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Your record is created when you have been found guilty of committing any criminal offence under laws such as the Criminal Code and the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.
A criminal record is a permanent entry in a register administered by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).
Your criminal record lists your identity, charges against you, convictions, fingerprints, DNA, and more. It is accessible by police, border guards and others.
Click here to see the actual Criminal Records Act which is the governing law concerning your record, a pardon or record suspension. Know the rules in the game before you play.
Your criminal record is kept till you would be 150 years old, regardless of whether you are dead or alive.
Your criminal record is permanent.
It does not expire, get erased or removed or disappear. Not ever.
In general, someone who already has a criminal record and commits another offence will be sentenced more severely than someone who has never been convicted.
Also, a criminal record can cause problems for you if you
US WAIVER KIT
RECORD SUSPENSION KIT CanLaw Has the Legal Forms You Need to Do this.
Here is a quote from the Criminal Records Act
2.3 A record suspension
(a) is evidence of the fact that
(i) the Board, after making inquiries, was satisfied that the applicant was of good conduct, and
(ii) the conviction in respect of which the record suspension is ordered should no longer reflect adversely on the applicant’s character; and
(b) unless the record suspension is subsequently revoked or ceases to have effect,
requires that the judicial record of the conviction be kept separate and apart from other criminal records and
removes any disqualification or obligation to which the applicant is, by reason of the conviction, subject under any Act of Parliament
other than section 109, 110, 161, 259, 490.012, 490.019 or 490.02901 of the Criminal Code, subsection 147.1(1) or section 227.01 or 227.06 of the National Defence Act or section 36.1 of the International Transfer of Offenders Act.
Employers may refuse to hire you if you have a criminal record, but they will find some other excuse for not hiring you.
If your criminal record has been suspended, or you have been found guilty of an offence that is not connected to the job, nobody can fire you, refuse to hire you or put you at a disadvantage because of your criminal record.
Yes. A criminal record is not considered to be illegal discrimination when it comes to housing. There is no recourse. Even if not illegal, landlords could easily find some other excuse not to rent to you. You will not get much sympathy from anyone for this.
Is a Canadian criminal record suspension recognized by the USA?
No. A record suspension granted in Canada is not recognized by American authorities and does not erase information in American government data banks.
A record suspension does not erase the fact that a person was found guilty of a criminal offence in Canada, and therefore does not guarantee that entry to another country will be given, or that a visa will be granted.
HOW DOES A CRIMINAL RECORD AFFECT ENTERING THE USA
AND TRAVEL IN GENERAL?
If you are banned from entering the USA, that will even prevent you from overflying the US on the way to some other country.
Yes.
Among other things, if only 1 moral turpitude offence was committed more than 5 years before trying to enter the United States, and the person was less than 18 years old, the conviction cannot be a reason to refuse entry to the United States.
Also, a person may be able to enter the United States if the only conviction on record is for a relatively minor offence ("petty offence": punishable by a maximum of 1 year imprisonment) and the person was not sentenced to more than 6 months detention. However, this does not apply to drug-related offences.
In both cases, the American authorities cannot in theory refuse entry to the United States on the basis of a criminal record. Nonetheless, immigration officers have very broad discretion when deciding if a person can or cannot enter the United States. Entering a country is a privilege, not a right!
US Immigration authorities have a “zero tolerance” attitude toward drug-related offences.
People found guilty of a drug-related offence cannot enter the United States. When a United States attorney general or consular official has reason to believe a drug trafficker, or someone with links to the trafficking world, wants to cross the border, that person cannot enter the United States.
The person’s spouse and children are also prevented from entering if, during the preceding 5 years, they received financial support they knew came from drug trafficking.
The material on this page is a compilation of information from several sources, most notably the John Howard Society.
At the least you should apply for a Record Suspension and a US Waiver before trying to enter.
Furthermore, American immigration agents have a lot of discretion on these matters.
You cannot enter the United States if:
You have been found guilty of a moral turpitude offence, or an offence related to drugs, terrorism, prostitution, national security, etc.
You have been found guilty of more than one offence and the total of your sentences comes to five years or more of detention, whether or not they were moral turpitude offences.
These rules apply even if you have been given a discharge in Canada. A Canadian discharge does not automatically give you the right to enter the United States.
Those companies charge hundreds of dollars to fill in the forms. You still have to run around, get finger prints, collect copies of court documents and other records. By the time you do all that you may as well fill in the forms yourself and mail them in.
US Waiver & Pardon Legal Forms
Lay Person's Guide To The Criminal Prosecution Process
This is not legal advice, it is information