Inadmissibility for Organized Crime: Definitions
Here you will find a description of the kinds of acts that can cause a person to be found inadmissible for involvement in organized crime.
If it is discovered that a person is involved in organized crime, he or she can be deemed inadmissible to Canada. Those who are deemed inadmissible will not be allowed to enter the country.
Permanent residents or foreign nationals will be deemed inadmissible to Canada for involvement in organized crime if:
They are involved with a group that is believed to be engaged in a pattern of organized criminal activity. The criminal activity must be planned by a large group of people who are all working together to commit crimes that are illegal in Canada and punished with indictment. The criminal activity may also be that which has taken place outside of Canada but would be illegal if committed in Canada. Criminal activity that has taken place in the past also falls under this category.
Exceptions. Those who fall under this category will not be found inadmissible if it is deemed that their presence in Canada is not against the country’s national interest. One way to prove that your presence is not against Canada’s national interest is to obtain a Temporary Resident Permit (TRP). For an overview of TRPs, click here. Further, those who fall under this category will not be deemed inadmissible if their only involvement with organized crime is that they entered Canada with the help of a person who is involved in organized crime.
They are involved in:
People smuggling
Human trafficking
Money laundering
Any other transnational crime.
Exceptions. Those who fall under this category will not be deemed inadmissible if their only involvement with organized crime is that they entered Canada with the help of a person who is involved in organized crime.
Note: All decisions that a group is engaged in organized crime must be made on “reasonable grounds”. This means that immigration authorities will only deem a group to be involved in organized crime if they have a true belief that there is a serious possibility that a group is engaged in organized crime. This belief must be based on credible evidence.