{"id":2165,"date":"2026-11-11T03:56:21","date_gmt":"2026-11-11T03:56:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\/blog\/pending-criminal-charge-immigration-application\/"},"modified":"2026-11-11T15:22:04","modified_gmt":"2026-11-11T15:22:04","slug":"pending-criminal-charge-immigration-application","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\/blog\/pending-criminal-charge-immigration-application\/","title":{"rendered":"Charged with a crime in Canada while your immigration application is open: what a charge does, and why the outcome matters"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"lawgical-byline\"><em>By <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\/about\/sundeep-grewal\/\">Sundeep S. Grewal<\/a>, lawyer at Lawgical Law Corporation \u00b7 Reviewed November 10, 2026<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"lawgical-credentials\" style=\"font-size:0.9em\"><em>Sundeep S. Grewal is a lawyer at Lawgical Law Corporation, called to the BC bar in 2018, and a member of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lawsociety.bc.ca\/lsbc\/apps\/lkup\/directory\/mbr-search.cfm\">Law Society of British Columbia<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Updated November 10, 2026: sections 36 and 64 of the Act, section 730 of the Criminal Code and the Supreme Court of Canada&#8217;s decision in Tran checked that day.<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"lg-glance\">\n<p><strong>The fix:<\/strong> get immigration advice before any plea or sentencing deal, and answer IRCC&#8217;s questions about charges truthfully. The outcome of the charge, not the charge itself, usually decides your immigration future.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The deadline:<\/strong> your next criminal court date. Plea and sentencing decisions are hard to undo once made.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Why a lawyer:<\/strong> a sentence a few days longer, or a conviction instead of a discharge, can mean losing permanent residence with no appeal. <a href=\"#lawyer-or-consultant\">Why a lawyer<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\/book-a-consultation\/?topic=inadmissibility\">Book a consultation<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"lg-team\" style=\"margin:16px 0 20px\">\n<p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:600\">The lawyers who handle these files<\/p>\n<div style=\"display:flex;gap:8px;align-items:flex-start\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\/about\/sundeep-grewal\/\" style=\"flex:1 1 0;min-width:0;text-align:center;text-decoration:none;color:inherit\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/blog-lawyer-sundeep-grewal-240.webp\" alt=\"Sundeep S. Grewal, Barrister and Solicitor\" width=\"240\" height=\"360\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"width:100%;max-width:120px;height:110px;object-fit:cover;object-position:50% 12%;border-radius:8px;display:block;margin:0 auto 5px\"><span style=\"display:block;font-weight:600;font-size:.85em;line-height:1.2\">Sundeep S. Grewal<\/span><span style=\"display:block;font-size:.75em;color:#555;line-height:1.25\">Barrister and Solicitor<\/span><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\/about\/prabhpreet-sangha\/\" style=\"flex:1 1 0;min-width:0;text-align:center;text-decoration:none;color:inherit\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/blog-lawyer-prabhpreet-sangha-240.webp\" alt=\"Prabhpreet Kaur Sangha, Barrister and Solicitor\" width=\"240\" height=\"360\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"width:100%;max-width:120px;height:110px;object-fit:cover;object-position:50% 12%;border-radius:8px;display:block;margin:0 auto 5px\"><span style=\"display:block;font-weight:600;font-size:.85em;line-height:1.2\">Prabhpreet Kaur Sangha<\/span><span style=\"display:block;font-size:.75em;color:#555;line-height:1.25\">Barrister and Solicitor<\/span><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\/about\/pardeep-grewal\/\" style=\"flex:1 1 0;min-width:0;text-align:center;text-decoration:none;color:inherit\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/blog-lawyer-pardeep-grewal-240.webp\" alt=\"Pardeep S. Grewal, Barrister and Solicitor\" width=\"240\" height=\"360\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"width:100%;max-width:120px;height:110px;object-fit:cover;object-position:50% 12%;border-radius:8px;display:block;margin:0 auto 5px\"><span style=\"display:block;font-weight:600;font-size:.85em;line-height:1.2\">Pardeep S. Grewal<\/span><span style=\"display:block;font-size:.75em;color:#555;line-height:1.25\">Barrister and Solicitor<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<details style=\"margin-top:10px;border:1px solid #d9dee5;border-radius:6px;padding:8px 12px\">\n<summary style=\"cursor:pointer;font-weight:600\">About our lawyers<\/summary>\n<div style=\"margin-top:8px;font-size:.92em\">\n<p style=\"margin:0 0 10px\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\/about\/sundeep-grewal\/\">Sundeep S. Grewal<\/a><\/strong> founded Lawgical Law Corporation and argues immigration cases at the Immigration and Refugee Board and the Federal Court of Canada.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:0 0 10px\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\/about\/prabhpreet-sangha\/\">Prabhpreet Kaur Sangha<\/a><\/strong> focuses on refugee claims, immigration appeals, inadmissibility, detention reviews and Federal Court cases, and has presented at Continuing Legal Education seminars and the National Immigration Conference.