If you’re planning to visit your loved ones in Canada over this holiday season, it’s crucial to be aware that even minor blemishes on your record could lead to entry denial into the country.

Non-citizens with a criminal history, even for seemingly minor offenses, may face rejection at the border due to criminal inadmissibility.

Immigration officers evaluate how offenses committed abroad align with Canadian laws, meaning that what may be considered minor overseas could be significant in Canada.

In this article, we will discuss:

• How Canadian authorities assess criminal inadmissibility;
• Examples of minor offenses that could prevent your entry; and
• The available options to potentially overcome criminal inadmissibility.

How Canada Evaluates Criminal Inadmissibility

Before delving into minor offenses that can lead to inadmissibility, it’s essential to understand how offenses are evaluated and categorized in Canada.

An offense results in criminal inadmissibility if it was considered a crime in the country of occurrence and has an equivalent offense under Canadian law at the time of commission.

Criminal inadmissibility can arise from committing, being charged with, or convicted of an offense. Even pending charges can lead to criminal inadmissibility.

In Canada, both minor and serious crimes can render you criminally inadmissible.

Canada’s inadmissibility criteria depend on the legal seriousness of an offense, as defined by Canadian law, to determine if it constitutes criminality or reaches the level of serious criminality.

Criminality

You may be deemed inadmissible to Canada due to criminality if you:

• Were convicted anywhere globally of an offense that would be indictable in Canada or of two offenses that would be considered summary offenses; or
• Engaged in conduct outside Canada that was illegal in that country and would equate to an indictable offense under Canadian law.

Serious Criminality

You could be considered inadmissible for serious criminality if you:

• Were convicted in Canada of an offense punishable by 10 years or more in prison or received a prison term exceeding six months; or
• Were convicted or committed an act abroad that would lead to a 10-year or longer prison sentence in Canada.

Summary offenses are less serious, akin to misdemeanors in the US, while indictable offenses are more severe, similar to felonies in the US.