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Criminal Rehabilitation as a Minor

dshobbs87

Member
Jul 28, 2019
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3
Hi,

I have two incidents that resulted in warnings on my police report. Both occurred over 15 years ago and on both occasions I was under 18. Both were in the UK.

According to the website detailing the process of applying for Criminal Rehabilitation:


In Canada, a young offender is someone who is 12 years of age or older but less than 18 years of age.

You are not inadmissible if you:

  • were convicted in Canada under the Young Offenders Act or the Youth Criminal Justice Act, unless you received an adult sentence,
  • were treated as a young offender in a country which has special provisions for young offenders, or
  • were convicted in a country which does not have special provisions for young offenders but the circumstances of your conviction are such that you would not have received an adult sentence in Canada.”
Therefore, I’m a little uncertain whether I have to apply for criminal rehabilitation prior to applying for spousal sponsorship. My situation is complicated a little by the fact I didn’t know I had to disclose this on an eta application that was approved last year but I have seen others on this forum who have made this mistake then applied for rehab so they could apply again for an eta that accurately reflected their circumstances.

Any advice would greatly appreciated!
 

Bs65

VIP Member
Mar 22, 2016
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Maybe clarify by police report you mean a UK police certificate that shows ‘no live trace’ ?
 

dshobbs87

Member
Jul 28, 2019
14
3
Maybe clarify by police report you mean a UK police certificate that shows ‘no live trace’ ?
That’s correct. I know you should declare this on applications like the eta but in regards specifically to criminal rehabilitation it doesn’t appear you would be eligible to apply because for arrests under 18 you wouldn’t be inadmissible.
 

vensak

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That’s correct. I know you should declare this on applications like the eta but in regards specifically to criminal rehabilitation it doesn’t appear you would be eligible to apply because for arrests under 18 you wouldn’t be inadmissible.
Ok what exacly is asked about criminality? Is it asked about any criminal offences during your whole life or is the question about from 18 years onwards?
 

dshobbs87

Member
Jul 28, 2019
14
3
Ok what exacly is asked about criminality? Is it asked about any criminal offences during your whole life or is the question about from 18 years onwards?
To clarify, I’m not asking whether the offences should be declared on an eta, I know that they should.

My query is regarding the criminal rehabilitation application specifically because it states that you can’t be determined to be inadmissible if the offence occured whilst a juvenile and you were treated as a young offender (which applies in my case) so therefore my question is if criminal rehabilitation is necessary (or can even be applied for) if you were a juvenile at the time of the offence and thus wouldn’t be judged to be inadmissible anyhow?
 

canuck_in_uk

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To clarify, I’m not asking whether the offences should be declared on an eta, I know that they should.

My query is regarding the criminal rehabilitation application specifically because it states that you can’t be determined to be inadmissible if the offence occured whilst a juvenile and you were treated as a young offender (which applies in my case) so therefore my question is if criminal rehabilitation is necessary (or can even be applied for) if you were a juvenile at the time of the offence and thus wouldn’t be judged to be inadmissible anyhow?
No, rehabilitation would not be required. You would need to show proof that you were processed as a juvenile offender.

The failure to declare the offence could still be treated as misrepresentation but no one here can say if that will happen or not. It is better if you are completely upfront in explaining the situation to IRCC in your application.
 
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dshobbs87

Member
Jul 28, 2019
14
3
No, rehabilitation would not be required. You would need to show proof that you were processed as a juvenile offender.

The failure to declare the offence could still be treated as misrepresentation but no one here can say if that will happen or not. It is better if you are completely upfront in explaining the situation to IRCC in your application.
Thanks for this, it’s really helpful.

To clarify, I needn’t go through applying for criminal rehabilitation but of course should be completely upfront and disclose my oversight during my eta app in my spousal sponsorship app?
 

canuck_in_uk

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Thanks for this, it’s really helpful.

To clarify, I needn’t go through applying for criminal rehabilitation but of course should be completely upfront and disclose my oversight during my eta app in my spousal sponsorship app?
Yes and include the legal documents showing that you were charged as a juvenile.