and ten years have passed since a person finished their sentence.



Deemed rehabilitation can be determined by the border agent directly at the border. The procedure is free; however, unlike granted rehabilitation, it may not be permanent and a person may have to request to be deemed rehabilitated again on a subsequent visit to Canada, or risk being denied entry.



If a border agent does not a person admissible to Canada due to not being eligible for rehabilitation, they may, at their discretion, issue the traveler a temporary resident permit. This will cost $200 and will usually be issued only for one entry to Canada. Alternately, if a person committed their crime in Canada, they may apply to the Parole Board of Canada for a pardon 3 to 10 years (again, depending on how serious a conviction they have) after having served their sentence. If granted, a pardon will serve to clear criminal record information in Canadian databases, and should allow a person to travel to Canada again.