IRCC Letter: Inadmissible for a Conviction Outside Canada

By Sundeep S. Grewal, lawyer at Lawgical Law Corporation · Reviewed November 14, 2026

Published November 14, 2026

Sundeep S. Grewal is a lawyer at Lawgical Law Corporation, called to the BC bar in 2018, and a member of the Law Society of British Columbia.

Updated November 14, 2026: IRPA s. 36, IRPR ss. 17 and 18, IRCC Guide 5312 and the IRCC fee list (modified November 10, 2026) checked that day.

The letter: IRCC thinks a conviction outside Canada makes you inadmissible under section 36 and will decide your PR application on the file unless you answer, usually within 30 days.

The fix: if five years have passed since your sentence ended, apply for criminal rehabilitation and ask IRCC to hold the PR decision until it is decided. Ask for humanitarian and compassionate relief in the alternative.

Why a lawyer: your answer is the record the decision is made on. Why a lawyer

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You applied for permanent residence from inside Canada (through the BC PNP, Express Entry, a sponsorship or another program) and IRCC sends a letter: it has reasons to believe you are inadmissible for criminality, or serious criminality, because of a conviction in another country, sometimes one from many years ago. The letter is a procedural fairness letter. It is your one chance to answer before the officer decides. A good answer often turns what looks like a refusal into a held file, a criminal rehabilitation application and, in the end, permanent residence.

Lawgical Law Corporation, an immigration law firm in Surrey, Abbotsford and Vancouver, BC, prepares criminal rehabilitation applications and answers to IRCC fairness letters, and takes refusals to the Federal Court; this guide is by Sundeep S. Grewal.

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What the IRCC letter says

These letters follow a pattern. The officer quotes regulation 70(1)(e) (you and your family must not be inadmissible), then section 36 of the Act, then lists your convictions and the Canadian offence each one matches. Phrases you will usually see:

“it appears that you may be a person described in 36(1)(b) and 36(2)(b) of IRPA”
“there are reasons to believe you are currently inadmissible to Canada for serious criminality and criminality”
“If you would like to submit an application for criminal rehabilitation, please notify our office.”
“If you do not respond within this time frame, the decision to approve or refuse your application will be made on the basis of the information currently on your file.”

Two things in that letter matter most: the Canadian offence the officer matched yours to (it decides criminality or serious criminality, and whether deemed rehabilitation is possible) and the deadline.

Your options, in order

Answering a criminality fairness letter during a PR application
Option	When it fits	What to send
Challenge the match to Canadian law	The foreign offence doesn’t line up with the Canadian one the officer chose, or it was not a conviction	The foreign law as it read at the time, the court record, and a legal comparison
Show you are deemed rehabilitated	One offence that would carry less than 10 years in Canada, and 10 years since the sentence ended; or two or more summary offences and 5 years. See deemed rehabilitation	Proof of the dates and that there were no other offences
Apply for criminal rehabilitation and ask IRCC to hold the PR decision	Five years or more since the sentence ended (or since the act, if there was no conviction)	A written request to defer the decision, the completed rehabilitation application (or a draft, if a document is still on its way) and proof you have started
Ask for a humanitarian and compassionate exemption in the alternative	Always worth adding, especially if the officer won’t wait	Submissions under s. 25(1): establishment in Canada, hardship, any children affected
Ask for more time	A police certificate or court record will take longer than 30 days	A letter before the deadline explaining why and how long you need, with proof you have asked

How to ask IRCC to hold your PR decision

The letter usually invites you to say whether you will apply for rehabilitation. Say yes, and ask in writing that the officer defer the decision on your permanent residence until the rehabilitation application is decided. Give a date. Rehabilitation can take more than a year (IRCC’s own guide says so), and the officer needs to know you have already started, so send the draft application, the police certificates you have and proof that the rest is requested.

In the alternative, ask for an exemption from the inadmissibility on humanitarian and compassionate grounds under section 25(1). That way, if the officer is not prepared to wait, the decision still has to deal with your life in Canada.

The rehabilitation application itself

The form is the Application for Criminal Rehabilitation (IMM 1444), with the document checklist (IMM 5507) and Guide 5312. From inside Canada it goes to the Canada Immigration Centre for your area. The government fee is $246.25 for criminality and $1,231.00 for serious criminality (IRCC fee list, checked November 14, 2026), paid online. IRCC weighs:

the number of offences and the circumstances and seriousness of each;
your behaviour since;
your explanation of the offences and why you are not likely to re-offend;
support from your community;
why you think you are rehabilitated, and your present circumstances.

