How Long Does Canadian Criminal Rehabilitation Take?

A criminal record in the United States, including a misdemeanor DUI, can render a US citizen inadmissible to Canada and put him or her at significant risk of getting denied entry at the Canadian border. If all sentencing was finished a minimum of five years prior, a person is eligible to apply for Criminal Rehabilitation (CR) which can permanently overcome their inadmissibility to Canada. Since Rehabilitation is permanent, the application process is extensive and the Government of Canada does an extremely thorough review of all the paperwork. Consequently, it can take a long time for a Criminal Rehabilitation application to get fully processed.

If someone has a trip planned, knowing the current Canada Criminal Rehabilitation process time can be very important. We have seen Criminal Rehabilitation application processing times vary from as low as 6 months to as high as 12-18 months, depending on a variety of factors such as application volume. In some cases, a qualified lawyer can electronically submit a Criminal Rehabilitation application (eCR) which can potentially enable expedited processing. Our immigration law firm helps a substantial number of Americans apply for Canada Criminal Rehabilitation every year, which allows us to have a good idea of the current CR processing time at any given moment. If you would like an approximation of the current Criminal Rehabilitation processing times, please give us a call today (we offer free consultations).

Entering Canada While Waiting

Due to the potentially lengthy Canadian Rehabilitation processing times, it is not always possible for an American with a DUI to avoid the country until their application is processed. If a person needs to travel to Canada before they can obtain Rehabilitation, he or she may also be able to apply for a Temporary Resident Permit (TRP) to cover them in the meantime. Temporary Resident Permit processing times can be much faster than CR processing times for some applicants, and in an urgent situation it is even possible to bring an expedited TRP application to the border for immediate evaluation. Consequently, business travelers frequently apply for both a TRP and CR aiming to start crossing the border as soon as possible while also resolving their inadmissibility forever.

Why Have I Not Heard Back Yet?

Our law firm is occasionally contacted by someone looking for a status update on their Criminal Rehabilitation Canada application. In many of these cases, the person tried to do the paperwork themselves, believed they submitted the application to Canadian Government correctly, but never heard back. It is sometimes difficult to diagnose such situations, especially if the person has not received a response after a year or longer. We are authorized representatives with Immigration Canada, so when we prepare and submit a CR application on behalf of a client we are able to communicate with the Goverment directly regarding the file. When someone calls us about an application they submitted themselves, however, we are not always able to give them a conclusive answer since we are not their official representative with the Government.

If the person mailed away the paperwork only a few months ago, we usually explain the current processing time for Criminal Rehabilitation applications and tell them it is likely best to keep waiting for an answer. If someone applied for Rehabilitation well over a year ago and received no response, however, it is often a sign that something is wrong. The exact problem could be challenging to ascertain. Did the person complete the paperwork incorrectly? Did they submit the application package to the wrong visa office or government department? Did the paperwork get lost in the mail? Did the person apply for CR before they were eligible? Perhaps the applicant forget to pay the government processing fee or did not complete the payment properly (this is a common error). There are many possible mistakes that can result in an applicant not receiving an approval within the estimated processing time.

Does Criminal Rehabilitation Take Longer for Certain People?

In general, more complex Criminal Rehabilitation applications may take longer for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to process. This can be particularly true in cases of "serious criminality" that may require ministerial approval. For example, the government processing time for an applicant that spent several years in prison for violent felony convictions could be substantially longer than the Canadian Rehabilitation processing time for an applicant with a single misdemeanor for driving under the influence of alcohol.

How Can I Get My CR Application Processed Faster?

It is common for a US citizen with an arrest history to be interested in Canada Rehabilitation but not want to wait up to a year for the paperwork to be reviewed. In some cases, an immigration lawyer may be able to submit an electronic Criminal Rehabilitation application (eCR) directly to the Canadian consulate in an effort to speed up the processing time. Such expedited processing is typically only available if an applicant is a strong candidate with two or less misdemeanor convictions that do not equate to serious criminality north of the border.

Questions about the current Canadian Criminal Rehabilitation processing time? Wondering how long it might take you to obtain Rehabilitation if you started today? Phone our law office now for a no-cost consultation!