Can You Enter Canada With Dismissed Charges?

It depends where the charge was. IRCC's guide 5312 says a charge withdrawn or dismissed in Canada does not make you inadmissible, and one outside Canada may. A dismissal or an acquittal is not a conviction, so the conviction grounds in IRPA s.36 do not apply, but an officer may ask about the facts. Carry your court disposition. A border officer decides.

See which IRPA grounds a record touches with the Admissibility Explorer

Last verified: November 2026

Guide 5312
IRCC’s guide on charges withdrawn or dismissed inside and outside Canada
IRPA s.36
The conviction grounds, which attach to convictions, not mere charges
IRPA s.16(1)
Requires a truthful answer to every question an officer asks

Which court outcomes count as a conviction?

Canadian immigration law uses the word "conviction" as the trigger for criminal inadmissibility. Not all legal outcomes are convictions.

Acquittal (not guilty verdict): A court found you not guilty after trial. Without a conviction, the conviction grounds of IRPA s.36 do not apply. The arrest, charge, and court proceedings may still appear in law enforcement databases.
Dismissal, charges dropped or stay of proceedings: The prosecution did not proceed, charges were withdrawn, or a judge dismissed the case before verdict. There was no conviction, so the conviction grounds of IRPA s.36 do not apply.
Absolute discharge (Canada): Under section 730 of the Criminal Code, the court found you guilty but discharged you without entering a conviction. For Canadian law purposes, this is not a conviction. For records dated on or after July 24, 1992, the RCMP automatically removes (seals) the absolute discharge from the CPIC database one year after the date you were sentenced.
Conditional discharge (Canada): Also under section 730, you were found guilty but discharged on conditions set out in a probation order; you are deemed not to have been convicted (s.730(3)), though the court can revoke the discharge and convict you if you are convicted of a new offence while bound by the probation order (s.730(4)). For records dated on or after July 24, 1992, the RCMP automatically removes the conditional discharge from CPIC three years after the date you were sentenced.
Deferred adjudication or diversion (US): Whether Canada treats it as a conviction depends on the program mechanics, in particular whether a conviction was ever entered. IRCC's guide 5312 says a discharge for an offence outside Canada may make you inadmissible.
Conviction (guilty plea or verdict, sentence imposed): This is the outcome that creates criminal inadmissibility under IRPA s.36, regardless of whether you received a fine, probation, or imprisonment. Use the Admissibility Explorer if you have a conviction.

The rule

The conviction grounds in sections 36(1) and 36(2) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) attach to convictions, not mere charges.

IRPA s.36Verify on justice.gc.ca

Why can a charge outside Canada still matter?

IRCC's guide 5312 says that for charges withdrawn or dismissed, "If the offence occurred in Canada, you are not inadmissible. If the offence occurred outside Canada, you may be inadmissible." The same two lines apply to an absolute or conditional discharge.

The "committing an act" paragraphs, s.36(1)(c) and s.36(2)(c), look at conduct outside Canada rather than the court result, so a Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officer can still examine the facts. Under IRPA s.33 the officer can rely on reasonable grounds to believe the act occurred; for a permanent resident under s.36(1)(c), s.36(3)(d) requires a balance of probabilities.

Will a border officer see a dismissed charge?

The Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) is the RCMP's national police database, and the US National Crime Information Center (NCIC) is run by the FBI. The CBSA's published list of systems for traveller processing (its Info Source entry) names both. No official page found today says more than that about what a border officer sees.

What a police record about a dismissed charge may contain, depending on the jurisdiction:

Arrest records: the fact that you were arrested is often logged and may persist even after dismissal, depending on the jurisdiction's record retention policies.
Charge records: a charge may appear with a disposition that reads "dismissed," "stayed," or "withdrawn." The charge entry itself may stay on the record.
Fingerprints: if you were fingerprinted upon arrest, those biometric records may persist independently of the charge outcome.
No conviction entry: a record showing a dismissed charge does not show a conviction, because no conviction occurred.

What happens if an officer asks about the charge?

Even if you were never convicted, an officer examining you can ask about a charge, and IRPA s.16(1) requires you to answer truthfully all questions put to you for the examination. Being questioned does not mean you are inadmissible.

No rule lists exact documents, but IRPA s.16(1) requires you to produce the relevant evidence and documents an officer reasonably requires.

