What is inadmissibility?

Inadmissibility is a legal finding that a foreign national is not allowed to enter or remain in Canada. Inadmissibility findings are governed by the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA), sections 34-42.

A finding of inadmissibility can prevent a visa application, lead to refusal at a port of entry, or result in a removal order against someone already in Canada. The specific ground determines available remedies.

The seven inadmissibility grounds

s. 34 — Security

• Espionage
• Terrorism / membership in a terrorist organization
• Subversion against a government
• Subversion by force
• Acts contrary to Canadian security interests

s. 35 — Human or international rights violations

• War crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide
• Membership in a government engaged in such violations
• Significant senior official of a government engaged in such violations

s. 36 — Criminality (the most common ground)

• Serious criminality: punishable in Canada by 10+ years or for which a sentence of 6+ months was imposed
• Criminality (foreign nationals): two or more summary offences, or one indictable offence
• Convictions outside Canada that would constitute serious criminality if committed in Canada

s. 37 — Organized criminality

• Membership in a criminal organization
• Engaged in transnational crime (money laundering, drug trafficking, smuggling)

s. 38 — Health

• Danger to public health (active TB, communicable diseases)
• Danger to public safety (mental health conditions creating safety risk)
• Excessive demand on health/social services (threshold raised to CAD $128,445/5 years in 2018+)

s. 39 — Financial reasons

• Inability or unwillingness to support self / dependants

s. 40 — Misrepresentation

• False statements or omissions in immigration applications
• Carries a 5-year bar from re-application

s. 41 — Non-compliance

• Failure to comply with IRPA or regulations
• Includes overstaying status, working without authorization

s. 42 — Inadmissibility for family members

• Family member of an inadmissible person is also inadmissible (in PR contexts)

Remedies for inadmissibility

Available remedies depend on the ground:

• Deemed rehabilitation: for s. 36 criminality, after certain time periods, the inadmissibility may automatically lapse.
• Individual rehabilitation: formal application 5+ years after sentence completion for s. 36 cases.
• Record suspension (pardon): a Canadian pardon for Canadian convictions clears the inadmissibility.
• Temporary Resident Permit (TRP): short-term entry despite inadmissibility, on compelling grounds.
• Humanitarian and Compassionate (H&C): discretionary PR pathway under IRPA s. 25 for compelling humanitarian factors.
• Appeal to IAD: for permanent residents with removal orders based on certain inadmissibility findings (residence-obligation, criminality at the lower end).

Common gotchas

• Disclose inadmissibility honestly: hiding it on the application is misrepresentation, which adds a separate 5-year bar on top of the original inadmissibility.
• Conviction abroad ≠ Canadian conviction: but officers compare the foreign offence to its Canadian equivalent. A drink-driving conviction abroad maps to s. 320.13 of the Criminal Code of Canada — and may trigger s. 36 inadmissibility.
• Time since conviction matters: deemed rehabilitation, individual rehabilitation, and pardon eligibility have specific time windows.

See also

• TRP — short-term entry despite inadmissibility.
• H&C — humanitarian discretionary pathway.
• IRB — Immigration Division decides inadmissibility hearings.