Have you had a minor or major criminal record? Then it would help if you thought twice about landing in Canada. Canada wants all its immigrants to have a clean chit before entering the country premises. This blog will enlighten you on the type of inadmissible activities.
Being inadmissible means, you are not allowed to enter Canada. So, here are a few types of convictions that will help you understand the nature of crime better.
Crimes in Canada fall under three categories:
1. Summary
2. Indictable and
3. Hybrid
Summary offenses are the least serious. The penalty levied for this is minimal. Hybrid offenses are up to the discretion of the legal authority. They can be summarily adjourned or stated an indictment based on the nature of the crime.
It is not necessary that the crime was committed in Canada to be deemed inadmissible. Immigration and border officers determine the Canadian equivalent of any criminal offense committed abroad to decide whether an individual is criminally inadmissible to Canada. (This is from the official website.)
Indictable offense (From the official website)
An indictable offense will always result in criminal inadmissibility to Canada. Examples of indictable offenses include:
· Theft over CAD 5,000
· Breaking and entering
· Arson
· Counterfeiting
· Unlawfully causing bodily harm
· Criminal negligence causing physical harm
· Discharge firearm with intent to wound
· Motor vehicle offense causing death
Hybrid offense – crimes that could make you inadmissible to Canada
When categorizing a foreign national’s offense, border or immigration officers will consider a hybrid offense to be indictable. Some examples of hybrid offenses that could result in being criminally inadmissible to Canada include:
· Reckless driving
· Simple assault
· Driving under the influence (DUI)
· Driving while impaired (DWI)
Charges of driving under the influence are a common reason for a foreign national to be criminally inadmissible to Canada. Even if your DUI conviction occurred several years ago, it could still affect your ability to enter Canada. However, if you have a DUI conviction, there are still options to come to Canada.
Marijuana possession charge in Canada
As of October 2018, it is legal to possess up to 30 grams of legal dried cannabis in Canada. However, possession of illegal marijuana, which is not purchased through a licensed retailer, is still a summary conviction offense. For this reason, it is possible that this crime could make you inadmissible to Canada. If you have been convicted of more than one summary offense, this may affect your ability to come to Canada.
You may want to overcome your inadmissibility. But this depends solely on the severity and impact of your offense. You might rehabilitate to strike admissibility to Canada again. But for this, at least five years should pass from the time of the crime. You are automatically deemed rehabilitated if you have passed ten years after the offense.
If your license is taken away as part of your sentence for driving-related offenses, the five-year period must start after your driving prohibition ends. (This is from the official website.)
We hope this blog was interesting. To know more about the offenses and how the Canadian government deals with them, comment to us and we will publish content on those matters.
(Disclaimer: The legal content of this blog has been procured from authentic online resources. You need to speak with the experts to understand these definitions and their explanation in a more nuanced way!)
