Rehabilitation in this context is the act of returning someone to a good, healthy, or normal life or condition. Some crimes you commit can restrict your entrance to Canada.
If the reason a person is inadmissible to Canada is not a serious conviction, let’s say you have been in prison for less than 10 years, you are eligible to be deemed rehabilitated.
This is one way one can be able to enter Canada after being convicted by law.
What is Deemed Rehabilitation?
A person can be deemed rehabilitated after ten years have passed since they have been convicted of a crime. That means that you are considered to be absolved of your crimes for the purposes of entering Canada.
This depends on the kind of crime committed, crimes that have to do with hurting anyone, destroyed any property or involved a weapon might not be overlooked.
The IRCC and CBSA officers consider a person with a criminal record deemed rehabilitated under the following circumstances:
- Deemed rehabilitated for indictable offences (commission or conviction)
- Only one offence outside Canada,
- The offence is criminality, and
- More than ten years have passed since the completion of the sentence.
- Deemed rehabilitated for summary offences (conviction)
- All the offences are summary offences and
- More than five years have passed since the completion of the sentence for the last offence.
As you can see, there is no deemed rehabilitation for serious criminality. There are criteria looked out for in Canada before one is deemed rehabilitated. If your case is related to DUI or DWI, you can still enter Canada with DUI under the following circumstance.
Also See: DUI VS DWI: What’s The Difference?
What Are The Eligibility Criteria For Deemed Rehabilitation At A Canadian Port Of Entry?
To be eligible to apply for deemed rehabilitation at a Canadian port of entry, you need to meet the following criteria:
- You have committed only one crime, or have had only one conviction;
- A minimum of ten years has passed since you have completed all of your sentences;
- The crime you were convicted for is not considered a serious crime in Canada,
- The crime you were convicted for did not involve physical harm, serious property damage or weapons.
What Documents Do I Need To Bring When Seeking Deemed Rehabilitation At A Canadian Port Of Entry?
If you are trying to be deemed rehabilitated at a Canadian port of entry, you need to have with yourself the following documents:
- A passport or a birth certificate, as well as a photo ID;
- Copies of all your court documents for your conviction;
- Proof that you have served your sentence;
- A recent criminal record check;
- A recent police certificates from the country you were convicted in, and every country you have lived in for at least six months in the last ten years.
Conclusion
Hiring representatives in Canada to help you with this process will make it easier and faster for you.
Points to remember, it must be up to ten years since the completion of your sentence, you must have not been convicted of any indictable offence or summary offence in Canada in the last ten years, or more than one summary conviction in the ten years before that; and you should have not been convicted outside Canada of an offence in the last ten years that, if committed in Canada, would constitute an indictable offence, or of more than one summary conviction in the ten years before that.
