For a permanent resident or foreign national, what happens in criminal court does not stay in criminal court. The sentence can decide your future in Canada, and the time to act is before the plea.
Many people treat a criminal charge and their immigration status as two separate worlds. For a non-citizen, they are not. The outcome in criminal court, and in particular the exact sentence, can quietly decide whether you keep your permanent residence and whether you have any right to appeal if you are ordered removed. We do not provide criminal defence. We handle the immigration side and work alongside your criminal lawyer.
Under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, a permanent resident can be found inadmissible for serious criminality: a conviction in Canada for an offence punishable by a maximum term of at least 10 years, or any offence for which a sentence of more than six months was actually imposed. Notice the second branch. It is not only the offence that matters, but the length of the sentence the court imposes.
This is what most people learn too late. Under section 64, a term of imprisonment of six months or more for serious criminality removes the right to appeal a removal order to the Immigration Appeal Division. The sentence is counted to the day, and pre-sentence custody that the judge credits can count toward that total. A sentence of 183 days and a sentence of 179 days can be the difference between keeping an appeal and losing it entirely.
Because the immigration consequence often turns on the precise sentence, decisions made at the plea and sentencing stage can preserve or destroy your status. A sentencing position that a criminal court might readily accept, framed with the immigration stakes in mind, can be the difference between an appealable outcome and removal with no recourse. We prepare immigration opinion letters for criminal counsel and the court so that these stakes are visible and can be properly weighed. Whether appeal rights are ultimately lost is for the Immigration Appeal Division to decide, not an officer, which is one more reason to put the position on the record early.
If you, or a family member who is not a Canadian citizen, are facing a criminal charge, get immigration advice before any plea. Bring your criminal lawyer and your immigration lawyer into the same conversation. The single most valuable step in these cases is almost always the earliest one.
This article is general legal information and is not legal advice. We provide immigration representation and opinions; we do not provide criminal defence. For your own situation, please book a consultation.
Immigration, family, corporate or cross-border. We will tell you honestly what can be done, and what cannot.
Book a Consultation对永久居民或外国国民而言，刑事法庭里发生的事，不会只留在刑事法庭。刑期可能决定你在加拿大的未来，而采取行动的时机，是在认罪之前。
很多人把刑事指控和自己的移民身份当成两个互不相干的世界。对非公民来说，并非如此。刑事法庭的结果，尤其是精确的刑期，可能悄悄决定你能否保住永久居民身份、以及在被下令遣返时是否还有任何上诉权。我们不提供刑事辩护；我们处理移民这一面，并与你的刑事律师并肩协作。
根据《移民与难民保护法》，永久居民可能因严重刑事犯罪(serious criminality)被判定不可受理：在加拿大被定罪、罪行最高刑期达10年或以上；或实际被判处超过六个月的刑期。请注意第二种情形：起决定作用的不仅是罪名本身，还有法院所判处的刑期长短。
这是大多数人知道得太晚的一点。根据第64条，因严重刑事犯罪被判处六个月或以上的监禁，会令你丧失就遣返令向移民上诉庭(IAD)上诉的权利。刑期是按天计算的，法官计入的审前羁押也可能被算进这个总数。183天与179天的刑期，可能就是"保住上诉权"与"彻底失去上诉权"之间的分界。
正因为移民后果常常取决于精确的刑期，认罪与量刑阶段所作的决定，可能保住、也可能摧毁你的身份。一个刑事法庭本可能欣然接受的量刑主张，若在提出时把移民利害一并纳入考量，可能就是"可上诉的结果"与"无从救济的遣返"之间的区别。我们为刑事律师及法院出具移民法律意见书，让这些利害清晰可见、得以被恰当权衡。最终是否丧失上诉权，由移民上诉庭裁定，而非某位官员，这也是尽早把立场写入案卷的又一个理由。
如果你、或你并非加拿大公民的家人正面临刑事指控，请在任何认罪之前就获得移民意见。让你的刑事律师与移民律师坐到同一场对话里。在这类案件中，最有价值的一步，几乎永远是最早的那一步。
本文为一般法律信息，不构成法律意见。我们提供移民代理与意见，不提供刑事辩护。针对您的具体情况，请预约咨询。