Approved for PR - How to land with minor criminal record?

[waiting10yrs]

Hey Everyone,

About a 5 days ago I was approved for PR and get my PPR/DM. My COPR is on the way soon.
My wife and I have been doing a bit of research and noticed that there are 2 questions everyone gets at landing.

1. Have I been convicted of a crime?
2. Have you been denied entry in any country/Canada?

For me, sadly both of the answers are YES.

My wife called the CBSA general information service and the IRCC general information service and they told me they weren't sure what will happen and its up to the officer at the POE.

The CBSA general information service told her I just needed my COPR and Passport. IRCC general information service said its best to give/bring everything I have submitted with PR for declaring the charges.

List of what we plan on bringing:
- 3 USA police checks (FBI, State and Job) that say no record found.
- 1 Canadian/RCMP police check that says no record found.
- Legal Opinion Letter from a lawyer stating that both crimes do not fall under admissibility.
- COPR
- Receipt of Visitor Extension (been here 8 months).
- Marriage License.
- Screenshot of of GCKey/Ecas.
- Proof of Medical Exam.

Is there anything else you guys think I will need?

-

The crimes were:

1. Underage Drinking and I was charged/convicted. It was the lowest Class charge in the USA (I am an American Citizen) and according to lawyer there is no charge similar federally in Canada. Did no jail time only probation. I was 18-19. It was 7ish years ago.

2. Assault and this charge was dropped as it was self defence. According to lawyer there is no issue because it was dismissed and there for no conviction.

-

As for the denial:

I was denied enter to Canada in 2010 when my went to go take a trip to see my wife (gf at the time) for the first time and did not have much money on me and no return ticket as I didnt know how long I wanted to stay.

-

I have been to Canada 4 times now and this current trip is the longest, we were waiting for the visitor extension to come in my the PR got approved before that.

We are taking a trip to the 1000 bridge border with my wife's mother who is driving us. I am an American citizen and they are Canadian citizens, we plan on entering and staying in the USA a while rather than flag polling.

-

Question is: If saying YES to either of the above questions can make the officer at the POE turn me away or deny me entry and or revoke my PR approval? If so is there anything I can do to reverse it.

We are hoping that since I passed the PR background checks there will not be an issue.

Trying to stay hopeful.

 

[Wonderland_1010]

Hey Everyone,

About a 5 days ago I was approved for PR and get my PPR/DM. My COPR is on the way soon.
My wife and I have been doing a bit of research and noticed that there are 2 questions everyone gets at landing.

1. Have I been convicted of a crime?
2. Have you been denied entry in any country/Canada?

For me, sadly both of the answers are YES.

My wife called the CBSA general information service and the IRCC general information service and they told me they weren't sure what will happen and its up to the officer at the POE.

The CBSA general information service told her I just needed my COPR and Passport. IRCC general information service said its best to give/bring everything I have submitted with PR for declaring the charges.

List of what we plan on bringing:
- 3 USA police checks (FBI, State and Job) that say no record found.
- 1 Canadian/RCMP police check that says no record found.
- Legal Opinion Letter from a lawyer stating that both crimes do not fall under admissibility.
- COPR
- Receipt of Visitor Extension (been here 8 months).
- Marriage License.
- Screenshot of of GCKey/Ecas.
- Proof of Medical Exam.

Is there anything else you guys think I will need?

-

The crimes were:

1. Underage Drinking and I was charged/convicted. It was the lowest Class charge in the USA (I am an American Citizen) and according to lawyer there is no charge similar federally in Canada. Did no jail time only probation. I was 18-19. It was 7ish years ago.

2. Assault and this charge was dropped as it was self defence. According to lawyer there is no issue because it was dismissed and there for no conviction.

-

As for the denial:

I was denied enter to Canada in 2010 when my went to go take a trip to see my wife (gf at the time) for the first time and did not have much money on me and no return ticket as I didnt know how long I wanted to stay.

-

I have been to Canada 4 times now and this current trip is the longest, we were waiting for the visitor extension to come in my the PR got approved before that.

We are taking a trip to the 1000 bridge border with my wife's mother who is driving us. I am an American citizen and they are Canadian citizens, we plan on entering and staying in the USA a while rather than flag polling.

-

Question is: If saying YES to either of the above questions can make the officer at the POE turn me away or deny me entry and or revoke my PR approval? If so is there anything I can do to reverse it.

We are hoping that since I passed the PR background checks there will not be an issue.

