Can I Enter Canada with a Juvenile Record?

In most cases, a foreign juvenile record does not make you inadmissible to Canada. IRCC says you are not inadmissible if you were treated as a young offender in a country that has special provisions for young offenders. If you were convicted in adult court, Canada assesses the conviction like any adult record under IRPA s.36. Answer honestly, because misrepresentation is a separate ground. An officer decides.

See which IRPA sections a youth record touches with the Admissibility Explorer

Last verified: November 2026

$246.25
IRCC’s Temporary Resident Permit fee
$1,231
IRCC’s Criminal Rehabilitation fee for serious criminality
Over a year
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How does Canada treat a foreign juvenile record?

For foreign records, the rule is the one in IRCC’s rehabilitation guide (guide 5312), under "Were you convicted as a juvenile?". It does not turn on your age alone: it asks whether you were treated as a young offender, or convicted in adult court.

Treated as a young offender: If the country has special provisions for young offenders and you were treated as a young offender, IRCC says you are not inadmissible.
Convicted in adult court: Even for an offence committed while you were under 18, IRCC says you are inadmissible. The conviction is assessed under IRPA s.36 like any other adult record: the Canadian-equivalent offence and its maximum penalty determine whether it falls under criminality or serious criminality.
No special provisions for young offenders: If the country has none, the question is whether the circumstances are such that you would have received an adult sentence in Canada.

For a conviction in adult court, the juvenile nature of the offence does not change the class of the offence. You can put your age at the time before the officer in a TRP or Criminal Rehabilitation application.

Does the Youth Criminal Justice Act cover a foreign record?

For Canadian records, IRPA s.36(3)(e) is explicit: inadmissibility for criminality or serious criminality may not be based on an offence for which the person received a youth sentence under the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA), or was found guilty under the former Young Offenders Act. A young person who instead received an adult sentence is not protected by that provision.

The YCJA itself only governs Canadian youth records, so a foreign youth record is not covered by it directly.

The rule

Inadmissibility for criminality or serious criminality may not be based on an offence for which the person received a youth sentence.

IRPA s.36(3)(e)Verify on justice.gc.ca

Will a US juvenile record show in a border check?

The manual that governs port of entry examinations (ENF 4) names two record systems. It describes the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) as a national repository of police information that helps CBSA employees identify travellers with outstanding warrants and criminal history records. It also names the US National Crime Information Center (NCIC), and says NCIC queries "should never be done as a matter of routine".

No official Canadian source says whether a specific US juvenile record appears in either system.

What is published:

ENF 4 says a traveller can be queried in NCIC if the officer has reasonable suspicion indicating criminal activity, and that the officer must have completed mandatory training first.
No official Canadian source says what a sealed or expunged juvenile entry shows in a check. The US Justice Department’s juvenile justice office says sealing and expungement may still permit access by police or courts under state laws, and that procedures vary widely among states.

Does sealing or expungement matter to Canada?

Sealed, expunged and dismissed juvenile records and Canadian entry
Status	What It Means in the US	Effect on Canadian Entry
Sealed record	Access to the record is limited. Under state laws, police or courts may still be able to see it.	Sealing does not change the test: what counts is whether you were treated as a young offender or convicted in adult court. No official Canadian source says whether a sealed entry shows in a check, and an officer can still ask about it.
Expunged record	Record is destroyed or access to it is limited. Procedures vary widely among states, and some still permit access by police or courts.	An expungement does not automatically make you admissible to Canada. For a pardon or discharge granted outside Canada, IRCC says a person may still be inadmissible, and that the visa office will say whether it is valid in Canada.
Dismissed / acquitted	Charges dropped or not proven. No conviction.	A final acquittal cannot be the basis of inadmissibility (IRPA s.36(3)(b)). For charges withdrawn or dismissed outside Canada, IRCC says a person may be inadmissible, because s.36 also covers acts committed outside Canada.

What if the juvenile record does cause inadmissibility?

Where a foreign juvenile record does create inadmissibility, usually because you were tried as an adult, the same remedies available for adult convictions apply.