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:0 0 10px\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\/about\/pardeep-grewal\/\">Pardeep S. Grewal<\/a><\/strong> is an immigration and estates lawyer known for clear communication and practical strategy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<\/div>\n<p>If you have been charged with a crime in Canada, you are not inadmissible yet. For an offence in Canada, the criminality grounds in section 36 of the Act turn on a conviction. But a charge still matters. IRCC asks about charges on its forms, a pending charge can slow or stop some applications, and it bars citizenship outright. Above all, how the charge ends decides your immigration future: a discharge, a conviction, and the length of any jail sentence all have different consequences. The most important step is to make sure your criminal lawyer knows your immigration status before you agree to anything.<\/p>\n<p class=\"lawgical-firm-line\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\/immigration\/inadmissibility\/\">Lawgical Law Corporation<\/a>, an immigration law firm in Surrey, Abbotsford and Vancouver, BC, advises people facing criminal charges on the immigration side and works with their criminal lawyers; this guide is by Sundeep S. Grewal.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"rule\">When does a charge become an immigration problem?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Permanent residents<\/strong> can lose status only for <strong>serious criminality<\/strong> (<a href=\"https:\/\/laws-lois.justice.gc.ca\/eng\/acts\/i-2.5\/section-36.html\">section 36(1)(a)<\/a>): a conviction in Canada for an offence with a maximum of at least 10 years, or one where a term of imprisonment of more than six months is imposed.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Temporary residents and other foreign nationals<\/strong> are also caught by <strong>criminality<\/strong> (section 36(2)(a)): a conviction for any indictable offence, or two summary offences from separate events. Under section 36(3)(a), an offence that can be prosecuted either way is treated as indictable, even if the Crown proceeded summarily.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Citizenship applicants<\/strong> are prohibited while charged with an indictable offence. See our guide on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\/blog\/citizenship-prohibition-criminal-charge-probation\/\">citizenship blocked by a charge or probation<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 id=\"lawyer-or-consultant\">Why this needs a lawyer<\/h2>\n<p><strong>One lawyer, one file, every step:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>working with your criminal lawyer on what each possible outcome means for your status;<\/li>\n<li>truthful answers to IRCC about the charge while your application is open;<\/li>\n<li>a response to any section 44 report if there is a conviction;<\/li>\n<li>an appeal, humanitarian application or judicial review where one is open to you.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Immigration lawyers are members of a provincial law society (in our case, the Law Society of British Columbia), and only lawyers can appear for you in the Federal Court.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"outcomes\">Why does the outcome matter so much?<\/h2>\n<p><strong>A discharge is not a conviction.<\/strong> Under <a href=\"https:\/\/laws-lois.justice.gc.ca\/eng\/acts\/c-46\/section-730.html\">section 730(3) of the Criminal Code<\/a>, an offender who receives an absolute or conditional discharge &#8220;shall be deemed not to have been convicted of the offence&#8221;. Withdrawn charges, stays and acquittals are not convictions either.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The length of a jail sentence matters.<\/strong> For a permanent resident, a sentence of more than six months can make the conviction serious criminality. And under <a href=\"https:\/\/laws-lois.justice.gc.ca\/eng\/acts\/i-2.5\/section-64.html\">section 64(2)<\/a>, there is no appeal to the Immigration Appeal Division if the crime was &#8220;punished in Canada by a term of imprisonment of at least six months&#8221;. A conditional sentence served in the community is different: in <em>Tran v. Canada (Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness)<\/em>, 2017 SCC 50, the Supreme Court of Canada held that it is not a &#8220;term of imprisonment&#8221; under section 36(1)(a), because it is generally less severe than jail of the same length.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"options\">What are my options?<\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Tell your criminal lawyer your exact status<\/strong> (visitor, student, worker, permanent resident, refugee claimant) before any plea, diversion or sentencing discussion.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Get immigration advice on each possible outcome,<\/strong> so the criminal side can aim for one that protects your status where the facts allow.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Answer IRCC truthfully<\/strong> if a form or officer asks about charges. Leaving a charge out can be misrepresentation, which is a separate and often worse problem.