Chances of immigrating after making misrepresentation mistake

[Ezza]

Hi,

My partner was applied for a Canadian working visa and he stated he did not have a criminal record on the application even thought he had a DUI. He was let into Canada and we lived there together for 2 years. We now live in another country (for 4 years now) and I am hoping to be able to sponsor him for a Canadian Family class visa so we can move back.
Now we know that claiming he did not have a DUI was a massive mistake, and if we could go back in time and change the form, we would, but we obviously cannot do that.
So my question is, is there anything we can possibly do to get him into Canada on a visa without being charged with misrepresentation? The visa office is obviously going to notice that the working visa form from many years ago has no criminal record mentioned, but then his new common-law one does.
What are our options? How do we make this right with the Canadian government? Would hiring a lawyer be beneficial?

 

[frege]

Hi,

My partner was applied for a Canadian working visa and he stated he did not have a criminal record on the application even thought he had a DUI. He was let into Canada and we lived there together for 2 years. We now live in another country (for 4 years now) and I am hoping to be able to sponsor him for a Canadian Family class visa so we can move back.
Now we know that claiming he did not have a DUI was a massive mistake, and if we could go back in time and change the form, we would, but we obviously cannot do that.
So my question is, is there anything we can possibly do to get him into Canada on a visa without being charged with misrepresentation? The visa office is obviously going to notice that the working visa form from many years ago has no criminal record mentioned, but then his new common-law one does.
What are our options? How do we make this right with the Canadian government? Would hiring a lawyer be beneficial?

Hi Ezza,

Yes, I think an immigration lawyer would be a good idea. They are experts.

I'm not an expert, but I can tell you what I think. (I hope others will be able to clarify some things further which I'm not sure about.)

There are two questions here, not just one. There is inadmissibility for misrepresentation and criminal inadmissibility.

With respect to inadmissibility for misrepresentation, the CIC operational manual ENF 2, in section 9.7, says this:

"An application for a visa abroad, or for entry into Canada at a port of entry may be denied
based on a misrepresentation made in connection with the current application or
examination only, unless the person was previously the subject of a refusal for
misrepresentation and the resulting two-year inadmissibility period has not elapsed."

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/manuals/enf/enf02-eng.pdf

Based on my reading of this, I would say this means your husband won't be turned down based on a previous misrepresentation. However, I would check this with a lawyer. Certainly, a misrepresentation now would be more serious. Also, because police certificates are required from all countries of residence, a conviction will be difficult to hide anyway in a sponsorship application.

With respect to criminality, here are some pages from CIC with some information:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/inadmissibility/conviction.asp
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/guides/5312ETOC.asp

What matters is whether the offence would have been considered and "indictable offence" or a "summary offence" in Canada, and what the maximum sentence would have been for the same offence if it had been committed in Canada.

For impaired driving where no bodily harm or death is involved, the offence can be summary or indictable, and the maximum sentence is five years in prison in case of a prosecution by indictment.

In this case, my understanding is that you are deemed rehabilitated (automatically) ten years after completing the sentence. You can apply for individual rehabilitation five years after the completion of the sentence. And where special circumstances exist (joining your spouse might qualify), it appears there are procedures even before five years have elapsed, but I don't understand the details of this.

Honestly, I don't know whether the previous misrepresentation might even be a factor weighing against the normal rehabilitation after five years.

Here are a couple of threads about this:

http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/conjugalspousal-criminally-inadmissible-pr-application-appeal-proceedure-t31878.0.html

http://www.roadtocanada.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=6766

It's suggested in one of them that getting a lawyer specialized in criminal inadmissibility cases might be a good idea.

 

[Creampop]

In this case, my understanding is that you are deemed rehabilitated (automatically) ten years after completing the sentence. You can apply for individual rehabilitation five years after the completion of the sentence. And where special circumstances exist (joining your spouse might qualify), it appears there are procedures even before five years have elapsed, but I don't understand the details of this.

Yes I agree with what frege had to say and with a case like this I would atleast consult with a Lawyer before filing. As far as the above goes coming to join your spouse will not qualify a special circumstance would be something like a death in the family (they want to make sure you leave). There have been alot of threads about partners with DUI's and how they can't get in for 10 years you can apply for rehabilitation after 5 years but that does not mean they will grant it. But, it sounds like atleast 6 years have passed. how much time had passed before he came to Canada on the work visa? he could be close to the 10 years already. Good Luck!

 

[UNCChic4]

Ezza- I know it's been years since this post, but I thought it was worth asking anyway - did you move forward with the application? If so, what happened? I'm in a very similar situation with my husband, where he had previously gotten a work visa in Canada without disclosing a misdemeanor conviction he didn't realize he had for reckless/negligent driving in the US 8 years ago. He had entered Canada several times in the past and didn't know he had any convictions until we recently got back his FBI background check. We know now that he'll need to apply for rehabilitation for future entries, but what we're most concerned about is a charge of misrepresentation for past mistakes.

Any updates on what happened with you would be greatly appreciated.

 

[bumblebee95]

Hi, UNCChic4. Did you ever proceed with applying for rehabilitation in the end? How did it go?