Last Updated on July 17, 2018

In assessing whether a person should be deemed inadmissible to Canada for individual criminal activity, Canadian immigration officers will first classify a person into one of the following four groups: 

1. Convicted in Canada
2. Convicted Outside of Canada
3. Committing of an Act
4. Committing a Crime on Entering Canada

Committing of an Act

This group is used when there is evidence that a foreign national or permanent resident has committed a criminal act that could result in a conviction if the act was prosecuted in Canada. People are generally placed in this group when there is evidence that they have committed a criminal act but there is no evidence that they have been convicted of the act.

In finding a foreign national inadmissible to Canada under this group, the following must be proven:

• An act was committed
• The act occurred outside of Canada
• The act is a crime in the place in which the act occurred
• The crime in question has a Canadian equivalent that is punishable by indictment or;
• The crime in question has a Canadian equivalent that is punishable by a jail term of at least ten years.

In finding a permanent resident inadmissible to Canada under this group, the following must be proven:

• An act was committed
• The act occurred outside of Canada
• The act is a crime in the place in which the act occurred
• The crime in question has a Canadian equivalent that is punished with a jail term of at least ten years.

Immigration authorities will generally classify a person under this group in any of the following scenarios:

• It has information or intelligence stating that the person committed a crime.
• Police in a foreign country claim that the person committed a crime for which charges might be laid.
• The person is the subject of an arrest warrant.
• The person is the subject of pending charges.
• The person has been charged with a crime and sent to trial but the trial has not been concluded.
• The person is fleeing to Canada to avoid prosecution.
• The person has been convicted of an offence but immigration authorities are unable to find a copy of the conviction certificate.
• The person committed a crime in a foreign country but charges in the foreign country were dropped or stayed in exchange for a payment of a sum of money.

Canadian authorities will NOT attempt to find a person inadmissible under this group in any of the following scenarios:

• Police in a foreign country indicate that they do not intend to lay charges against the person.
• A trial has been conducted and the person was acquitted or discharged or the charge was deferred.
• The person has been rehabilitated. For more information on rehabilitation, click here.
• The person admits to committing the act but their record has been suspended or expunged.
• The act was committed in Canada.
• The act was equivalent to a crime committed in Canada under the Contraventions Act or the Young Offenders Act.

Under this group, foreign nationals will only be found inadmissible to Canada if there are “reasonable grounds” to believe that they committed the act. For a definition of what constitutes “reasonable grounds”, see the Convicted Outside of Canada section above.

Permanent residents under this group, however, will only be deemed inadmissible to Canada if they are found to have committed the act “on the balance of probabilities”.  This means that the permanent resident will be found inadmissible if it is more likely than not that he or she committed the act.

Committing a Crime on Entering Canada

This group applies to people who commit a crime while attempting to enter Canada at a Canadian port of entry.

Further, this group only applies in situations where there is evidence that a person has committed a crime upon trying to enter Canada but other law enforcement agencies are not considering laying charges. Thus, in cases where a person has committed a crime upon entering Canada but is already being pursued by a law enforcement agency, they cannot be classified under this group.

A person will only be found inadmissible to Canada under this group if there are “reasonable grounds” to believe that they committed a crime while attempting to enter Canada. For a definition of what constitutes “reasonable grounds”, see the Convicted Outside of Canada section above.

A person will usually be found inadmissible to Canada under this group when all of the following events have occurred:

• There are reasonable grounds to believe that an offence was committed.
• The offence was committed upon entering Canada.
• The offence committed is an indictable offence under Canadian law.
• Immigration authorities have information indicating that the above three criteria are fulfilled.
• Immigration authorities believe that the offence was not committed unwittingly or accidentally. Examples of an unwitting or accidental offence include:
  • Committing an act that is not an offence in one’s country of origin
  • Being unaware that one is committing an offence
  • Other government authorities have not laid any charges against the person or contemplated laying any charges against the person.

A person will usually NOT be found inadmissible to Canada under this group if:

• A conviction is being registered or is likely to be registered for the offence by another Canada authority.
• A Canadian law enforcement agency is already pursuing charges against the person who committed the act.
• There are reasonable grounds to believe that the person who committed the offence did not know that he or she was committing an offence.  Canadian immigration authorities will be satisfied of this unawareness if the person shows genuine remorse at having committed the offence and seems unlikely to commit another offence in the future.

If a person is deemed inadmissible for committing a crime upon entering Canada, they will be banned from entering Canada in that instance. However, if that person tries to enter Canada at a later date, they will be allowed to enter provided they are not otherwise inadmissible.

For more information on individual crimes that can cause a person to be deemed inadmissible to Canada, click here.

For more information on how to overcome a finding of criminal inadmissibility, click here.

Interested employers: Kindly contact us here to receive further information.

Interested candidates: Find out whether you qualify to Canada by completing our free on-line evaluation. We will provide you with our evaluation within 1-2 business days.