<\/li>\n<li><strong>If there is a conviction,<\/strong> plan for a section 44 report: an appeal to the Immigration Appeal Division if you have one, a humanitarian application, or judicial review of a refusal.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Later,<\/strong> a record suspension, which under section 36(3)(b) means the conviction no longer counts for these grounds.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2 id=\"table\">A pending charge at a glance<\/h2>\n<div style=\"overflow-x:auto\">\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Outcome or situation<\/th>\n<th>Immigration effect<\/th>\n<th>Source<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Charge pending, offence in Canada<\/td>\n<td>No criminality finding yet<\/td>\n<td>IRPA s.36(1)(a), (2)(a)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Absolute or conditional discharge<\/td>\n<td>Deemed not convicted<\/td>\n<td>Criminal Code s.730(3)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Conviction for an either-way offence<\/td>\n<td>Treated as indictable<\/td>\n<td>IRPA s.36(3)(a)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Permanent resident, sentence over 6 months<\/td>\n<td>Serious criminality<\/td>\n<td>IRPA s.36(1)(a)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Imprisonment of 6 months or more<\/td>\n<td>No appeal to the Immigration Appeal Division<\/td>\n<td>IRPA s.64(2)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Charge pending, citizenship application<\/td>\n<td>Prohibited while charged with an indictable offence<\/td>\n<td>Citizenship Act s.22(1)(b)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<h2 id=\"example\">Worked example: the plea offer<\/h2>\n<p>Example. A permanent resident in Surrey is charged with an offence whose maximum is under 10 years. On Monday, December 7, 2026, the Crown offers a plea with a jail sentence of eight months. Before accepting, her criminal lawyer asks for immigration advice: eight months would be serious criminality and would also remove her appeal. The lawyers look at whether a discharge or a shorter sentence is realistic on the facts before she decides.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"mistakes\">Mistakes I have seen<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>I have seen people accept a quick plea at a first appearance without anyone asking about their immigration status.<\/li>\n<li>I have seen applicants leave a pending charge off an IRCC form because &#8220;I haven&#8217;t been convicted&#8221;.<\/li>\n<li>I have seen permanent residents assume they are safe because they are not citizens yet &#8220;but almost&#8221;.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 id=\"faq\">Frequently asked questions<\/h2>\n<details>\n<summary>Will IRCC refuse my PR application because of a charge?<\/summary>\n<p>A charge in Canada is not itself a ground of inadmissibility, but IRCC often pauses the application until the charge is resolved. Officers&#8217; notes in these files commonly say they are waiting for the outcome of the criminal case before going further.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n<details>\n<summary>Is a peace bond a conviction?<\/summary>\n<p>No. A peace bond is not a conviction, though you should still answer IRCC&#8217;s questions about the charge truthfully.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n<details>\n<summary>I&#8217;m a temporary resident charged with impaired driving in BC. Is that different?<\/summary>\n<p>Impaired driving has its own rules. See our guide on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\/blog\/impaired-driving-charge-work-study-permit-bc\/\">an impaired driving charge on a work or study permit<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n<h2 id=\"related\">Related guides<\/h2>\n<p>See our guides on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\/blog\/inadmissible-to-canada-meaning\/\">what inadmissible means<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\/blog\/cbsa-section-44-report-permanent-resident\/\">a section 44 report against a permanent resident<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\/blog\/overcoming-criminal-inadmissibility-in-your-immigration-application\/\">overcoming criminal inadmissibility<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\/blog\/immigration-consequences-criminal-plea-opinion-letter\/\">an immigration opinion letter before a plea or sentencing<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"what-to-do-now\">What should I do right now?<\/h2>\n<p>Write down your exact immigration status and the date of your next court appearance. Give both to your criminal lawyer. Don&#8217;t accept a plea or sentence until someone has explained what it means for your status.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\/book-a-consultation\/?topic=inadmissibility\"><strong>Book a consultation<\/strong><\/a> with our immigration lawyers in Surrey, Abbotsford or Vancouver, or online from anywhere.