Immigration Services

A criminal charge and an immigration file are decided by different decision-makers under different statutes, and a resolution that looks sensible in criminal court can be the worst available outcome for a permanent resident or a foreign national. That overlap — often called crimmigration — is where we do most of our immigration work.

Under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, criminal inadmissibility can follow a conviction and, for serious criminality, can put permanent residence itself at risk through a section 44 report and a removal order. The length of a sentence, the maximum penalty for the offence, and whether the plea is to a hybrid or indictable charge all matter — sometimes more than the sentence actually served.

Because of that, immigration advice belongs in the room while the criminal matter is still being negotiated, not afterwards. We assess the immigration consequences of each available resolution before a plea is entered, and we advise on criminal rehabilitation, record suspensions and temporary resident permits where a past conviction is already causing a problem.

We also assist with admissibility questions at the border and with responding to procedural fairness letters. Nothing on this page is a prediction of outcome; every file turns on its own facts and on decisions made by officers and tribunals, not by counsel.