This is not a legal document. The explanations and definitions are not legal definitions. In case of a discrepancy between the language in this document and the relevant legislation or regulations, the legal text in the legislation and regulations prevails.
For legal information, consult the following documents:
This application package consists of:
The instruction guide is a tool that provides:
Read the instruction guide thoroughly and then fill out each of the applicable forms.
The forms are specifically designed with questions that will assist the processing of your application.
This guide uses the following symbols to indicate information of particular importance.
What you must do to have your application processed.
Important information that you need to be aware of in order to avoid delays or other problems.
Where to get more information.
Note:Tips that will assist you with this application.
This guide is for applicants who might be considered inadmissible to Canada. It explains under what conditions you can apply to overcome the inadmissibility. Under Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, temporary residents and applicants for permanent residence in Canada may not be able to come to Canada if they have been involved in criminal activity. An application for rehabilitation and instructions on how to complete it are included.
In general, temporary residents and applicants applying for permanent residence are considered to be criminally inadmissible if the person:
Note: In order to determine inadmissibility, foreign convictions and laws are equated to Canadian law as if they had occurred in Canada.
This section will help you determine if you are inadmissible if you have been charged, discharged or pardoned.
For charges withdrawn or dismissed:
For an absolute or conditional discharge:
Pardon granted:
If you may be inadmissible, you must provide an officer with complete details of all charges, convictions, court dispositions, pardons, photocopies of applicable sections of foreign law(s), and court proceedings to allow the officer to determine whether or not you are inadmissible to Canada.
Note: As of March 13, 2012, the term "pardon" has been replaced with "record suspension" in the Canadian Criminal Records Act (CRA) under Bill C-10.
In Canada, a young offender is someone who is 12 years of age or older but less than 18 years of age.
You are not inadmissible if:
You are inadmissible if:
If you were convicted of or committed a criminal offence outside Canada, you may overcome this criminal inadmissibility
If the offence is one that would, in Canada, be prosecuted summarily, and if you were convicted for two (2) or more such offences, the period for rehabilitation is at least five (5) years after the sentences imposed were served or are to be served.
If you have a criminal conviction in Canada, you must seek a record suspension (formerly a pardon) from the Parole Board of Canada (PBC) before you will be admissible to Canada.
Note: Do not complete the forms in this guide until you have received your record suspension.
You can request a Record Suspension Application Guide or additional information from:
Parole Board of Canada
Clemency and Record Suspension Division
410 Laurier Avenue West
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0R1
Telephone: 1-800-874-2652 (Callers in Canada and the United States only)
Fax : 1-613-941-4981
Email: suspension@pbc-clcc.gc.ca
Website: https://www.canada.ca/en/parole-board.html
(The instructional guide and application forms can be downloaded from the website)
In order to be considered for a record suspension under the Criminal Records Act, a specified period of time must pass after the end of the sentence imposed. The sentence may have been payment of a fine, period of probation, or imprisonment.
Note: Once you have a copy of the record suspension, submit a photocopy to a Canadian visa office or Citizenship and Immigration Centre. If you are travelling to Canada carry a copy of the record suspension with you.
If you have had two (2) or more summary convictions in Canada, you may no longer be inadmissible if:
If you have convictions in Canada and convictions or offences outside of Canada, both an approval of rehabilitation and a pardon are required to overcome your inadmissibility.
Note: Your request for rehabilitation cannot be made until you have first obtained a record suspension, except if you have only one (1) summary conviction in Canada. In such instances, you may submit an application for rehabilitation for any convictions or offences outside Canada if you can provide evidence that you have submitted an application for a record suspension to the Parole Board of Canada (PBC).
Rehabilitation removes the grounds of criminal inadmissibility. Rehabilitation means that you lead a stable lifestyle and that you are unlikely to be involved in any further criminal activity.
You are eligible to apply for rehabilitation if you have:
This section gives a summary of the type of offences and length of rehabilitation periods.
If you were convicted of an offence outside Canada that, if committed in Canada, would be an indictable offence punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of less than ten years:
If you committed an offence outside Canada that, if committed in Canada, would be an indictable offence punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of less than ten years:
If you were convicted of an offence or you committed an offence outside Canada that, if committed in Canada, would be punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of ten years or more:
If you were convicted for two (2) or more offences outside Canada that, if committed in Canada, would constitute summary conviction offences:
Note: To be deemed rehabilitated, the person must not have committed or been convicted of any other indictable offence.
If you have a criminal conviction in Canada, you must seek a record suspension (formerly a pardon) from the Parole Board of Canada (PBC) before you will be admissible to Canada. See section Overcoming Criminal Inadmissibility for more information.
The following section explains how to determine the eligibility date for the five (5) year waiting period for different types of sentences.
Suspended sentence: count five (5) years from the date of sentencing.
Suspended sentence with a fine: count five (5) years from the date the fine was paid. In the case of varying payment dates, the rehabilitation period starts on the date of the last payment.
Imprisonment without parole: count five (5) years from the end of the term of imprisonment.
Imprisonment and parole: count five (5) years from the completion of parole.
Probation: probation is part of the sentence. Count five (5) years from the end of the probation period.
Driving prohibition: count five (5) years from the end date of the prohibition. You are prohibited by the Criminal Court from driving.
The following are three (3) examples of how to calculate the five (5) years waiting period:
Example 1: I was convicted of a crime on December 13, 2002, and received a jail sentence of three (3) months. When will I be eligible to apply for rehabilitation?
You can apply for rehabilitation five years after the end of the sentence imposed. If your three (3) month jail sentence ended March 13, 2003, you are eligible to apply for rehabilitation on March 13, 2008, as long as no other terms were imposed on your sentence.
