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Last verified: June 2026 · Source: justice.gc.ca← Back to Law Explorer
IRPRPART 3 InadmissibilityDIVISION 1 Determination of Inadmissibility
r.18

Rehabilitation

🍁 In Simple Terms

Defines who is "deemed rehabilitated" and therefore no longer inadmissible for past foreign convictions. This applies only to less-serious offences: the equivalent Canadian offence must be punishable by a maximum of less than 10 years, and at least 10 years must have passed since the sentence was completed (for a single such offence), or 5 years for two or more offences that would be summary offences in Canada. An offence punishable by 10 years or more (serious criminality under IRPA s.36(1)) can never be deemed rehabilitated; it requires approved individual rehabilitation.

Affects: Foreign nationals and permanent residents in Canada
Legal Text: IRPR Regulation 18

(1)For the purposes of paragraph 36(3)(c) of the Act, the class of persons deemed to have been rehabilitated is a prescribed class.

Members of the class

(2)The following persons are members of the class of persons deemed to have been rehabilitated: (a)persons who have been convicted outside Canada of no more than one offence that, if committed in Canada, would constitute an indictable offence under an Act of Parliament, if all of the following conditions apply, namely,(i)the offence is punishable in Canada by a maximum term of imprisonment of less than 10 years,(ii)at least 10 years have elapsed since the day after the completion of the imposed sentence,(iii)the person has not been convicted in Canada of an indictable offence under an Act of Parliament,(iv)the person has not been convicted in Canada of any summary conviction offence within the last 10 years under an Act of Parliament or of more than one summary conviction offence before the last 10 years, other than an offence designated as a contravention under the Contraventions Act or an offence under the Youth Criminal Justice Act,(v)the person has not within the last 10 years been convicted outside Canada of an offence that, if committed in Canada, would constitute an offence under an Act of Parliament, other than an offence designated as a contravention under the Contraventions Act or an offence under the Youth Criminal Justice Act,(vi)the person has not before the last 10 years been convicted outside Canada of more than one offence that, if committed in Canada, would constitute a summary conviction offence under an Act of Parliament, and(vii)the person has not committed an act described in paragraph 36(2)(c) of the Act, other than the one for which they have been convicted; (b)persons convicted outside Canada of two or more offences that, if committed in Canada, would constitute summary conviction offences under any Act of Parliament, if all of the following conditions apply, namely,(i)at least five years have elapsed since the day after the completion of the imposed sentences,(ii)the person has not been convicted in Canada of an indictable offence under an Act of Parliament,(iii)the person has not within the last five years been convicted in Canada of an offence under an Act of Parliament, other than an offence designated as a contravention under the Contraventions Act or an offence under the Youth Criminal Justice Act,(iv)the person has not within the last five years been convicted outside Canada of an offence that, if committed in Canada, would constitute an offence under an Act of Parliament, other than an offence designated as a contravention under the Contraventions Act or an offence under the Youth Criminal Justice Act,(v)the person has not before the last five years been convicted in Canada of more than one summary conviction offence under an Act of Parliament, other than an offence designated as a contravention under the Contraventions Act or an offence under the Youth Criminal Justice Act,(vi)the person has not been convicted of an offence referred to in paragraph 36(2)(b) of the Act that, if committed in Canada, would constitute an indictable offence, and(vii)the person has not committed an act described in paragraph 36(2)(c) of the Act; and (c)persons who have committed no more than one act outside Canada that is an offence in the place where it was committed and that, if committed in Canada, would constitute an indictable offence under an Act of Parliament, if all of the following conditions apply, namely,(i)the offence is punishable in Canada by a maximum term of imprisonment of less than 10 years,(ii)at least 10 years have elapsed since the day after the commission of the offence,(iii)the person has not been convicted in Canada of an indictable offence under an Act of Parliament,(iv)the person has not been convicted in Canada of any summary conviction offence within the last 10 years under an Act of Parliament or of more than one summary conviction offence before the last 10 years, other than an offence designated as a contravention under the Contraventions Act or an offence under the Youth Criminal Justice Act,(v)the person has not within the last 10 years been convicted outside of Canada of an offence that, if committed in Canada, would constitute an offence under an Act of Parliament, other than an offence designated as a contravention under the Contraventions Act or an offence under the Youth Criminal Justice Act,(vi)the person has not before the last 10 years been convicted outside Canada of more than one offence that, if committed in Canada, would constitute a summary conviction offence under an Act of Parliament, and(vii)the person has not been convicted outside of Canada of an offence that, if committed in Canada, would constitute an indictable offence under an Act of Parliament.

IRPA Authority
📜 Related Sub-Regulations
r.18.1Prescribed class

18.1 (1) The class of foreign nationals who are inadmissible solely on the basis of having been convicted in Canada of two or more offences that may only be prosecuted summarily, under any Act of Parliament, is a prescribed class for the application of paragraph 36(2)(a) of the Act. (2) A member of the class prescribed in subsection (1) is exempt from the application of paragraph 36(2)(a) of the Act if it has been at least five years since the day after the completion of the imposed sentences.

In Practice
Official Source: Justice Canada: IRPR r. 18 (authoritative, may differ from this display)
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