Visitors and immigrants are just as bound to Canadian law as Canadian citizens. If you are caught engaging in illegal activity you will be arrested, charged and tried in a Canadian court and, if convicted, will most likely face a deportation or removal order.
Once this happens returning to Canada can be difficult but there are options available. You will need to successfully complete one of the following:
- Convince an immigration officer that you meet the legal terms to be deemed rehabilitated.
- Apply for Rehabilitation and get approved.
- Apply for a Pardon (record suspension) and get approved.
- Hold a temporary resident permit.
The simplest and most effective way to solve this problem is to apply for your Canadian pardon. A pardon is granted by the Parole Board of Canada and it has several benefits.
A pardon will not only allow you back into Canada, it will also seal your criminal record. That way border authorities and Canadian police will not be aware that you were ever arrested in the first place.
A pardon will also allow you to permanently travel within Canada again whereas a Temporary Resident’s Permit is, well, temporary.
How to Apply For a Pardon in Canada
In order to remove your Canadian criminal record you will need to begin an application for your pardon either on your own initiative or through private agency. But please be careful. There are many agencies in Canada that are providing this service but that have no real experience doing so. There are also some companies operating as outright scams, although this problem seems to be on the decline. A full 50% of the industry has gone out of business in the past few years so please choose your provider carefully.
The application for pardon is tedious and time consuming and if you are out of the country there are certain steps that will be more difficult if you are preparing your application on your own.
Fingerprinting From Outside Canada
The first step in a Canadian pardon application is to have your fingerprints certified by the RCMP. They must be submitted electronically and the service is only available within Canada. The solution is a third party fingerprinting vendor that can digitize your ink fingerprints in order to complete the certification.
That National Pardon Centre is RCMP accredited. To learn more about International Fingerprinting Services, or fingerprinting from abroad please review the relevant section of our website.
Once your fingerprinting is complete there is still a lot of paperwork to generate. To view the steps involved in processing your pardon please click here.
Help From the National Pardon Centre
If you find yourself in this situation and you are interested in pursuing a pardon application please contact one of our agents. Our consultation services are free of charge and if you decide to proceed with you application we are available to help.
Further Information:
http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/C-46/
http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/C-38.8/
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/inadmissibility/conviction.asp