US Services

Rehabilitation

What is rehabilitation?

Rehabilitation removes the grounds of criminal inadmissibility. Rehabilitation means that you lead a stable lifestyle and that you are unlikely to be involved in any further criminal activity.
You are eligible to apply for rehabilitation if you have:

  • committed an act outside of Canada and five (5) years have elapsed since the act;
  • been convicted outside of Canada and five (5) years have passed since the end of the sentence imposed.

Who may use this application?

This guide is for applicants who might be considered inadmissible to Canada. It explains under what conditions you can apply to overcome the inadmissibility. Under Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, temporary residents and applicants for permanent residence in Canada may not be able to come to Canada if they have been involved in criminal activity.

If you were convicted of or committed a criminal offence outside Canada, you may overcome this criminal inadmissibility
by applying for rehabilitation.

If you may be inadmissible, you must provide an officer with complete details of all charges, convictions, court dispositions, pardons, photocopies of applicable sections of foreign law(s), and court proceedings to allow the officer to determine whether or not you are inadmissible to Canada.

Determining inadmissibility

Are you inadmissible because of past criminal activity?

In general, temporary residents and applicants applying for permanent residence are considered to be criminally inadmissible if the person:
• was convicted of an offence in Canada;
• was convicted of an offence outside of Canada that is considered a crime in Canada; or
• committed an act outside of Canada that is considered a crime under the laws of the country where it occurred and would be punishable under Canadian law.

Note: In order to determine inadmissibility, foreign convictions and laws are equated to Canadian law as if they had occurred in Canada.


If you may be inadmissible, you must provide an officer with complete details of all charges, convictions, court dispositions, pardons, photocopies of applicable sections of foreign law(s), and court proceedings to allow the officer to determine whether or not you are inadmissible to Canada.

Coming to or remaining in Canada without approval of rehabilitation

If you need to come to Canada but cannot apply for rehabilitation because five (5) years have not passed since the end of the sentence imposed or you are not eligible to apply for a record suspension (formerly a pardon) for convictions in Canada, you may request special permission to enter or remain in Canada. To do this, complete the Application for Criminal Rehabilitation (IMM 1444).

Note: There will be processing fees for applications for special permission to come into or remain in Canada. You will be advised of the processing fees at the time, or you can refer to our website for further details.

At Freedom Canada Pardons and Waivers we complete the whole process for you so you can breathe easier knowing you have the best possible chance of entering Canada.
Call today to see if you qualify 1-888-729-2313.