Trying to stay hopeful.

If you had declared your criminal charges/convictions to IRCC then you should be fine. Just take your court records and lawyer documents stating the outcome of the charges and when the probation was done etc. CSBA officers will take the papers and check their systems to see if you are telling the truth but you will be allowed to land.

 

[waiting10yrs]

I declared everything 100% when I applied and submitted the schedule a. Should I bring a copy of that, or rather just the paperwork related to just the charges, ie. police checks/lawyer opinion letter as well as court docs? My USA police checks are expired but he rcmp is not, so hopefully that’s fine.

 

[Wonderland_1010]

I declared everything 100% when I applied and submitted the schedule a. Should I bring a copy of that, or rather just the paperwork related to just the charges, ie. police checks/lawyer opinion letter as well as court docs? My USA police checks are expired but he rcmp is not, so hopefully that’s fine.

Just bring everything that you have in regards to your charges and court outcomes. CSBA may not need it but its good to have it with you incase.

 

[waiting10yrs]

Just bring everything that you have in regards to your charges and court outcomes. CSBA may not need it but its good to have it with you incase.

We are going to bring everything we can think of. My wife had everything saved as originals or atleast as a copy. So there is no way the can deny me as a landed PR or it’s just very unlikely? As I said I am already in Canada and have been for some time. Just want to get proper status rather then implied status as a visitor waiting for the extension.

 

[Wonderland_1010]

We are going to bring everything we can think of. My wife had everything saved as originals or atleast as a copy. So there is no way the can deny me as a landed PR or it’s just very unlikely? As I said I am already in Canada and have been for some time. Just want to get proper status rather then implied status as a visitor waiting for the extension.

Nope you shouldn't have any issues but do expect that CBSA officers may ask you alot of questions about your criminal charges but always tell them you have declared the charges to IRCC and you have supporting documents to prove that you have been cleared of all charges.

Some CBSA officers tend to give applicants a hard time during landing but not all.

 

[waiting10yrs]

Nope you shouldn't have any issues but do expect that CBSA officers may ask you alot of questions about your criminal charges but always tell them you have declared the charges to IRCC and you have supporting documents to prove that you have been cleared of all charges.

Some CBSA officers tend to give applicants a hard time during landing but not all.

I have not been cleared of all charges though. One of them I did get convicted of but it was super duper minor. Underage drinking, then the other was dismissed. But I think I understand what you are getting at. Thank you.

 

[Wonderland_1010]

I have not been cleared of all charges though. One of them I did get convicted of but it was super duper minor. Underage drinking, then the other was dismissed. But I think I understand what you are getting at. Thank you.

The underage drinking charge is not considered a criminal charge in Canada so you shouldn't have any problems

 

[James_NZ1]

I had a criminal conviction and declared it at the start of my application and denied a eta tourist visa due to not being able to enter Canada with a conviction 7 years ago.

I was asked at POE and declared both situations The officer asked if declared on my file and i said yes. she checked the system and was clared entry as a PR. no issues or restrictions.

 

[waiting10yrs]

I had a criminal conviction and declared it at the start of my application and denied a eta tourist visa due to not being able to enter Canada with a conviction 7 years ago.

I was asked at POE and declared both situations The officer asked if declared on my file and i said yes. she checked the system and was clared entry as a PR. no issues or restrictions.

That's awesome that you landed so easy. Hoping I have the same luck.

Mine is from 7-8 years ago as well but I have 2 arrests/charges. 1 is a conviction (which is minor as stated above for underage drinking) and the other was dismissed so there was technically no conviction.

Did you land at the POE recently? We are going to be driving to 1000 island bridge because we heard Detroit and Buffalo borders are tough on weekends. I read it's because they are busy and rather have people land at the airport or IRCC offices.

 

[James_NZ1]

That's awesome that you landed so easy. Hoping I have the same luck.

Mine is from 7-8 years ago as well but I have 2 arrests/charges. 1 is a conviction (which is minor as stated above for underage drinking) and the other was dismissed so there was technically no conviction.

Did you land at the POE recently? We are going to be driving to 1000 island bridge because we heard Detroit and Buffalo borders are tough on weekends. I read it's because they are busy and rather have people land at the airport or IRCC offices.

Hi.
We all have a past, we must learn to accept it but learn from it. It's important that what you outlined above as your charges/convictions are noted to IRCC when you applied. If not, you WILL be refused entry as a PR. Again, if it's written on your application forms clearly that you have a criminal background you still tell the officer on arrival but you won't have any issues with entry. If you have lied or hidden the full story they will investigate and send you home.