Example 2: On June 3, 2003, I was convicted of driving under the influence and had my driver’s licence taken away from me for three (3) years. When am I eligible to apply for rehabilitation?
The sentence imposed ends on June 3, 2006. Count five (5) years from the end date of the suspension or the date your driver’s licence is reinstated. You will be eligible to apply for rehabilitation on June 3, 2011.
Example 3: I have one conviction for which I was given three (3) years of probation. Do I apply for rehabilitation after my probation is finished?
No. You are not eligible for rehabilitation until five (5) years after the end of the sentence imposed. Since probation forms part of the imposed sentence, you can apply for rehabilitation five (5) years after you complete your probation.
If you need to come to Canada but cannot apply for rehabilitation because five (5) years have not passed since the end of the sentence imposed or you are not eligible to apply for a record suspension (formerly a pardon) for convictions in Canada, you may request special permission to enter or remain in Canada. To do this, complete the Application for Criminal Rehabilitation [IMM 1444] (opens in a new tab) and make sure you check the box that states “For Information Only”. Attach the documents outlined in the Document Checklist.
Note: There will be processing fees for applications for special permission to come into or remain in Canada. You will be advised of the processing fees at the time, or you can pay your fees online.
After reviewing the application and the nature of the offences, number of offences, when they happened and your current situation, the officer will advise you according to the following:
At Canadian visa offices outside of Canada
At Ports of Entry (airport, marine or land)
(Contact your nearest Canadian visa office before travelling to Canada.)
In Canada
The following are the forms that must be filled out and submitted:
Important information: It is a serious offence to give false or misleading information on these forms. The information you provide on your application is subject to verification.
If your application is incomplete it may be returned to you and this will delay the processing of your application.
If you need more space for any section, print out an additional page containing the appropriate section, complete it and submit it along with your application.
Complete this form only if you:
If you have dependent children aged 18 years or older, they are required to complete their own copy of this form if a representative is also conducting business on their behalf.
A representative is someone who provides advice, consultation, or guidance to you at any stage of the application process, or in a proceeding and, if you appoint them as your representative by filling out this form, has your permission to conduct business on your behalf with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).
You are not obliged to hire a representative. We treat everyone equally, whether they use the service of a representative or not.
When you appoint a representative:
Important information: You must notify IRCC if your representative’s contact information changes, or if you change your representative, or cancel the appointment of your representative. For more information on updating IRCC with your representative’s information, please see below section - Notify IRCC about any changes.
Uncompensated representatives do not charge fees or receive any other form of consideration or compensation for providing advice or services to represent you before IRCC or the CBSA.
Uncompensated representatives include:
Note: You do not have to pay someone for them to be your representative. IRCC will conduct business with an uncompensated representative if an applicant appoints them on their behalf.
Compensated representatives charge a fee or receive some other form of consideration in exchange for the representation that they provide.
It is important to know that anyone who represents or advises you for payment - or offers to do so - in connection with IRCC proceedings or applications is breaking the law unless they are an authorized representative or they have a specific agreement or arrangement with the Government of Canada that allows them to represent or advise you. This applies to advice or consultation which happens before or after a citizenship or an immigration application is made or a proceeding begins.
IRCC will only conduct business with compensated representatives who are in good standing with their designated regulatory body. For more information see - Find out if your representative is authorized.
Note: If a representative is being paid or compensated by someone other than you, the representative is still considered to be a compensated representative.
Authorized representatives are:
If you appoint a compensated representative who is not a member in good standing of one of these designated bodies, your application will be returned. Learn about using a representative.
Write your last name (surname or family name) and given name(s).
Write your date of birth.
Write your IRCC’s Identification (ID) or Unique Client Identifier (UCI) number (if known). If you have not dealt with IRCC since 1973, you will not have a UCI or a Client ID.
Write your representative’s full name.
If your representative is a member of the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants (CICC), a law society or the Chambre des notaires du Québec , print their name as it appears on the organization’s membership list.
Check one box to indicate if your representative is uncompensated or compensated.
Write your representative’s contact information.
If you are appointing a student-at-law to represent you, include their supervising lawyer’s information including their membership ID.
Note: By indicating your representative’s e-mail address, you are hereby authorizing IRCC to transmit your file and personal information to this specific e-mail address.
Question 8To accept responsibility for conducting business on your behalf, your representative must:
Fill in this section if you wish to cancel the appointment of a representative. Write the representative’s full name.
Complete all sections of the form if you wish to both cancel a representative and appoint a new one.
By signing, you authorize IRCC to complete your request for yourself and your dependent children under 18 years of age.
For sponsorship application, your spouse or common-law partner does not have to complete a separate request. If your spouse or common-law partner is included in this request, they must sign in the box provided.
To authorize IRCC to release information from your case file to someone other than a representative, you will need to complete the form Authority to Release Personal Information to a Designated Individual [IMM 5475] (PDF, 593.57 KB).
The person you designate under that form (IMM 5475) will be able to obtain information on your case file, such as the status of your application. However, they will not be able to conduct business on your behalf with IRCC.
If you have not yet submitted your immigration or citizenship application:
Send this form along with your application to the office listed in the guide of your application.
If you have already submitted your immigration or citizenship application:
You may use this Web form to upload IMM 5475 or IMM 5476.
If you know which IRCC office is processing your immigration or citizenship application, send the completed form to the office mailing address. Consult IRCC office mailing addresses.
If you have not yet submitted your immigration or citizenship application:
Upload this form along with your online application
If you have already submitted your immigration or citizenship application:
You may use this Web form to upload IMM 5475 or IMM 5476.
You must let IRCC know if any information changes regarding the person you authorized to represent you on your application.