Published July 2026 · By Sophia Li, Principal Lawyer · Yu Sheng Law Firm

Every year, people are refused a visa, turned back at the border, or blocked from permanent residence because of an offence that happened years, sometimes decades, ago. Very often they had no idea it would matter.

The good news is that criminal inadmissibility is usually solvable. This guide explains how it works and what your options are.

What criminal inadmissibility means

Under Canadian immigration law, if you have committed or been convicted of a crime, you may be found criminally inadmissible. Your admissibility is assessed when you apply for a visa or an eTA, and again by a border services officer when you arrive.

The offence does not have to be serious. Offences that commonly cause problems include theft, assault, dangerous driving, impaired driving, and possession or trafficking of controlled substances.

If you were convicted when you were under 18, you may still be able to enter Canada. The analysis is different for young offenders.

The question most people miss: what is the Canadian equivalent?

Canada does not simply look at what your offence was called in your home country. An officer asks a different question: if the same conduct had happened in Canada, what offence would it be, and what is the maximum sentence for that Canadian offence?

This equivalency analysis decides almost everything, including whether you are inadmissible at all, whether you qualify for deemed rehabilitation, and how long you must wait. It requires reading the foreign law and the Canadian Criminal Code side by side. Getting it wrong is the most common and most expensive mistake we see.

Route 1: Deemed rehabilitation

Deemed rehabilitation means enough time has passed that your offence no longer bars you, by operation of law. You do not file an application.

Whether it applies depends on the offence, how long ago you finished serving your sentence, and whether there was more than one offence. Critically, you can only be deemed rehabilitated if the equivalent Canadian offence carries a maximum prison term of less than ten years.

The catch is that "deemed" does not mean automatic in practice. A border officer still assesses you on arrival, and if your file is not clearly documented you can be refused entry on the spot. Many travellers assume they are deemed rehabilitated and discover at the airport that the officer disagrees.

Route 2: Individual criminal rehabilitation

If you do not qualify to be deemed rehabilitated, you can apply for individual rehabilitation.

• At least five years must have passed since you completed your sentence, including any probation, and since the act that made you inadmissible.
• You must show that you are rehabilitated and highly unlikely to reoffend.
• Approval is permanent. Once granted, that offence no longer makes you inadmissible.

Two practical points. The application goes to the visa office responsible for your region, by mail or courier, with a processing fee. And these applications regularly take more than a year, so start early if you have travel or an application planned.

If you need an eTA, you must obtain rehabilitation first. Applying for the eTA before your rehabilitation is confirmed risks a refusal on your record.

Route 3: Record suspension, formerly a pardon

If your conviction was in Canada, you can apply to the Parole Board of Canada for a record suspension. Once granted, that conviction no longer makes you inadmissible.

If you received a pardon or discharge in another country, it is not automatically recognised here. The visa office responsible for your region decides whether that foreign pardon is valid for Canadian purposes. Do not assume it carries over.

Route 4: Temporary Resident Permit

A TRP is the answer when you cannot wait. It can allow you to enter or stay in Canada even though you are inadmissible, if either less than five years have passed since your sentence ended, or you have a valid reason to be here.

An officer weighs your need to enter against the risk to Canadian society. A TRP application therefore succeeds or fails on how well the need is documented and how convincingly the risk is addressed. A one line explanation will not do.

Which route applies to you?

• Conviction in Canada: look at a record suspension first.
• Conviction abroad, minor offence, sentence completed long ago: you may already be deemed rehabilitated, but document it properly before you travel.
• Conviction abroad, sentence completed more than five years ago: individual rehabilitation is usually the durable solution.
• Sentence completed less than five years ago, or you need to travel now: a TRP is likely the only route.

These are starting points, not conclusions. The equivalency analysis can change the answer entirely.

A related situation: immigration opinion letters in criminal cases

This one is time sensitive and often handled too late.

When a non-citizen is facing criminal charges in Canada, the immigration consequences of a conviction, or of a particular sentence, can be far more serious than the criminal penalty itself. A sentence a few days longer can be the difference between keeping status and facing removal with no right of appeal.

Crown counsel and defence lawyers often need a written immigration-law opinion setting out exactly how a proposed plea or sentence would affect the person's status, which the court can weigh at sentencing. We prepare these opinions for defence counsel and work alongside the criminal lawyer. The time to do this is before the plea, not after.

Common mistakes

• Assuming a foreign pardon or expungement means Canada no longer sees the record.
• Assuming an old impaired driving conviction is minor. Since 2018 it is not.
• Travelling on an untested assumption of deemed rehabilitation.
• Leaving a rehabilitation application until a few months before a planned move.
• Not disclosing the record at all.

Frequently asked questions

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