lsj2767 said:
I have not received rehabilitation forms.
They will not send them to you. You have to download and complete them yourself. You can download the forms here http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/rehabil.asp
You are going to need these documents.
1. Original Korean Criminal History Information Record (including lapsed records) translated and notarized. You will need
two originals of this; one for your criminal rehabilitation application and one for your new PR application.
2. One original copy of the "Summary Order" translated and notarized. You will submit this with your criminal rehabilitation application
3. One original copy of the "Criminal Fact" translated and notarized. You will submit this with your criminal rehabilitation application.
4. One original "Certificate of Payment of Penalty" translated and notarized showing what the fine was and when it was paid.
5. One Canadian Criminal Background Search. Since it appears you have lived in Canada for more than 6 months, you will need to submit this with your criminal rehabilitation application
6. A copy of the Korean statute that you were convicted under, in English. The statute and section number should be shown on both the Korean Criminal History Information Record and the "Summary Order". You can find the English version of the Korean statute here http://elaw.klri.re.kr/eng_service/main.do. You will need to create an account at that site if you want to save or print the statute. Don't worry, it's free.
You probably have older copies of most of that documentation already. You're going to need fresh ones that are current to within 90 days of submitting your new application.
Can you tell me if the "Criminal Fact" described the type of material you were in possession of? (If you want to do that by private message, that's fine). This would seem to be the important factor in your situation. You need to provide CIC with something that proves that the material was just straight forward, typical adult videos. If there is not enough information in the "Criminal Fact" to clearly show that, you might consider contacting the prosecutor's office in Korea and asking them to write a letter explaining that it was simply adult videos, not something involving children or anything that would be illegal here.
Get that all together, complete all the forms and submit it with your new PR application. I don't know where you read that you have to get criminal rehabilitation before applying for PR. This is not my understanding. You should have no problem submitting them together.
You guys would understand better about my record if I say there's no legal way to even watch adult videos in my country.
Now compare to Canada.
Sometimes you guys smell somebody's smoking pot in Canada.
But it's jail time in my country
I understand this very well. I lived in South Korea for 12 years. You are correct. The type of explicit material that has been legal in Canada for years is still illegal in Korea. It's a very conservative society in that respect.
The letter says "Indictable offence" for adult videos, not child one.
I can't understand why it's indictable offence..
They are saying it's indictable because in Canada possession of 'obscene' material is a "hybrid" offence (see s. 163 and 169 Criminal Code of Canada). That means a prosecutor in Canada can decide to treat it as a summary conviction matter or an indictable matter, depending on the circumstances. When the equivalent Canadian offence for your foreign conviction is a "hybrid offence" under Canadian law, CIC treats it as indictable.
In your case, it really doesn't matter whether it's summary conviction or indictable. The important thing is that in Canada the offence is punishable by a prison term of less than 10 years, which means you can apply for criminal rehabilitation after 5 years.
What did your wife do?
Did she leave Canada??
We were lucky. She had a US visitor's visa and family in Michigan not far from where we live in Canada. Rather than worry about the CBSA guys knocking on our door someday, I took her to Michigan. A few weeks later we submitted her criminal rehabilitation application at the border. They approved it three days later and she came back to Canada.
There are a couple other things you should consider. First, as I said before, your case involves a question of criminal equivalency. That is a difficult and confusing aspect of Canadian immigration law. You would be well advised to at least consult an experienced Canadian immigration lawyer before taking any further steps. Secondly, assuming you can resolve the issue of your status in Canada, you might consider submitting your new PR application as an outland application this time. If you do it as an outland application and you get refused again, you will have a right to appeal. Since your case is a complicated one both factually and legally, having that appeal right could be very, very important.
Good luck. If you need any further help just let me know.
