Can You Enter Canada With an Expunged Record?

Not always on its own. Canada judges a foreign conviction under its own law (IRPA s.36), and a US expungement is not a Canadian record suspension. For a pardon or discharge granted outside Canada, IRCC says you may still be inadmissible. Deemed rehabilitation or Criminal Rehabilitation can remove the ground, a Temporary Resident Permit can cover a trip, and an officer decides.

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Last verified: November 2026

$246.25
IRCC’s Temporary Resident Permit fee, per person
$246.25
IRCC’s Criminal Rehabilitation fee for criminality
$1,231
IRCC’s Criminal Rehabilitation fee for serious criminality
Over a year
How long IRCC says rehabilitation applications can take

IRCC sets the fees, and the permit fee is not refunded if the permit is refused. The Fee Calculator estimates them.

Does a US expungement clear you to enter Canada?

Canada assesses admissibility under Canadian law, not the law of your home country. IRPA s.36 asks whether a foreign conviction, if the same conduct had occurred in Canada, would amount to a Canadian offence (an "equivalency" analysis), and that assessment is independent of what happened to the conviction in your home jurisdiction afterward.

An expungement in the US is a state-level legal mechanism that varies enormously by jurisdiction. Some states truly destroy the underlying record; others merely seal it from public view while leaving it accessible to law enforcement, and many "expungements" are technically a dismissal or set-aside rather than an erasure. Canada looks past the label to the substance.

Regardless of how your state defines expungement:

An officer can ask about your criminal history, and IRPA s.16(1) requires a truthful answer to every question.
An expungement granted after the conviction does not, by itself, show that the conviction no longer counts in Canada.
IRCC says a person with a pardon or discharge from another country may still be inadmissible, and the visa office will tell you whether it is valid in Canada.

The rule

Canada assesses admissibility under Canadian law, not the law of your home country.

IRPA s.36Verify on justice.gc.ca

How does Canada treat an expungement, a sealed record or a pardon?

These terms are often used interchangeably but have very different legal effects in Canada’s eyes
Type	What it means in the US	Effect in Canada
Expungement	Record destroyed or sealed (varies by state)	Positive factor but does not automatically remove inadmissibility
Sealed record	Hidden from public view. Law enforcement can still access it.	An officer can still ask about it, and it may still leave you inadmissible
US presidential or governor pardon	Forgives the conviction without erasing it	IRCC says you may still be inadmissible, and the visa office will tell you whether the pardon is valid in Canada; IRPA s.36(3)(b) itself covers Canadian record suspensions
CA PC 1203.4 dismissal	Guilty plea withdrawn, case dismissed after probation	Does not erase the conviction under California law; an internal IRCC staff guide that treats it favourably does not bind the border officer

Does a California PC 1203.4 dismissal count?

Many websites say Canada treats a California Penal Code 1203.4 dismissal as equivalent to a Canadian record suspension. That claim traces to the United States Criminality Assessment Guide, an internal reference document created by IRCC's New York office to help its own staff triage rehabilitation applications. It is not law, and it does not bind an officer, including the CBSA officer at the border.

Under California's own statute, a 1203.4 dismissal does not erase the conviction: it can still be pleaded and proved as a prior offence, and it must still be disclosed for public office or state licensure. The dismissal is strong evidence inside a rehabilitation application, and an officer decides each case.

The California PC 1203.4 & Canada Entry guide explains how this works in full.

Can a border officer see an expunged record?

Even if your record has been expunged in the US, three published facts bear on what an officer can learn:

NCIC (National Crime Information Center): the FBI's database. The CBSA's published list of systems for traveller processing names it.
CPIC (Canadian Police Information Centre): Canada's police database, named on the same CBSA list.
Your own answers: an officer can ask about arrests and convictions, and IRPA s.16(1) requires a truthful answer to every question.

No official Canadian source says what a given expunged entry will show in these systems, and the answer can vary by state and by the type of relief. An expungement does not change what you must say when an officer asks.

Which routes remain, and who decides?

Regardless of whether your record has been expunged, the standard pathways for overcoming criminal inadmissibility remain available. Which one fits depends on how serious the equivalent Canadian offence is and how much time has passed since you finished your sentence.

