Immigration offences

The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) governs who is allowed to come to or remain in Canada.  For the purposes of this section, the law has two aspects to it.  It details who is inadmissible on grounds of criminality, and later on in the law, it covers the various offences that are in violation of IRPA.  It may be surprising to know that these offences apply to both foreigners as well as Canadian citizens.

What follows is a brief overview of these two aspects.

Inadmissibility on grounds of criminality classifies acts as either:

  • Serious criminality
  • Criminality
  • Organized criminality

Having engaged in Serious criminality, a permanent resident or a foreign national is inadmissible to come to or remain in Canada.

Serious criminality includes:

  1. Having been convicted in Canada of either an offence punishable by ten years, or of an offence for which a term of imprisonment of more than six months has been imposed;
  2. Having been convicted of an offence outside Canada that, if committed in Canada, would be punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of at least ten years; or,
  3. Committing an act outside Canada that is an offence in the place where it was committed and that, if committed in Canada, would constitute an offence punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of at least ten years.

Engaging in Criminality covers lesser offences and applies only to foreign nationals. A foreign national is inadmissible on grounds of criminality for:

  1. Having been convicted in Canada of a serious offence, or of two less serious and separate offences;
  2. Having been convicted outside Canada of an offence that, if committed in Canada, would be considered a serious offence, or of two less serious and separate offences;
  3. Committing an act outside Canada that is an offence in the place where it was committed and that, if committed in Canada, would constitute a serious offence;
  4. Committing, on entering Canada, an offence to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.

And finally, engaging in Organized Criminality makes a permanent resident or a foreign national inadmissible if he is:

  1. A member of an organization that is believed to be or to have been engaged in organized criminal activity anywhere in the world;
  2. Engaging, in the context of transnational crime, in activities such as people smuggling, trafficking in persons or money laundering.

Penalties

Sections 117 and the sections that follow, set out numerous offences for those who break the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.

Offences such as Organizing entry into Canada, Human Smuggling, and Trafficking in Persons, carry very severe penalties. These can be as serious as a $1,000,000 fine and / or life in prison.


What Steven Slimovitch Can Offer You

When you or someone you know has been charged with an immigration offence, it is important to retain the services of an experienced criminal defence lawyer as soon as possible. Steven Slimovitch is a highly skilled and experienced criminal defence lawyer with a very impressive track record in this area. He has defended countless people accused of immigration offences and has successfully supported them throughout the legal process and enabled them to get their lives back on track. He has also provided his opinion to numerous immigration lawyers as to which foreign crimes render individuals inadmissible.