Liberty Law Blog

Updated September 9, 2026

In Canada, if you are not a Canadian citizen, the consequences of a criminal conviction can vary drastically depending on your immigration status. If you are charged with a criminal offence and you are a permanent resident or a foreign national, it is important that you advise your lawyer of this as soon as possible. 

There are two broad classes of individuals in Canada who need to be particularly cautious when they are charged with a Criminal Offence:

1. Permanent Residents
2. Foreign Nationals (including Temporary Foreign Workers).

The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) governs whether a person is able to enter and remain in Canada. The Supreme Court has stated clearly that non-citizens do not have the unqualified right to enter and remain in Canada: Medovarski v Canada, [2005] 2 SCR 539. This is why it is very important to be aware of how your immigration status may be impacted by your criminal charges. 

Inadmissibility of Permanent Residents and Foreign Nationals on the grounds of “Serious Criminality”

The IRPA states that both Permanent Residents and Foreign Nationals are inadmissible on the grounds of serious criminality, which include the following: 

• A Permanent Resident or Foreign National who has been convicted of an offence that is punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years or more; 
• A Permanent Resident or Foreign National who has been convicted of an offence for which a term of imprisonment of more than 6 months has been imposed; 
• A Permanent Resident or Foreign National who has been convicted of an offence outside of Canada, that if committed in Canada, would be an offence that is punishable by a maximum sentence of 10 years or more;
• A Permanent Resident or Foreign National who has committed an act outside of Canada that is an offence in the place it was committed, and that if it were committed in Canada, would be an offence punishable by a maximum sentence of 10 years or more.

In summary, if you are a Permanent Resident or Foreign National in Canada, then under the IRPA you can be deported for being convicted of an offence where the maximum sentence is 10 years or higher, even if you specifically are not sentenced to the maximum sentence of 10 years. If the maximum sentence that you are convicted of is lower than 10 years, you can still be deported if the sentence imposed on you is higher than 6 months.  

There are a number of ways an experienced criminal lawyer can use mitigating circumstances to get many sentences under six months imprisonment, even in seemingly impossible circumstances. For example, one of our lawyers convinced a Justice of the Alberta Court of King’s Bench (previously the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench) to impose a sentence of only 120 days on a ‘Bank Robbery by Note’ offence. This is a very serious offence that often results in periods of imprisonment that are much higher than 6 months. Our lawyer was able to achieve this outcome by presenting the Court with all of the individual’s mitigating circumstances. This individual was a Permanent Resident, and they remain in Canada today.

If you are a Permanent Residence or Foreign National who’s been charged with a criminal offence, it is critical that you contact an experienced criminal lawyer in order to minimize the risk that you or your family will get deported.

Inadmissibility of Foreign Nationals on grounds of “Criminality”

While Permanent Residents and Foreign Nationals are inadmissible on the grounds of “serious criminality,” Foreign Nationals are also inadmissible on the grounds of “criminality” under the IRPA: 

• A Foreign National who has been convicted of an offence that is punishable by way of indictment;
• A Foreign National who has been convicted of two offences arising from two or more occurrences;
• A Foreign National who has been convicted of an offence outside of Canada, that if committed in Canada, would be an indictable offence, or of two offences arising from two occurrence outside of Canada, that if committed in Canada, would be offences; 
• A Foreign National who has committed an offence outside of Canada that is an offence in the place it was committed, and that if committed in Canada, would be an indictable offence; 
• A Foreign National who 

For the purposes of this section, hybrid offences are deemed to be indictable. A hybrid offence is one where the Crown Prosecutor can choose to proceed with a charge by summary or by indictment. This means that a Foreign National who is convicted of any indictable offence, or any summary offence where the Crown could have elected by indictment, can be deported. There are some offences under the Criminal Code that can only be prosecuted summarily (referred to as “straight summary offences”), and these are the only offences that don’t fall into this category. However, a Foreign National can still be deported if they’re convicted of two (or more) straight summary offences that arise from two different circumstances.  

Record Suspensions, Acquittals, and Youth Convictions 

Permanent Residents and Foreign Nationals cannot be deported based on a conviction where a record suspension has been ordered and has not been revoked or ceased, or in respect to any matters where the final determination is an acquittal. 

Permanent Residents and Foreign Nationals also cannot be deported for a conviction under the Young Offenders Act or a sentence under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

Conclusion

If you or a loved one has been charged with a criminal offence as a Permanent Resident or Foreign National in Canada, it is important to contact an experienced criminal defence lawyer as soon as possible. The difference between obtaining a lawyer who understands how your offence(s) can affect your immigration status and one who does not may be the difference between remaining in Canada and being deported.

To learn more, contact us for a free consultation at 780-784-7500 or toll-free 1-833-784-7500.