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Please Note: Anyone with a criminal record (including misdemeanors or Driving While Impaired (DWI)) charges may be barred from entering Canada and must obtain a special waiver well in advance of any planned travel. To determine whether you may be inadmissible and how to overcome this finding, please refer to the Canadian citizenship and immigration website by clicking here

Overcoming criminal inadmissibility

A. Convictions/offences outside Canada

If you were convicted of or committed a criminal offence outside Canada, you may overcome this criminal inadmissibility

by applying for rehabilitation, or
you may be deemed to have been rehabilitated if at least ten years have passed since you completed the sentence imposed upon you, or since you committed the offence, if the offence is one that would, in Canada, be an indictable offence punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of less than ten years.

If the offence is one that would, in Canada, be prosecuted summarily and if you were convicted for two (2) or more such offences, that period is at least five (5) years after the sentences imposed were served or to be served.

B. Convictions/offences in Canada

If you have a criminal conviction in Canada, you must seek a pardon from the National Parole Board of Canada before you will be admissible to Canada. Do not complete the forms in this guide. You can request a Pardon Application Guide or additional information from:

Clemency and Pardons Division, National Parole Board
410 Laurier Avenue West
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
K1A 0R1
Telephone: 1-800-874-2652 (Callers in Canada and the United States only)
Fax: 1-613-941-4981
Website: www.npb-cnlc.gc.ca (The instructional guide and application forms can be down loaded from the website)

In order to be considered for a pardon under the Criminal Records Act, a specified period of time must pass after the end of the sentence imposed. The sentence may have been payment of a fine, period of probation, or imprisonment. The usual waiting period for offences:

if prosecuted by indictment is five (5) years.
if punishable on summary conviction is three (3) years.

Once you have a copy of the pardon, send a photocopy to a Canadian visa office or Citizenship and Immigration Centre. If you are travelling to Canada carry a copy of the pardon with you.

If you have had two or more summary convictions in Canada, you may no longer be inadmissible if:

at least five (5) years have passed since all sentences imposed were served or to be served,
you have had no other convictions.

See Table 1 for a summary of the type of offences and length of rehabilitation periods.

C. Convictions in Canada and convictions/offences outside of Canada

If you have convictions in Canada and convictions/offences outside of Canada, both an approval of rehabilitation and a pardon are required to overcome your inadmissibility.

Note: Your request for rehabilitation cannot be made until you have first obtained a pardon, except if you have only one summary conviction in Canada. In such instances, you may submit an application for rehabilitation for any convictions/offences outside Canada if you can provide evidence that you have submitted an application for a pardon to the National Parole Board.

Table 1 - Eligibility for rehabilitation

The following table gives a summary of the type of offences and length of rehabilitation periods.

Conviction or offence	Rehabilitation period
Conviction or offence	When deemed rehabilitated¹	When eligible to apply for rehabilitation
Conviction 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	At least ten years after completion of the sentence imposed	Five years after completion of the sentence imposed
Commission 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	At least ten years after commission of the offence	Five years after commission of the offence
Conviction or commission of an offence outside Canada, that, if committed in Canada, would be punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of ten years or more	Not applicable	Five years from completion of the sentence or commission of the offence
Conviction for two or more offences outside Canada that, if committed in Canada, would constitute summary conviction offences	At least five years after the sentences imposed were served or to be served	Not applicable
Conviction for two or more summary conviction offences in Canada	At least five years after the sentences imposed were served or to be served	Must apply for a pardon
Conviction for two or more indictable offences in Canada	Not applicable	Must apply for a pardon

¹The person must not have committed or been convicted of any other indictable offence.