Security check and criminal rehabilitation for immigration to Canada

Canada is the safest country in the Americas. However, with a large influx of immigrants from around the world, maintaining this status is challenging. That's why everyone entering Canada undergoes thorough screening, and people with criminal records may be denied entry.

Security Screening Process

Canadian immigration officials conduct criminal and security checks on those entering the country and those applying for permanent residence in Canada.

During these checks, officials request a police certificate, which confirms the absence of a criminal record or lists any convictions.

Canada also conducts background checks in any place where you and your family members have lived. These checks will reveal any arrests or convictions and determine if you pose a security threat to Canada.

Who Needs a Police Certificate

You and your family members may need to provide a police certificate if you're applying for citizenship or permanent residence in Canada. Canadian authorities may also request this certificate if you're entering as a tourist, student, temporary worker, or caregiver.

All family members aged 18 and over must provide a police certificate.

If the document is not in English or French, it must be translated by a certified translator.

Where and When to Get a Police Certificate

You may need to obtain a police certificate from each country where you've lived for 6 or more consecutive months since turning 18.

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If you need to provide a police certificate from your current country of residence, it should be issued no more than 6 months before you submit your application for permanent residence or visa. For countries where you lived in the past, the certificate should be issued after you last lived there.

The timing for obtaining the certificate also depends on the immigration program you're applying under.

Express Entry

If you've applied for immigration through the Express Entry system and received an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for permanent residence, you need to attach a color copy of the original police certificate to your Electronic Application for Permanent Residence (e-APR) within 90 days.

If obtaining the certificate in your country takes longer than 90 days, you can apply for it before receiving an ITA. If you can't get the certificate by the deadline, include an explanation with your application along with a payment receipt, delivery notification, or tracking number for the certificate.

International Experience Canada

In most cases, you need to provide a police certificate when applying for a work permit. When applying for this program, the document should be no more than 6 months old.

How to Obtain a Police Certificate

To get a police certificate, you'll usually need to contact the interior ministry in most countries. You may need to provide personal information, documents, photos, addresses, and in some cases, fingerprints and pay a fee.

If you can't obtain a police certificate from a particular country because you left as a refugee or for another reason, write an explanation and include it with your other documents.

You can use the official online tool to select the relevant country from the list and learn how and where to obtain a certificate.

Belarus

If you're a citizen or permanent resident of Belarus, you can obtain a police certificate in person from one of these organizations:

• Department of Internal Affairs in Brest, Gomel, Grodno, Minsk, or Mogilev;
• Embassy or consulate of Belarus — if you're a Belarusian citizen living abroad.

When applying for the certificate, you need to provide:

• Passport;
• Proof of payment (13 Belarusian rubles).

The police certificate is issued within 7-15 days.

Kazakhstan

In Kazakhstan, you can apply for a police certificate in person or through a representative at the State Corporation "Government for Citizens". You'll need the following documents:

• Completed application form;
• Identity document;
• Notarized power of attorney (if applying through a representative).

You can also order the certificate online. To do this, you need to:

• Log in to the e-government website and click "Order service online";
• Fill out the application for the government service ("Issuance of a certificate of presence or absence of a criminal record") and sign it with an electronic digital signature (EDS) or using an SMS password (you must be registered in the mobile citizens database);
• Receive the certificate in your personal account (in the "Service History" section).

The police certificate is issued free of charge within 5 working days or 10 minutes when applying online.

Poland

If you live in Poland, you can obtain a police certificate (zaświadczenie o niekaralności) in person or through a representative at one of these organizations:

• National Criminal Register (Krajowy Rejestr Karny) of the Ministry of Justice;
• Information point of the Criminal Register in Polish city courts.

When applying for the certificate, you need to provide the following documents:

• Passport or Polish residence card (karta pobytu);
• Completed form with personal data, reasons for requesting the certificate, and types of data to be included (in section 12, check item 1 "Criminal records" (Kartoteka karna), in section 13 — indicate zaświadczenie o niekaralności);
• Proof of payment (30 zloty).

The certificate is usually issued in about half an hour.

Russia

If you're a citizen or permanent resident of Russia, you can obtain a police certificate at your place of registration in person or through a representative at one of these organizations:

Here's the English translation:

• Main Information and Analytical Center of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs in Moscow;
• Information Center of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs;
• Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs;
• Department of Internal Affairs;
• through the government services portal;
• Russian embassy or consulate — if you're a Russian citizen living abroad.

