By davidlambert Immigration to Canada is a big step in a person’s life. People looking for new beginnings, refuge, or even moving for better corporate life can struggle with the immigration laws, especially if criminal law also gets into the mix.
Criminal charges and convictions can have devastating effects on your immigration status in Canada, criminal and immigration law combine to create a concerning situation for immigrants or even people who have received citizenship.
In this blog we will explore the major consequences of criminal charges and convictions on your immigration status and how you can avoid them to ensure you can get the fresh start you were looking for.
Understanding the Intersection of Criminal and Immigration Law
Immigration law in Canada is governed by the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA), they outline the rules and regulations which a non-citizen must follow to be granted citizenship in the future.
Criminal offenses can hurt your application and profile, depending on how serious the charges are there are several potential consequences that can occur from impacting the residence in the country, to applying for citizenship to the extreme case of deportation.
These are the main consequences that can occur:
- Deportation and Removal Orders
- Inadmissibility
- Impact on Permanent Residency
- Impact on Citizenship and Immigration Applications
Deportation and Removal Orders
In a worst case scenario an immigrant can be deported from the country, if the crimes committed are considered to be a “serious criminality” or “criminality” according to the IRPA.
Serious criminality refers to the crimes which are punishable by a maximum of ten or more years in prison. This includes the major crimes like aggravated assault, drug trafficking and sexual assault etc.
A criminality is a little inferior to the latter. These include the crimes which require a maximum punishment of less than ten years. If an immigrant is convicted of two or more summary convictions it is also enough to fulfill the criteria of criminality.
Deportation is the worst outcome of these convictions since it does not just mean you are removed from the country borders, but it also means you will never be able to enter it again. That is why in such cases contact our criminal defense lawyer in Edmonton to start working on your defense as soon as such a problem arises.
Inadmissibility
If you are trying to immigrate into Canada you may be stopped because of a previous conviction, this will prevent you from entering the country since according to the rules of the authorities you will become an undesirable candidate.
A criminal conviction can result in inadmissibility for various reasons:
- Inadmissibility Due to Criminal Convictions:
This is when your crimes are serious enough to get you deported and the authorities bundle in inadmissibility too so that when you are removed you are not allowed to enter again. It will mean you would lose your housing, the ability to apply for permanent residency or even citizenship.
- Inadmissibility at the Border:
If your criminal record stands out when you are trying to enter the country, your entry may be denied on the account that your crimes have affected your profile negatively. Even small and petty crimes if accumulated can result in inadmissibility at the border.
- Inadmissibility for Certain Immigration Benefits:
Even if you have committed a few crimes, if you fight the cases well you may still be able to enter and stay in the country. However, there is a high chance that you may lose eligibility for many immigration benefits that Canada is famous for like family sponsorship, refugee protection, or humanitarian and compassionate grounds applications.
Impact on Permanent Residency
If you have already required permanent residency it is still important to be a law abiding resident, because if you are convicted of serious criminalities the IRPA can cancel your permanent residency status.
Even if you survive deportation from serious criminalities, loss of permanent resident status can be a big blow towards your life and your progress of eventual citizenship. Even if it does not impact your residency status straight away whenever you decide to renew it or apply for a permanent resident card it will become a lot harder to get through.
It is advised to get legal advice from our immigration lawyers in Edmonton to help fight a case to make sure there is no impact on your permanent residency.
Impact on Citizenship and Immigration Applications
To become a Canadian citizen your application must be perfect, serious offenses or even numerous small offenses can hurt your application to the point that you may lose your eligibility. You will not be able to apply for citizenship if you have been convicted of an indictable offense. Even if you are just charged with one, or on parole for one it can still hinder your progress for years.
In extreme cases if you already got the citizenship it can still be revoked against serious crimes, this will be in order to deport you and deem you inadmissible. Consequences of criminal charges and convictions can stack very quickly which is why you should be in contact with a good law firm to sort out your legal issues.
As for immigration applications if you are still applying you will have to submit your criminal records if any. And if these records contain a crime that the IRPA has deemed as serious criminality your application can be flat-out denied or delayed with better candidates being given the priority.
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Conclusion
To conclude, no country would like to have a higher crime rate which would endanger the citizens and their standard of living. Canada is no different and the IRPA only wants to distribute citizenship among respectful and deserving applicants. A team of criminal defense and immigration lawyers from TeamLawGroup can help protect you from harmful criminal cases and build a profile that would grant you immigration and eventual citizenship with ease.
Try to be a law abiding citizen and respect the efforts of the government in making Canada a desirable place to live. Avoid crimes since the consequences can stack up quickly and it is not worth it. Try to take legal advice from your lawyers at every step since your future in Canada will definitely depend on it.
