Visiting Canada: Who is inadmissible?

Individuals may be denied a visa, or refused entry to or removed from Canada on the following grounds:

• security reasons, including espionage, subversion, violence or terrorism, or membership in an organization involved in such activities;
• human or international rights violations, including war crimes or crimes against humanity, or being a senior official in a government engaged in gross human rights violations or subject to international sanctions;
• serious criminality involving an offence, or its equivalent, punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of at least 10 years;
• criminality, including conviction for an offence or commission of a criminal act;
• organized crime, including membership in an organization that takes part in organized criminal activity, people smuggling or money laundering;
• health reasons, if their condition is likely to endanger public health or public safety, or might reasonably be expected to cause excessive demands on health or social services*;
• financial reasons, if they are unable or unwilling to support themselves and their family members;
• misrepresentation, which includes providing false information or withholding information directly related to decisions made under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA);
• failure to comply with any provision of IRPA; or
• having an inadmissible family member.

*IRPA exempts certain groups from the excessive demands assessment. These include family class sponsored spouses, common-law partners and their dependent children, and Convention refugees and their family members, protected persons and persons in similar circumstances and their family members.

Examples of failure to comply with IRPA include the following:

• temporary residents who do not comply with conditions of entry—for example, they stay longer than authorized, or work or study without the necessary permits;
• permanent residents who do not comply with the residency obligation; and
• persons who have previously been deported and are seeking to enter Canada without written authorization.

What is a temporary resident permit?

A temporary resident permit may be issued to an inadmissible person to allow him or her to enter or remain in Canada, if their entry is justified by compelling circumstances and they are not a danger to public health or safety in Canada. Cost-recovery fees apply. This permit may be cancelled at any time, and the person may be subject to an admissibility hearing or a removal order. A permit is issued for a specified, often short, period—for example, for a week so that the person can attend a conference. However, it may be issued for up to three years, and extended before expiry.

Depending on the reason for inadmissibility, a permit holder who has lived continuously in Canada for three to five years under the authority of a valid temporary resident permit may be eligible to apply for permanent resident status.