Visa Officer criminal inadmissibility discretion

[Singam]

Hi,

I was just wondering how much discretion is given to the Visa Officers to make a decision on an applicant's criminal inadmissibility. Are they allowed to, for example, accept someone even though they don't yet meet the requirements for rehabilitation, based on the applicants statement or other factors? Or is it simply a matter of looking up the equivalent classification in Canadian law and accepting/rejecting based on that? Do they just check Canadian federal law or provincial laws as well?

In my case I have two traffic misdemeanors that are classified as "summary convictions" in Alberta (I found out by calling the Alberta equivalent of the "DMV"). These are driving without insurance and driving without a valid licence. Based on my understanding of criminal inadmissibility, two summary offences within a five year period is grounds for rejection.

 

[ghiaskhan]

Criminality
This category of criminal inadmissibility applies to those who have been convicted inside Canada of an indictable offense punishable by a sentence of less than ten years, or those who committed an equivalent offense outside Canada that would be punishable by ten years if the act had been committed in Canada.

http://www.canadavisa.com/canadian-immigration-glossary.html

 

[Singam]

Thanks for that, but I've already read it. The part that concerns me is:

"Been convicted outside Canada of two or more acts that, if committed in Canada, would be equivalent to summary offences".