My daughter and son-in-law are travelling to Canada to visit…

Hello:

Your son in law's admission into the country would possibly not be permitted until you receive confirmation of his rehabilitation from a prior criminal offence by the Canadian government.

He will need to apply for a rehabilitation as a result of prior criminal record. If he does not do so, there is a chance the border agents will refuse his entry. They may not, but you cannot know for certain until at the border, and if they have in the past that is much more likely. It is in their discretion to refuse entry. You cannot get advance confirmation of whether he will be allowed entry or not without a formal rehabilitation from the Canadian government.

There are two ways to apply for the rehabilitation.

There is a 5 year waiting period to apply. That begins to run once any sentence or period of probation has been completed. If past the waiting period, he can then apply at the border for a deemed rehabilitation. He would need to take with you documents to confirm the conviction and sentence and a copy of a criminal record. The government will not guarantee that he will be granted a deemed rehabilitation though. This still remains in the discretion off the border official.

The other option is to apply to the Canadian government ahead of time for an individual rehabilitation. This basically involves sending them similar information and paying an application fee. This is still not possible until the wait period has elapsed. But once granted then admission on the basis of the prior conviction will not be refused.

Here is a link to the specific federal government website that explains the process for each kind of application:

www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/rehabil.asp

So your other option to try to get in to Canada before 10 years is to apply for a Temporary Residence Permit. It is not guaranteed that this would be granted, as it is a discretionary. The Permit is only granted for exceptional reasons, and if you can show that there is no risk to safety of society or so on with his entry into the country. See this government web page if you want a copy of the application form and a description of the documents needed for this:

www.canadainternational.gc.ca/united_kingdom-royaume_uni/visas/forms_trp-pst_formulaires.aspx?view=d

Unfortunately, there is no guaranteed way that he will be able to enter the country without these documents. Please review the above, and if you have another specific question for me I will try to answer it.