As for entry, I live near Windsor/Detriot so we went to that border crossing. You can become PR at any border anytime. Some borders prefer you not to enter as a PR during peak times like Niagara Falls (Rainbow Bridge) as they are very busy with tourist buses etc all day and rather you enter during off peak times like Monday - Wednesday not in the weekends.

 

[waiting10yrs]

Hi.
We all have a past, we must learn to accept it but learn from it. It's important that what you outlined above as your charges/convictions are noted to IRCC when you applied. If not, you WILL be refused entry as a PR. Again, if it's written on your application forms clearly that you have a criminal background you still tell the officer on arrival but you won't have any issues with entry. If you have lied or hidden the full story they will investigate and send you home.

As for entry, I live near Windsor/Detriot so we went to that border crossing. You can become PR at any border anytime. Some borders prefer you not to enter as a PR during peak times like Niagara Falls (Rainbow Bridge) as they are very busy with tourist buses etc all day and rather you enter during off peak times like Monday - Wednesday not in the weekends.

I declared all of it and sent all court docs and police checks with my application months ago. We even hired a lawyer to write an explanation on why I am not admissible for those 2 arrests/charges. They wrote a 20 page document and explained the charges for us and such. We attached the lawyers letter, all court docs and police checks with the Schedule A and answered the question "have you been convicted" in the Schedule A.

So when they pull up my file at the POE they should see I declared everything? I will be bringing the lawyers letter, all court docs and police checks as well.

Glad to know I shouldn't have an issue.

 

[James_NZ1]

I declared all of it and sent all court docs and police checks with my application months ago. We even hired a lawyer to write an explanation on why I am not admissible for those 2 arrests/charges. They wrote a 20 page document and explained the charges for us and such. We attached the lawyers letter, all court docs and police checks with the Schedule A and answered the question "have you been convicted" in the Schedule A.

So when they pull up my file at the POE they should see I declared everything? I will be bringing the lawyers letter, all court docs and police checks as well.

Glad to know I shouldn't have an issue.

No you wont have an issue. They see everything you have submitted and if you declared any criminal pasts.
They will ask you the questions "have you ever" and you just tell them like it is.

Just say Yes, I have been charged with xxx and xxx etc and briefly say what happened. I submitted all this with my application.
That's all. The officer will check everything on file and verify with you what's there. Then you initial next to this on your CoPR.

A few other things are done like goods to follow etc and you are on your way.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

I declared all of it and sent all court docs and police checks with my application months ago. We even hired a lawyer to write an explanation on why I am not admissible for those 2 arrests/charges. They wrote a 20 page document and explained the charges for us and such. We attached the lawyers letter, all court docs and police checks with the Schedule A and answered the question "have you been convicted" in the Schedule A.

So when they pull up my file at the POE they should see I declared everything? I will be bringing the lawyers letter, all court docs and police checks as well.

Glad to know I shouldn't have an issue.

You are seriously overthinking and worrying for nothing. If it was an issue, your PR app wouldn't have been approved. Simple as that. While CBSA may ask a few extra questions, you will not be refused landing.

 

[pradhasi]

I came to Canada as a Student back in 2012 and graduated in September 2015. I applied for my PGWP and was approved for 3 years until Jan 2019. I worked in an IT company for 2 years until Feb 2018 and started working in another IT company. Currently, I am inside Canada under visitor record.

On March 2018, I was charged with utter treat, assault which was filed by my ex-girlfriend. I was arrested by PEEL region police and the case is still pending.

On Jan 4th, 2019 before my expiration on my PGWP, I applied for a visitor extension(record) and was approved for 6 months until Aug 30, 2019 and currently my status is visitor record. On Jan31st 2019, I got an invitation to apply for PR under express entry. I disclosed all my pending criminal charges to CIC and they asked to complete fingerprinting and send it to them.

My criminal case is still pending, and I have a court date that I will need to be present in Brampton Court for the preliminary inquiry on Jan 21st and 22nd 2020.

Today Aug 6th 2019, I received a PPR letter from cic to send me my passport for my COPR. I am bit confused as to why my passport was requested at the moment while still my charges are pending? I already disclosed all my pending charges to CIC before I applied for my PR.
My Immi Lawyer advised to send the passport anyways. Please share your thoughts