5 years (indictable) / summary conviction
Identity theft is a hybrid offence with a 5-year indictable maximum. Under IRPA s.36(3)(a) it is deemed indictable, creating criminality inadmissibility under s.36(2). The 5-year maximum is below the serious-criminality threshold of s.36(1). Fraud-type offences also raise honesty concerns relevant to misrepresentation under s.40.
Collecting or holding someone else's personal information with a plan to use it for fraud. The serious route carries 5 years, below the 10 year line, so it counts as ordinary criminality. A record built on deception also sits awkwardly beside immigration questions about honesty, which officers weigh separately.
(1) Every person commits an offence who obtains or possesses another person’s identity information with intent to use it to commit an indictable offence that includes fraud, deceit or falsehood as an element of the offence. (2) Everyone commits an offence who transmits, makes available, distributes, sells or offers for sale another person’s identity information, or has it in their possession for any of those purposes, knowing that or being reckless as to whether the information will be used to commit an indictable offence that includes fraud, deceit or falsehood as an element of the offence. (3) For the purposes of subsections (1) and (2), an indictable offence referred to in either of those subsections includes an offence under any of the following sections: (a) section 57 (forgery of or uttering forged passport); (b) section 58 (fraudulent use of certificate of citizenship); (c) section 130 (personating peace officer); (d) section 131 (perjury); (e) section 342 (theft, forgery, etc., of credit card); (f) section 362 (false pretence or false statement); (g) section 366 (forgery); (h) section 368 (use, trafficking or possession of forged document); (i) section 380 (fraud); and (j) section 403 (identity fraud). (4) An accused who is charged with an offence under subsection (1) or (2) may be tried and punished by any court having jurisdiction to try that offence in the place where the offence is alleged to have been committed or in the place where the accused is found, is arrested or is in custody. However, no proceeding in respect of the offence shall be commenced in a province without the consent of the Attorney General of that province if the offence is alleged to have been committed outside that province. (5) Everyone who commits an offence under subsection (1) or (2) (a) is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than five years; or (b) is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction.