Temporary Residence Permit

Have you tried to enter Canada only to be denied entry by the Canadian Immigration Authorities on grounds of criminal, medical or other inadmissibility?  If so, you may be eligible to apply for a Temporary Resident Permit (TRP).

If your application is approved, you will be allowed to enter Canada.  A TRP is a document issued by Citizenship and Immigration Canada to inadmissible persons allowing them to enter Canada as a visitor, student or worker, and may be issued for a validity period of up to three years. A TRP is a discretionary document and an applicant needs to demonstrate that there are compelling reasons to come to Canada and those reasons outweigh the health or security risks posed to Canadians. 

Criminal Inadmissibility

Generally, you are considered to be criminally inadmissible to Canada if you were convicted of an offence in Canada or convicted of an offence outside Canada that is considered to be a crime in Canada. If you are criminally inadmissible, you may be able to temporarily overcome your inadmissibility by obtaining a TRP. However, depending on the circumstances of your case, the following options may also be available to you:

Canadian Pardon: Those who were convicted of an offence in Canada may be eligible to apply for a Pardon. A Pardon permanently erases the Canadian criminal record and therefore eliminates the ground of criminal inadmissibility.

Deemed Rehabilitation:  If you are found to be deemed rehabilitated, then you are no longer criminally inadmissible to Canada. You may be deemed rehabilitated 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, and at least 10 years have passed since the completion of the sentence imposed. 

You may also be deemed rehabilitated if five years have passed since completion of your sentences imposed for two or more summary convictions. 

Application for Criminal Rehabilitation:  If you are not eligible under deemed rehabilitation, then you may be eligible to submit a criminal rehabilitation application. 

Those who were convicted of an offence outside Canada, and at least 5 years have passed since completion of the sentence imposed, may apply for criminal rehabilitation.  In this application, you must demonstrate that your life is very stable and that you are unlikely to commit any further criminal acts. If the application is approved, you will no longer be considered criminally inadmissible to Canada.

Officers consider a number of factors when assessing these applications, including the nature of the offence, number of convictions, the length of time passed since the offence occurred, and current behaviour and circumstances in the applicant’s life. It is important that your application is well prepared and all necessary documents are submitted for a proper assessment.