ARTICLE · 10 NOVEMBER 2015

How Do I Know If I Am Criminally Inadmissible?

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Non-Canadian citizens may be denied entry into Canada for, among other reasons, criminal convictions and criminal records.

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Non-Canadian citizens may be denied entry into Canada for, among other reasons, criminal convictions and criminal records.

In order for an offence to render someone inadmissible, it (1) must be an offence under Canadian law, and (2) must be of a certain severity.

Section 36 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) outlines the grounds for criminal inadmissibility. Having committed any of the offences described by s. 36, the applicant is inadmissible to enter Canada.

How do I know if it is an offence under Canadian law?

Foreign convictions and laws are equated to Canadian law for the purposes for determining inadmissibility. There is no one standard formula for determining equivalency between Canadian and foreign law.

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