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"sources\">Sources (official)<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/laws-lois.justice.gc.ca\/eng\/acts\/i-2.5\/section-36.html\">Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, s. 36<\/a> (current to October 19, 2026) and <a href=\"https:\/\/laws-lois.justice.gc.ca\/eng\/acts\/i-2.5\/section-64.html\">s. 64<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/laws-lois.justice.gc.ca\/eng\/acts\/c-46\/section-730.html\">Criminal Code, s. 730<\/a> (current to October 19, 2026)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/laws-lois.justice.gc.ca\/eng\/acts\/c-29\/section-22.html\">Citizenship Act, s. 22<\/a><\/li>\n<li><em>Tran v. Canada (Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness)<\/em>, 2017 SCC 50<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em>This article is general information, not legal advice. Every case depends on its own facts.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Sundeep S. Grewal, lawyer at Lawgical Law Corporation \u00b7 Reviewed November 10, 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 10, 2026: sections 36 and 64 of the Act, section 730 of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lawgical_date_hold":"","_lawgical_plain_src":"","_lawgical_plain_html":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2165","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Charged With a Crime? What It Means for Your Immigration<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Charged but not convicted? How a pending charge affects PR, permits and citizenship, why the plea and sentence matter, and what to tell IRCC.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\/blog\/pending-criminal-charge-immigration-application\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Charged With a Crime? What It Means for Your Immigration\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Charged but not convicted? How a pending charge affects PR, permits and citizenship, why the plea and sentence matter, and what to tell IRCC.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\/blog\/pending-criminal-charge-immigration-application\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Lawgical Law Corporation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-11-11T03:56:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-11-11T15:22:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/blog-lawyer-sundeep-grewal-240.webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Sundeep S. Grewal\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Sundeep S. Grewal\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\\\/blog\\\/pending-criminal-charge-immigration-application\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\\\/blog\\\/pending-criminal-charge-immigration-application\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Sundeep S. Grewal\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8fd79c76d5e7ab55ee7ba7f963420724\"},\"headline\":\"Charged with a crime in Canada while your immigration application is open: what a charge does, and why the outcome matters\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-11-11T03:56:21+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-11-11T15:22:04+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\\\/blog\\\/pending-criminal-charge-immigration-application\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1339,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\\\/blog\\\/pending-criminal-charge-immigration-application\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/blog-lawyer-sundeep-grewal-240.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"blog\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\\\/blog\\\/pending-criminal-charge-immigration-application\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\\\/blog\\\/pending-criminal-charge-immigration-application\\\/\",\"name\":\"Charged With a Crime? What It Means for Your Immigration\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\\\/blog\\\/pending-criminal-charge-immigration-application\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\\\/blog\\\/pending-criminal-charge-immigration-application\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/blog-lawyer-sundeep-grewal-240.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-11-11T03:56:21+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-11-11T15:22:04+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8fd79c76d5e7ab55ee7ba7f963420724\"},\"description\":\"Charged but not convicted? How a pending charge affects PR, permits and citizenship, why the plea and sentence matter, and what to tell IRCC.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\\\/blog\\\/pending-criminal-charge-immigration-application\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\\\/blog\\\/pending-criminal-charge-immigration-application\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\\\/blog\\\/pending-criminal-charge-immigration-application\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/blog-lawyer-sundeep-grewal-240.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/blog-lawyer-sundeep-grewal-240.webp\",\"width\":240,\"height\":360,\"caption\":\"Sundeep S. Grewal, Barrister and Solicitor\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\\\/blog\\\/pending-criminal-charge-immigration-application\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Charged with a crime in Canada while your immigration application is open: what a charge does, and why the outcome matters\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"Lawgical Law Corporation\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8fd79c76d5e7ab55ee7ba7f963420724\",\"name\":\"Sundeep S. Grewal\",\"description\":\"Sundeep S. Grewal is the founder of Lawgical Law Corporation and a lawyer called to the BC bar in 2018. He practises probate, estate litigation and immigration law for clients in Abbotsford, Surrey and Vancouver.