Deemed rehabilitation is the automatic resolution of criminal inadmissibility after a specified period — no application required. The waiting period is 10 years from the completion of sentence for a single non-serious offence equivalent to a Canadian summary conviction. This episode explains the exact eligibility conditions (number of offences, seriousness, sentence completion), which offences can never be deemed rehabilitated (serious criminality), how to document deemed rehabilitation when entering Canada, and why border officers sometimes incorrectly apply the rules.

Key Insight: Deemed rehabilitation only works if the Canadian equivalent of the foreign offence is a summary conviction with a maximum penalty under 10 years. A foreign DUI after 2018 maps to an indictable offence — deemed rehabilitation does not apply. Apply for individual rehabilitation instead.

In December 2018, Canada raised the maximum penalty for impaired driving to 10 years — reclassifying DUI-equivalent offences as serious criminality under the IRPA. The result: anyone with a DUI conviction (including US DWI, OUI, and similar) now faces serious criminal inadmissibility, not ordinary inadmissibility. Deemed rehabilitation no longer applies. Individual rehabilitation requires a 5-year wait from sentence completion. This episode explains the full impact: who is affected, the five-year wait, TRP as an interim measure, and the processing timeline for rehabilitation applications.

Key Insight: Americans with even a single DUI from before 2018 may not be deemed rehabilitated — officers assess the current Canadian equivalent, not the law at the time of the offence. Get a legal opinion before attempting entry.

Individual rehabilitation is a formal IRCC application that permanently resolves criminal inadmissibility. It requires a 5-year waiting period from sentence completion (10 years for serious criminality before the 2018 DUI change). This episode covers the complete document checklist (police certificates from every country lived in, court records, proof of sentence completion), the discretionary assessment factors IRCC uses (remorse, rehabilitation evidence, risk of re-offending), processing times (12–24 months), and whether to apply from inside or outside Canada.

Key Insight: IRCC assesses rehabilitation holistically — stable employment, community ties, letters of support, and absence of further incidents all weigh in your favour. The application is a narrative, not just a checklist.

A TRP allows a criminally inadmissible person to enter Canada when there is a compelling reason that outweighs the public safety risk — business travel, family emergencies, medical treatment, or attending events. TRPs are discretionary and issued at the port of entry or in advance by a visa office. This episode covers what qualifies as a “compelling reason,” how to structure a TRP application, typical approval rates by offence type, the risk of TRP denial at the border, and how to use a pre-approved TRP vs. applying at the port of entry.

Key Insight: Applying for a TRP at the border is high-risk — officers are not obligated to grant it and have very limited time to assess complex files. Pre-approved TRPs from a visa office give the applicant a stronger position and remove the uncertainty of a border encounter.

Current IRCC fee schedule for individual rehabilitation ($200 for non-serious, $1,000 for serious criminality) and TRPs ($200 per permit), processing timelines by visa office (12–24 months for rehabilitation, varies for TRP), and Quebec-specific considerations: Quebec does not separately assess criminal inadmissibility (IRCC controls admissibility), but a criminally inadmissible person cannot receive a CSQ — the Quebec selection certificate — regardless of how strong their other scores are. This episode also covers the impact on pending PR applications.

Key Insight: Criminal inadmissibility is an admissibility bar — it blocks entry at the federal level regardless of Quebec’s selection decision. A CSQ without admissibility clearance produces no PR.

The core of criminal inadmissibility analysis is equivalency — does the foreign offence, at the time committed, have a Canadian Criminal Code equivalent? If yes, what is the maximum Canadian penalty? This episode walks through the equivalency methodology, covers the most common foreign conviction categories (US states, France, China, UK, Australia, Mexico), provides a reference table for frequent offence types, and explains how expunged, pardoned, or sealed records are treated — including Quebec’s own pardon (record suspension) under the Criminal Records Act.

Key Insight: A US expungement does not erase the conviction in Canada’s eyes — IRCC assesses the original offence, not its procedural disposition in the foreign jurisdiction. Pardons and sealing orders from other countries are similarly non-binding on IRCC.