Are you wondering if you can immigrate to Canada with a criminal record? A criminal record can exclude you from gaining permanent residence in Canada. Fortunately, you are not alone and there’s a way out of this.

Canada wants new permanent residents who can apply as skilled workers through Express Entry, however, there are strict rules laid out for people with criminal records for security purposes. In fact, as of 2018, a driving under the influence (DUI) conviction could easily make a potential migrant inadmissible to Canada forever for severe criminality. However, there is a way out and that’s through the Criminal Rehabilitation (CR) application.

What is Criminal Rehabilitation?

Criminal Rehabilitation is a process devised to wipe your criminal record to make you admissible into Canada. It keeps your record permanently clean unless of course, you commit another crime.

Canada translates a person’s foreign criminal history into Canada’s equivalent to begin to deal with it. It could be translated based on serious and non-serious criminal offences, the processing fee costing CAD 1000 and CAD 200, respectively. Either way, you must be considered rehabilitated to receive your Canadian PR status.

However, you could have the option to apply for the Temporary Resident Permit (TRP) instead of the CR. While CR permanently clears your record and your TRP must be renewed else, you are still criminally inadmissible to Canada every time your TRP expires.

Meanwhile, CR is only obtainable for convictions outside of Canada. Otherwise, you may have to strive for a pardon from the Parole Board of Canada.

Would you like to learn more about this? Send us an email at info@mapleeducation.ca to speak with our certified Canadian Immigration Consultants.

Maple Education Canada helps students and other individuals achieve their dream of moving to Canada to study, work or live. Contact us at info@mapleeducation.ca to get started.