Hey everyone,
a friend of mine is wanting to apply for Express Entry. I told him about the requirements for PR such as criminlaity and now he is worried he will be ineligible because his dog bit someone. If he was convicted, would that be considered serious enough for denying PR?
Please some help guys. THanks.
You would have to look up what the Canadian equivalent under their law is. If under Canadian federal law, it is a summary offense (similar to a misdeameanor), and the person only has one of these convictions, they are still admissible to Canada. If they have 2 more more total summary convictions, they must wait a period of 5 years and then are deemed rehabilitated (no paperwork required). If the person was convicted of an indictable offense (similar to a felony), and the maximum punishment under Canadian law is less than 10 years, they can apply for rehabilitation after 5 years (lots of paperwork) and are deemed rehabilitated after 10 years. If the meximum sentence is 10 or more years, you can never be deemed rehabilitated and must apply for rehabilitation (after 5 years from completion of sentence has passed). Keep in mind, the timelines always start after the sentence had been discharged. So if he got 3 years probation, he would have to wait 5 years after his probation ended to file rehabilitation paperwork.
My educated guess is that as long as he has no other charges/convictions, this would most likely be a summary offense and would not bar him from immediately applying for PR. Just make sure to fully disclose on the application and be honest.
It might help to consult an attorney in these cases. Hope I helped!