Temporary Resident Permit (IRPA s.24(1)): May be available where you have a compelling, justified reason to enter Canada. IRCC says there is no separate TRP application for a person outside Canada: the request goes with a temporary residence application or by the route its TRP page gives for your country, and a person can also ask an officer for TRP consideration at a port of entry. A TRP leaves the inadmissibility in place. It authorizes a defined period of entry and is valid for three years at most (IRPR s.63).
Criminal Rehabilitation (IRPA s.36(3)(c)): IRCC says rehabilitation removes the grounds of criminal inadmissibility. You can generally apply 5 years after you complete ALL sentence conditions (IRCC counts a fine, probation and a driving prohibition as part of the sentence). The fee is $246.25 CAD for non-serious criminality and $1,231 CAD for serious criminality. IRCC says these applications can take over a year to process.
Deemed Rehabilitation (IRPA s.36(3)(c)): For less serious foreign criminality, you may be deemed rehabilitated by the passage of time without applying, and an officer checks the conditions. Under IRPR s.18, a single non-serious conviction can lead to deemed rehabilitation 10 years after sentence completion, while a separate 5-year class can apply to two or more offences that would be summary offences in Canada. It does not apply to serious criminality (a Canadian-equivalent maximum of 10 years or more), and the juvenile nature of the offence does not change these time periods.

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What do people ask?

What is a juvenile record, and does it matter for Canada?

A juvenile record comes from youth or juvenile court proceedings for an offence committed before age 18. For Canada, the label matters less than how the case was handled. IRCC says a person treated as a young offender in a country with special provisions for young offenders is not inadmissible, and IRPA s.36(3)(e) bars using a Canadian youth sentence at all. A conviction in adult court is assessed like any adult conviction. The Admissibility Explorer shows which sections apply.

Will a sealed juvenile record show up at the Canadian border?

It can, and no official Canadian source says whether a given sealed record shows in a check. The manual for port of entry examinations (ENF 4) says officers use CPIC to identify criminal history records, and that a query of the US NCIC system is never routine: it needs reasonable suspicion of criminal activity. An officer can also ask, and IRPA s.16(1) requires a truthful answer. Our US Criminal Record guide explains how the systems connect.

Does a juvenile record go away for Canadian immigration?

It depends on how the case was handled, not on the passing years. IRCC says a person treated as a young offender in a country with special provisions for young offenders is not inadmissible at any point. A conviction in adult court stays in play until deemed rehabilitation applies (for one non-serious conviction, 10 years after the sentence ends, if the other conditions are met) or Criminal Rehabilitation is approved. Our Rehabilitation Calculator counts the years from your sentence dates.

Does the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) protect my foreign juvenile record?

Not directly. The YCJA is a Canadian law that governs Canadian youth records only, and IRPA s.36(3)(e) protects offences that received a youth sentence under it. For a foreign record, IRCC's rehabilitation guide gives the rule: you are not inadmissible if you were treated as a young offender in a country that has special provisions for young offenders. A conviction in adult court is treated as an adult record. Our Criminal Records page explains the IRPA grounds.

I was a minor when I committed the offence but was tried as an adult. Does my age matter?

Not for the legal test. IRCC says a person convicted in adult court is inadmissible, and IRPA s.36 applies as it does to any adult record: the Canadian-equivalent offence and its maximum penalty set the tier. You can still put your age at the time before the officer in a TRP or Criminal Rehabilitation application. Our Criminal Rehabilitation page explains the application and its 5-year waiting period.

Do I have to declare a juvenile record at the Canadian border?

Answer every question truthfully. Officers can ask about your history, and false or misleading answers can trigger misrepresentation under IRPA s.40, generally a 5-year bar under s.40(2)(a) that is separate from any criminal ground. That duty applies even when you believe a youth matter creates no criminal inadmissibility. Many people get their court records before travelling. Our CBSA Declaration Guide explains what the border asks.

My juvenile record was expunged in the US. Am I automatically admissible to Canada?

Not automatically. For a pardon or discharge granted outside Canada, IRCC says a person may still be inadmissible; IRCC and CBSA assess admissibility under Canadian law. A person treated as a young offender in a country with special provisions for young offenders is not inadmissible anyway, IRCC says. No official source says whether an expunged entry still shows in a check. IRPA s.36(3)(b) covers only a Canadian record suspension and a final acquittal. Our Expunged Record guide explains the difference.

Can a single youth offence ever be treated as serious criminality?

Yes, but only where the person was treated as an adult and the Canadian-equivalent offence carries a maximum of 10 years or more, the serious criminality line in IRPA s.36(1). For example, impaired driving committed on or after December 18, 2018 matches Criminal Code s.320.14, with a 10-year maximum. Deemed rehabilitation never covers serious criminality, so the routes are Criminal Rehabilitation or a TRP. Our Criminal Equivalency page shows how offences are matched.

Part of:Criminal record

Official sources

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