Criminal Rehabilitation

A person who is inadmissible to Canada due to criminality should apply for Criminal Rehabilitation. Criminal rehabilitation is the process in which a person’s criminal records are wiped clean for Canadian Immigration purposes. 

What is Deemed Rehabilitation?

When a person is inadmissible to Canada due to a non serious criminality (a crime that has a maximum punishment of less than 10 years in prison), then they are eligible for Deemed Rehabilitation. A person is automatically deemed rehabilitated when 10 years have passed after the completion of the prison sentence that involved a non serious crime only. In order to qualify as deemed rehabilitated, the crime committed should not have harmed anyone, should not have destroyed property and no weapon was involved in the crime. 

What to do if a person is deemed rehabilitated?

If a person believes that he is deemed rehabilitated then the person should bring all the documents related to the conviction when they arrive in Canada. This helps the officers to determine if the person is deemed rehabilitated. The person can also send the documents to a Canadian Visa office in their country of residence to confirm if they qualify for deemed rehabilitation. 

What is Individual Rehabilitation?

When a person does not qualify for deemed rehabilitation then they can apply for individual rehabilitation. A person can apply for individual rehabilitation after 5 years have passed since the completion of the complete sentence. The person needs to apply to the Canadian government for individual rehabilitation and provide documents that prove that they are eligible for criminal rehabilitation. If the crime was committed in Canada then the person cannot apply for rehabilitation, deemed or individual. The person will need to apply to the Parole Board of Canada to get their record suspended. 

How to apply for Criminal Rehabilitation?

The person applying for Criminal Rehabilitation needs to fill out forms and send the documents to a Canadian Visa office. The person needs to send the documents about all their previous convictions. The government charges $200 for a non serious criminality and $1000 for a serious criminality application. 

We at SAM Law can help you with your rehabilitation application and can save you a lot of hassle and make the process much easier for you. Please give us a call for assistance.