Contact information for regional Ministry of Internal Affairs offices can be found on the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs website.

When applying for a criminal record check, you need to provide the following documents:

• copy of all filled pages of your passport;
• copy of power of attorney (if someone else is applying on your behalf);
• copy of document proving relationship, adoption, guardianship or custody;
• originals of all documents.

The criminal record check is issued free of charge within 30 days.

Ukraine

If you're a citizen or permanent resident of Ukraine, you can obtain a criminal record check (regardless of your registered address) in person or through a representative at one of these organizations:

• territorial service center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs — online or at any of the service centers;
• Department of Information Technologies of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (DIT);
• Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine in Kyiv;
• Ukrainian embassy or consulate — if you're a Ukrainian citizen living abroad.

When applying for a criminal record check, you need to provide the following documents:

• Ukrainian passport and copies of all filled pages;
• application for a criminal record check (including personal information and purpose for obtaining the check);
• original and copy of document authorizing a representative — if someone else is applying on your behalf.

The criminal record check is issued free of charge within 14 days.

Criminal Rehabilitation

If you've committed a minor offense, it won't prevent you from immigrating to Canada. However, if you have a criminal record and the offense was serious, you'll need to go through criminal rehabilitation to move to this country.

Entering Canada with a Criminal Record

If you have a criminal record, you'll likely be refused and may even be deemed "criminally inadmissible" — meaning you could be banned from entering Canada.

Real case: A person applied for immigration through the Quebec program, received a selection certificate, but got into a car accident in Kyiv and hit someone. He received a suspended sentence, and when he sent his criminal record check to Canada, he was immediately refused.

An applicant is considered inadmissible due to criminal history if they:

• were found guilty of committing a crime in Canada;
• were convicted of an act outside Canada that is considered a crime in Canada or in the country where it was committed.

Even if one family member has a criminal record, the whole family becomes inadmissible. To prevent this, the family member with the record needs to go through rehabilitation.

A person who hasn't gone through rehabilitation may be refused immigration if they committed one or more of these types of crimes:

• theft;
• assault;
• manslaughter;
• dangerous driving;
• driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol;
• possession of or trafficking in drugs or controlled substances.

A full list of criminal offenses can be found in the Criminal Code of Canada and the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.

However, depending on the offense, how long ago it occurred, and your behavior, you may be allowed to enter Canada if you:

• convince an immigration officer that you're deemed rehabilitated and don't need to go through the rehabilitation process;
• applied for individual rehabilitation and were rehabilitated;
• prove that your record was suspended: you were acquitted or the charge was initially false;
• committed the crime as a minor (under 18) and were sentenced under the Youth Criminal Justice Act;
• have a temporary resident permit for Canada.

What to Do If You Have a Criminal Record

If you have a criminal record, plan to immigrate to Canada, and want to go through criminal rehabilitation, follow the instructions below.

Step 1: Determine the equivalent offense

Identify the charge you were accused of or convicted of, write down the exact wording, and determine the equivalent offense under Canadian law:

Summary offence: A minor violation punishable by up to 6 months in prison and/or a fine up to 5,000 Canadian dollars. The process for this offense may occur without a jury or even without a trial.

Indictable offence: A serious violation of law. The process for this crime can only end with an indictment after a preliminary hearing. In court proceedings for these offenses, the accused usually has the right to a jury trial.

Hybrid offence: A hybrid violation that is both a summary offense and an indictable offense. For immigration purposes, these acts are considered indictable offenses, even if the punishment was that of a summary offense.

Criminality: A criminal act punishable by less than 10 years under Canadian law.

Serious criminality: A serious criminal act punishable by 10 years or more under Canadian law.

Step 2: Determine if you need rehabilitation

If you've committed only one summary offense, you may be able to enter Canada. If you've committed more than one summary offense or one or more indictable offenses, you'll need rehabilitation.

Canadian law has the concept of "deemed rehabilitated." This means that after a certain period, a person is considered rehabilitated and doesn't need to go through separate rehabilitation or pay for it.