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\\\/about\\\/sundeep-grewal\\\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\\\/about\\\/sundeep-grewal\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Charged With a Crime? What It Means for Your Immigration","description":"Charged but not convicted? How a pending charge affects PR, permits and citizenship, why the plea and sentence matter, and what to tell IRCC.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\/blog\/pending-criminal-charge-immigration-application\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Charged With a Crime? What It Means for Your Immigration","og_description":"Charged but not convicted? How a pending charge affects PR, permits and citizenship, why the plea and sentence matter, and what to tell IRCC.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\/blog\/pending-criminal-charge-immigration-application\/","og_site_name":"Lawgical Law Corporation","article_published_time":"2026-11-11T03:56:21+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-11-11T15:22:04+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/blog-lawyer-sundeep-grewal-240.webp","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Sundeep S. Grewal","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Sundeep S. Grewal","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\/blog\/pending-criminal-charge-immigration-application\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\/blog\/pending-criminal-charge-immigration-application\/"},"author":{"name":"Sundeep S. Grewal","@id":"https:\/\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/8fd79c76d5e7ab55ee7ba7f963420724"},"headline":"Charged with a crime in Canada while your immigration application is open: what a charge does, and why the outcome matters","datePublished":"2026-11-11T03:56:21+00:00","dateModified":"2026-11-11T15:22:04+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\/blog\/pending-criminal-charge-immigration-application\/"},"wordCount":1339,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\/blog\/pending-criminal-charge-immigration-application\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/blog-lawyer-sundeep-grewal-240.webp","articleSection":["blog"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\/blog\/pending-criminal-charge-immigration-application\/","url":"https:\/\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\/blog\/pending-criminal-charge-immigration-application\/","name":"Charged With a Crime? What It Means for Your Immigration","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\/blog\/pending-criminal-charge-immigration-application\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\/blog\/pending-criminal-charge-immigration-application\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/blog-lawyer-sundeep-grewal-240.webp","datePublished":"2026-11-11T03:56:21+00:00","dateModified":"2026-11-11T15:22:04+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/8fd79c76d5e7ab55ee7ba7f963420724"},"description":"Charged but not convicted? How a pending charge affects PR, permits and citizenship, why the plea and sentence matter, and what to tell IRCC.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\/blog\/pending-criminal-charge-immigration-application\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\/blog\/pending-criminal-charge-immigration-application\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\/blog\/pending-criminal-charge-immigration-application\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/blog-lawyer-sundeep-grewal-240.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/blog-lawyer-sundeep-grewal-240.webp","width":240,"height":360,"caption":"Sundeep S. Grewal, Barrister and Solicitor"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\/blog\/pending-criminal-charge-immigration-application\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Charged with a crime in Canada while your immigration application is open: what a charge does, and why the outcome matters"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\/blog\/","name":"Lawgical Law Corporation","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/8fd79c76d5e7ab55ee7ba7f963420724","name":"Sundeep S. Grewal","description":"Sundeep S. Grewal is the founder of Lawgical Law Corporation and a lawyer called to the BC bar in 2018. He practises probate, estate litigation and immigration law for clients in Abbotsford, Surrey and Vancouver.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\/about\/sundeep-grewal\/"],"url":"https:\/\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\/about\/sundeep-grewal\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2165","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2165"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2165\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2268,"href":"https:\/\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2165\/revisions\/2268"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2165"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2165"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lawgicalcorp.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2165"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}