The heart of the application is your own statement: what happened, taking full responsibility for each offence, and what your life has been since. It is backed by evidence: employment letters and tax assessments, education, letters of support, family. Full guide: criminal rehabilitation.

What I have seen in approved files

Officers will wait if you give them a reason and a date. In one file, IRCC’s letter listed older convictions abroad, one of which matched serious criminality in Canada. We answered within the deadline with a request to defer the PR decision, a draft rehabilitation application and an H&C request in the alternative. The rehabilitation application followed, and was approved.
The form is checked month by month. IRCC returned a request because two months were missing from the employment history since age 18. Account for every month of addresses and work, including gaps.
Pay online. IRCC no longer processes money orders for these applications by hand, and asked for an online payment receipt.
Police certificates take time. A Canadian fingerprint-based certificate was delayed at the RCMP. We sent a name-based search, proof that the certified check had been requested, and the certificate when it arrived.
Rehabilitation can take years. In another file, with several older offences abroad, the application filed from inside Canada took close to three years. A letter asking for a decision within 30 days, failing which we would apply for a writ of mandamus, was followed by the approval.
The approval letter says it plainly. “You are no longer described in section 36 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act because of your conviction(s) declared in your application.” Keep a copy and carry it when you travel.

If the conviction was in Canada

Criminal rehabilitation only covers offences outside Canada. A conviction in Canada is cleared by a record suspension (formerly a pardon) from the Parole Board of Canada, after a waiting period that starts when the whole sentence is finished. If you have both, IRCC’s guide says you generally need the record suspension before it will decide the rehabilitation application.

Why a fairness letter about criminality needs a lawyer

One lawyer, one file, every step:

reading the officer’s equivalency and checking whether the match to Canadian law is right;
the answer to the fairness letter: the deferral request, the H&C request in the alternative and the evidence;
the criminal rehabilitation application and your statement;
follow-up with IRCC while the file waits, including a mandamus application if the delay becomes unreasonable;
a Federal Court challenge if the PR application is refused anyway.

Most of the work is legal: matching a foreign offence to Canadian law, choosing between deemed rehabilitation, rehabilitation and H&C, and building the record a judge would read later.

Immigration lawyers are members of a provincial law society (in our case, the Law Society of British Columbia), and only a lawyer can represent you in the Federal Court if a refusal has to be challenged there. An immigration consultant cannot appear in that court for you.

Mistakes I have seen

Missing the deadline in the letter. The officer decides on what is in the file.
Saying you will apply for rehabilitation without asking IRCC to hold the PR decision, or without giving a date.
Accepting the officer’s match to Canadian law without checking it. It decides the fee, the waiting period and whether you are deemed rehabilitated.
Writing a statement that blames friends, agents or circumstances. Officers look for full responsibility.
Leaving gaps in the address or employment history on the IMM 1444.
Assuming a foreign pardon, expungement or spent conviction ends the problem. Canada looks at the conviction itself.

Frequently asked questions

How long do I have to answer the letter?

Usually 30 days. The letter gives the date. If you need longer, ask in writing before the deadline and explain why.

Can IRCC refuse my PR application while rehabilitation is pending?

It can, which is why you ask in writing for the decision to be deferred, give a date, and add an H&C request in the alternative.

I’m not yet five years past my sentence. What then?

You can’t apply for rehabilitation yet. The options are a humanitarian and compassionate exemption, or a temporary resident permit, depending on your situation.

Does a conviction in Canada work the same way?

No. A Canadian conviction needs a record suspension from the Parole Board of Canada, not criminal rehabilitation.

How long does criminal rehabilitation take?

IRCC says it can take over a year. In my files it has taken from months to close to three years.

Do my spouse’s convictions affect my application?

Yes. Your family members must also not be inadmissible, whether or not they come with you. See criminal records and spousal sponsorship.

What should I do right now?

Put the deadline from the letter in your calendar. Gather the court record, the sentence and proof it was completed for each conviction, and request any police certificates you don’t have. Then get advice before you answer.

Book a consultation with our immigration lawyers in Surrey, Abbotsford or Vancouver, or online from anywhere.

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Sources (official)

This article is general information, not legal advice. Every case depends on its own facts.

IRCC letter says you may be inadmissible for a conviction outside Canada: how to save your PR application

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