Useful documents include:

Court disposition records showing the charge was dismissed, withdrawn, stayed, or resulted in an acquittal
A printout from the court's electronic docket showing case disposition
A letter from your lawyer confirming the outcome if court records are not easily portable
A police record check showing no conviction (in some jurisdictions this shows the charge and "no conviction" status)

How do you answer a question about convictions or charges?

When a CBSA officer or visa application form asks whether you have been "convicted of a criminal offence," a dismissed charge is not a conviction, and answering "No" is accurate.

Some forms ask broader questions. The eTA form asks: "Have you ever committed, been arrested for, been charged with or convicted of any criminal offence in any country/territory?" A dismissed charge is still a charge, so that question calls for yes, with where, when, the nature of the offence and the outcome.

If you were convicted and the charge was later expunged in the US, Canadian law may still treat the original conviction as relevant. The Expunged Record guide has the details. An officer always retains discretion over how your record is assessed.

Which free tool checks your own case?

Free, with no account. What you enter in a tool stays in your browser.

What do people ask?

What does dismissed charges mean?

Dismissed charges means a court ended the case before a verdict, so no conviction was entered. Like an acquittal, a dismissal leaves no conviction, so the conviction grounds in IRPA s.36 do not apply. IRCC's guide 5312 says a charge dismissed in Canada does not make you inadmissible and one outside Canada may, and an officer can ask about the facts.

Can I enter Canada if my charges were dropped years ago?

It depends where. IRCC's guide 5312 says a charge withdrawn in Canada does not make you inadmissible, and one outside Canada may. A dropped charge is not a conviction, so the conviction grounds in IRPA s.36 do not apply, but for a charge abroad the "committing an act" paragraphs let an officer look at the facts, on reasonable grounds to believe (IRPA s.33). Carry court documents that show the outcome. Our Pending Criminal Charges guide explains how officers treat charges.

I was found not guilty at trial. Will Canada still turn me away?

An acquittal is not a conviction, so the conviction grounds in IRPA s.36 do not apply to that charge. IRPA s.36(3)(b) also says inadmissibility cannot rest on a conviction after a final determination of acquittal. You may still be asked about the record in police databases. Answer calmly and bring the court's verdict if you have it. The Admissibility Explorer shows which IRPA grounds a record touches.

Do dismissed charges show up on a background check at the border?

They can come up. The CBSA's published list of systems for traveller processing names CPIC and the US National Crime Information Center (NCIC), and arrest records or fingerprints may persist under the other jurisdiction's rules. An officer can ask about any past charge, and IRPA s.16(1) requires a truthful answer. A non-conviction record may bring questions, so carry the disposition.

What is the difference between dropped and dismissed charges?

A dropped (withdrawn) charge is one the prosecution abandons before trial, while a dismissed charge is one a judge ends before a verdict. A stay of proceedings halts the case, and an acquittal is a not-guilty finding after trial. For entering Canada, all four leave no conviction to assess. For a case outside Canada, IRCC says you may still be inadmissible.

My US charge was dismissed under a diversion program. Does that count as a conviction?

It depends on the program. If no conviction was ever entered and the charge was dismissed once you finished the program, there is no conviction for IRPA s.36(1)(b) or s.36(2)(b), though IRCC says a charge dismissed outside Canada may still make you inadmissible. Some programs start with a guilty plea, which can change the analysis, so the program's mechanics matter. If your outcome is unclear, ask a licensed immigration lawyer. Our Expunged Record guide explains how Canada reads US record relief.

Does an absolute or conditional discharge in Canada count as a conviction?

No. Under Criminal Code s.730, a discharge means the court found you guilty but did not enter a conviction, and IRCC's guide 5312 says a discharge in Canada does not make you inadmissible. For records dated on or after July 24, 1992, the RCMP seals an absolute discharge one year after sentencing and a conditional discharge three years after sentencing. A border officer still decides. Criminal Code s.730 sets out both discharges.

Do I have to disclose a dismissed charge on an eTA or visa application?

Answer exactly what each question asks. The eTA form asks whether you have ever committed, been arrested for, been charged with or convicted of any criminal offence, so a dismissed charge is a yes there, with where, when, the offence and the outcome. If a form asks only whether you were convicted, "No" is accurate for a true dismissal or acquittal. False or misleading answers can lead to misrepresentation under IRPA s.40, generally a five-year inadmissibility. If a question is unclear, get advice from a licensed immigration professional before you submit.

Part of:Criminal record

Official sources

This page is based on law and policy published by the Government of Canada.