10 years (indictable) / 2 years less a day (summary)
Uttering (using) forged documents carries the same 10-year maximum as forgery itself: serious criminality under IRPA s.36(1). Extremely relevant in immigration contexts where persons use forged passports, visas, or immigration documents. No deemed rehabilitation for offences with 10+ year maximums.
Using, passing along, or simply holding a document you know is fake. It carries the same 10 year ceiling as making the forgery, so it is serious criminality too. Presenting a borrowed or altered passport at a border booth is exactly the conduct this covers.
(1) Everyone commits an offence who, knowing or believing that a document is forged, (a) uses, deals with or acts on it as if it were genuine; (b) causes or attempts to cause any person to use, deal with or act on it as if it were genuine; (c) transfers, sells or offers to sell it or makes it available, to any person, knowing that or being reckless as to whether an offence will be committed under paragraph (a) or (b); or (d) possesses it with intent to commit an offence under any of paragraphs (a) to (c). (1.1) Everyone who commits an offence under subsection (1) (a) is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than 10 years; or (b) is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction. (2) For the purposes of proceedings under this section, the place where a document was forged is not material.