# Criminal Record moving to Canada



## mariosbar (Jan 18, 2011)

Hi,

I am living in the UK with my New Zealand husband. We are now wanting to emigrate to Canada as I have dual citizenship. My concern is that my husband has a ridiculous conviction (whilst in New Zealand) for assault from approximately 15 years ago. I think it is the case that if this was in the UK it would be void after 5 years. Does anyone know if this is also the case for New Zealand. Are we better to be honest in our application? 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated


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## Auld Yin (Mar 10, 2009)

mariosbar said:


> Hi,
> 
> I am living in the UK with my New Zealand husband. We are now wanting to emigrate to Canada as I have dual citizenship. My concern is that my husband has a ridiculous conviction (whilst in New Zealand) for assault from approximately 15 years ago. I think it is the case that if this was in the UK it would be void after 5 years. Does anyone know if this is also the case for New Zealand. Are we better to be honest in our application?
> 
> Any advice would be greatly appreciated


It would be totally unwise to be anything but honest when dealing with Canadian immigration authorities. People are regarded as rehabilitated after 10 years so it should have no effect on his application to immigrate to Canada.


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## don1 (Jan 4, 2011)

Auld Yin said:


> It would be totally unwise to be anything but honest when dealing with Canadian immigration authorities. People are regarded as rehabilitated after 10 years so it should have no effect on his application to immigrate to Canada.


would a conviction for assualt from bout 8 years ago stop you from getting in i have job offer in canada company has lmo back but have the one conviction hanging over me


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## swnz (Aug 16, 2010)

mariosbar said:


> Hi,
> 
> I am living in the UK with my New Zealand husband. We are now wanting to emigrate to Canada as I have dual citizenship. My concern is that my husband has a ridiculous conviction (whilst in New Zealand) for assault from approximately 15 years ago. I think it is the case that if this was in the UK it would be void after 5 years. Does anyone know if this is also the case for New Zealand. Are we better to be honest in our application?


In NZ the convictions are *concealed* (not voided) after 7 years, but will remain visible under certain circumstances. Unfortunately, one of those such occasions includes where a foreign state requires disclosure, so Canadian immigration will have access to that information.

You can read more about it here.


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## mariosbar (Jan 18, 2011)

don1 said:


> would a conviction for assualt from bout 8 years ago stop you from getting in i have job offer in canada company has lmo back but have the one conviction hanging over me


Hi,

I have been looking in to this as we are in a similar position. I think depending on the severity of the conviction it is either 5 or 10 years from the completion of the sentence. If it is within this time frame you can apply for a rehabilitation order. There is quite a lot of info on the Canadian immigration website but it is complicated as to which time period has to have elapsed. Might be best to try get expert advice before you go.

If I find out any more I will let you know.


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## Krogl (Jan 16, 2011)

Does NZ have some sort of Pardon? If it does, the USA is the only country i know of that refuses to recognize a pardon. So... if a pardon is possible and Canada does not know of the offense, it never will.


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## swnz (Aug 16, 2010)

Krogl said:


> Does NZ have some sort of Pardon? If it does, the USA is the only country i know of that refuses to recognize a pardon. So... if a pardon is possible and Canada does not know of the offense, it never will.


While a pardon would eliminate the criminal charge, you'd have to have a pretty good case for one to be granted.

The best bet is to simply apply to the Canadian authorities, and hope that they view the charge as inconsequential.


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## Krogl (Jan 16, 2011)

I can only speak for Canadian pardons and from experience. The only GOOD reason required is to have a minimum of 5 years without getting in trouble. The process takes approximately 1 year. 

Obviously in other countries ymmv.


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## swnz (Aug 16, 2010)

Krogl said:


> I can only speak for Canadian pardons and from experience. The only GOOD reason required is to have a minimum of 5 years without getting in trouble. The process takes approximately 1 year.
> 
> Obviously in other countries ymmv.



In NZ it's not officially called a pardon - actually, I can't find an official term to describe it - but as mentioned before, does not preclude foreign authorities from seeing the conviction.

The exact same applies for the Canadian pardon. While the conviction will not show up on CPIC records, a judicial record still exists, and can be reviewed by foreign immigration agencies.

IMO, the bottom line is that when dealing with immigration matters with foreign countries, _*full disclosure*_ is the key.


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## Krogl (Jan 16, 2011)

Please do not speak for Canadian pardons. I am an expert from both sides of the fence <wink>


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## swnz (Aug 16, 2010)

Krogl said:


> Please do not speak for Canadian pardons. I am an expert from both sides of the fence <wink>


Having previously worked from the immigration perspective, I can categorically state that foreign jurisdictions are not obligated to recognise Canadian pardons (or ones from any jurisdiction), and frequently have access to complete criminal records.

Additionally, if you state that you do not have a criminal conviction (pardoned or not) as part of any immigration process, and it is later discovered that this declaration was false, you will face deportation.

What you chose to disclose at the border is up to you, however I'm glad to see it has thus far worked for you.


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## Krogl (Jan 16, 2011)

You , sir or madam, need to wake up. No more comments from me on this thread. 

To the OP, trust your instincts.


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## ralphdzegniuk (Mar 7, 2011)

Honesty and full disclosure are not an option.... these are a MUST. Should Immigration learn at any point that you did not disclose anything "material" on your application, it may, later on, lead to the charge of misrepresentation and the consequences associated with this can potentially be very serious.

Now, as to the matter at hand... it would be necessary to do an equivalency calculation between the NZ CC section and our Canadian CC section (we have many different assault provisions with varying sentences for each). If it turns out that the equivalent section in our CC has an accompanying sentence of less than 10 years AND he has no further convictions on his record, than he should be fine as deemed rehabilitation would be in effect. If, however, that is not the case, he would unfortunately need to apply for Rehab. And the only way to determine the equivalent section in our CC is to first take a look at the NZ section under which he was convicted. It is not something that can be easily answered over this forum.

let me know if you have further questions or concerns,

regards,

Ralph


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## usaa/vtech (May 10, 2011)

*recovering addict w/criminal history wants to move to Canada*

I do indeed have convictions, forgery, minor theft, but felonies all due to my addiction to drugs. I have been clean for a long time. I am looking at moving to Vancouver but won't until I have been offered a job in my field at which I am very skilled with over 20 years of solid work experience. I am aware there is a procedure and required "rehabilitation" of some sort with fees which I am prepared to undertake. I have enough money to assure anyone I can handle my well being successfully and would likely buy a home fairly quickly and again would have a verifiable job offer with a Canadian company before contact Canadian officials - my question is: Is it possible at all for someone with multiple felony convictions one as recently as 18 months ago to successfully get through the proper channels and achieve life in Canada?


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## Auld Yin (Mar 10, 2009)

usaa/vtech said:


> I do indeed have convictions, forgery, minor theft, but felonies all due to my addiction to drugs. I have been clean for a long time. I am looking at moving to Vancouver but won't until I have been offered a job in my field at which I am very skilled with over 20 years of solid work experience. I am aware there is a procedure and required "rehabilitation" of some sort with fees which I am prepared to undertake. I have enough money to assure anyone I can handle my well being successfully and would likely buy a home fairly quickly and again would have a verifiable job offer with a Canadian company before contact Canadian officials - my question is: Is it possible at all for someone with multiple felony convictions one as recently as 18 months ago to successfully get through the proper channels and achieve life in Canada?


You should read the following which will hopefully provide insight to the Canadian government's position on the matter.

Search - Citizenship and Immigration Canada


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