Deemed rehabilitation: No application or fee is required, but an officer checks that you meet the conditions (IRPR s.18). It covers non-serious criminality where the equivalent Canadian offence carries a maximum of less than 10 years, generally once 10 years have passed since you completed the sentence for a single such offence and you have no other relevant convictions. People inadmissible for serious criminality can never become deemed rehabilitated by the passage of time.
Criminal Rehabilitation: A formal application you can make once at least 5 years have passed since you completed your full sentence. If approved, it removes the ground of inadmissibility. The IRCC processing fee depends on your classification: $246.25 for criminality and $1,231 for serious criminality. IRCC says these applications can take over a year.
Temporary Resident Permit (TRP): Can be requested at any time when you have a compelling, justified reason to enter despite being inadmissible. The IRCC processing fee is $246.25 CAD per person, is not refunded if the permit is refused, and a permit may be issued for a single visit or for a set period.

An expungement is supporting evidence, not a substitute for the Canadian process. The decision in every case is made by a CBSA or IRCC officer, who is not bound by how your state classified or cleared the record.

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What do people ask?

What does an expunged record mean for entering Canada?

It means a US court has cleared or sealed the conviction under state law, but Canada does not treat it as erased by default. An officer asks what you did and what that conduct would be under Canadian law (IRPA s.36). The expungement counts as a positive factor, not proof the conviction never existed. Whether the record was destroyed or only sealed matters. Our Criminal Equivalency page shows how conduct is matched.

Can Canada see expunged records?

Possibly. The CBSA's published list of systems for traveller processing names the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) and the US National Crime Information Center (NCIC). No official source says whether a given expunged entry still shows, and it can depend on your state and the type of relief. An officer can also ask, and IRPA s.16(1) requires a truthful answer to every question. Our Criminal Records page explains what officers check.

Is a US expungement the same as a Canadian record suspension?

Not automatically. A Canadian record suspension, formerly called a pardon, is granted under the Criminal Records Act, and IRPA s.36(3)(b) bars inadmissibility based on a conviction with one in force. For a pardon or discharge granted in another country, IRCC says you may still be inadmissible, and the visa office will tell you whether it is valid in Canada. Our Pardoned Offences guide explains foreign pardons.

Does a California PC 1203.4 dismissal count as an expungement in Canada?

Not by itself. A PC 1203.4 dismissal leaves the conviction usable as a prior offence and keeps disclosure duties, so it does not erase the conviction. The claim that Canada treats it as a record suspension comes from an internal IRCC New York staff guide, which does not bind the border officer. Inside a rehabilitation application it is strong evidence. Our California PC 1203.4 guide explains the details.

If my record is expunged, should I still disclose it at the Canadian border?

Yes, answer truthfully if a CBSA officer asks about convictions or arrests. IRPA s.16(1) requires a truthful answer, and withholding a material fact is misrepresentation under IRPA s.40, a separate inadmissibility that lasts 5 years. An expungement does not undo the fact that an arrest or a conviction happened, so a question about your history can still reach it. Our Criminal Records page covers what officers ask.

My record was expunged 15 years ago. Does deemed rehabilitation apply?

Possibly, but the expungement does not start the clock. Deemed rehabilitation depends on the offence and the time since your sentence ended. For a single offence whose Canadian equivalent carries a maximum under 10 years, it can apply 10 years after the sentence was completed (IRPR s.18). It never applies to serious criminality. The expungement date does not shorten or reset that period. Our Deemed Rehabilitation guide covers the rules.

Should I apply for criminal rehabilitation or a TRP if my record is already expunged?

It depends on the Canadian equivalent offence and the time that has passed. If deemed rehabilitation applies, you need no application, though an officer checks the conditions. If not, Criminal Rehabilitation opens once 5 years have passed since your sentence ended, and it removes the ground of inadmissibility if approved. A Temporary Resident Permit covers a specific trip before then. The expungement supports either application. Our Criminal Rehabilitation page explains the process.

My US case was dismissed or I completed diversion without a conviction. Am I inadmissible to Canada?

You may be. For charges withdrawn or dismissed outside Canada, IRCC's rehabilitation guide says you may be inadmissible. With no conviction, the conviction grounds of IRPA s.36 have nothing to assess, but committing an act outside Canada can count on its own under s.36(1)(c) and s.36(2)(c), and some dismissals follow a guilty plea or a deferred judgment that Canada may treat as a conviction. An officer looks at the actual record. Our Pending Charges guide covers the conduct rules.

Part of:Criminal record

Official sources

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