A person is considered deemed rehabilitated if:

• at least 10 years have passed since committing the crime or completing the sentence for indictable or hybrid offenses that aren't considered serious criminality;
• at least 5 years have passed since completing the sentence for two or more summary offenses.

In other cases, you need to go through individual rehabilitation after 5 years have passed since committing the crime and completing the sentence. The 5-year period should be counted as follows:

• Prison sentence without parole — 5 years from the end of the sentence;
• Prison sentence with parole — 5 years after completing parole;
• Probation — 5 years from the end of probation;
• Driving ban — 5 years from the end of the ban.

Example 1: You were convicted of a crime on December 13, 2014 and sentenced to 3 months in prison. You can apply for rehabilitation 5 years after your sentence ends. If your 3-month prison term ended on March 13, 2015, you can apply for rehabilitation on March 13, 2020.

Example 2: On June 3, 2013, you were convicted of drunk driving and had your license suspended for 3 years. The sentence ended on June 3, 2016. You can apply for rehabilitation on June 3, 2021 (5 years from the end of the sentence or when your license was reinstated).

Example 3: If you were fined for an indictable or hybrid offense, count 5 years from the date you paid the fine. If paid in installments, count 5 years from the date of the last payment.

Step 3: Gather documents for rehabilitation

If you need rehabilitation, collect the following documents to apply:

• Application for Criminal Rehabilitation (IMM 1444);
• Form IMM 5476 (Use of a Representative) — if applying through a representative;
• Copy of passport page with name, date and place of birth;
• Copy of court decision (sentence, ruling, etc.) stating the charge, law section, and verdict;
• Current copies of the laws you were charged under (can be found online, e.g. from zakon0.rada.gov.ua (Ukraine) or pravo.gov.ru (Russia));
• Copies of other relevant documents (judge's recommendations, reports from probation officer, character references, etc.) These should show the date the sentence was completed;
• Original police certificates from all countries, including Canada, where you lived for 6 months or more since age 18;
• Documents proving there are special measures for minors in the country where you were convicted — if you were convicted as a minor.

Step 4: Pay the processing fee

The fee for criminal rehabilitation processing is:

• 240 Canadian dollars — for crimes considered criminality;
• 1,200 Canadian dollars — for crimes considered serious criminality.

You can pay online. After payment, print two copies of the IRCC receipt with barcode. Don't close the page without printing the receipt. Attach one copy to your rehabilitation application. Keep the second copy for yourself.

You can find detailed instructions for online payment in the article "How to make an online payment for a criminal rehabilitation application" (coming soon on Immigrant.Today)

Step 5: Submit documents

If you're applying for entry to Canada on paper, you can submit the rehabilitation application with your other documents at the nearest Canadian visa application centre.

If you're applying for entry to Canada online, send the rehabilitation application by mail or courier.

Address for those sending from Russia or Kazakhstan: Immigration Section, Embassy of Canada, 23 Starokonyushenny Lane, Moscow, 119002, Russia.

Address for those sending from Ukraine: Embassy of Canada in Ukraine, Immigration Section, 13A Kostelna Street, Kyiv, 01901, Ukraine.

Step 6: Wait for a decision

After you send the documents, an immigration officer will review them, give your case a positive or negative recommendation, and forward the application to the authority that will approve or reject the rehabilitation request. You'll then receive a letter with the decision.

If the crime you committed isn't serious, the decision will likely be made by a Canadian embassy official in your country. For serious crimes, the decision will be made by the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, you may be called for an interview, and the process could take up to a year.

How the rehabilitation decision is made

In Canada, offenders are classified into five categories from most to least suitable for rehabilitation (profiles are in document ENF 14, section 17 Procedure: Criminal profile description and rehabilitation factors).

An offender is rehabilitated if they meet the following mandatory and optional conditions according to their profile.

Mandatory conditions:

• Acknowledges the crime committed;
• Takes responsibility for the crime;
• Expresses remorse for the crime;
• Has made amends to the victim (if applicable);
• Has not broken the law (except for this case).

Optional conditions:

• Received psychological help or therapy for alcohol or drug addiction;
• Completed a rehabilitation program if the crime was related to drugs, alcohol, assault, or was sexual in nature;
• Completed life and social skills training;
• Completed an educational program or work internship;
• Has a stable work history;
• Joined new social groups;
• Participates in community life and events;
• Is married, lives with family, has a permanent residence.