Deportation of residents from Canada

People who have illegally entered Canada or are convicted of an offense in Canada may be subject to deportation or removal on the basis of their status in Canada. The nature of the offense committed by them and the length of their sentence can be a determining factor. A foreign national or an individual who has been deported from Canada is barred from entering Canada again in the future unless ministerial consent is given.

Deportation of Permanent Residents

A permanent lawful resident of Canada can also be slammed with removal or deportation order if he/she is convicted of an offense in Canada that is punishable under an act of Parliament by a potential penalty of at least 10 years of imprisonment (irrespective of the actual sentence), or if he/she has been sentenced to more than six months of imprisonment for any federal offense like section 36(1) of IRPA. It is pertinent to note that no person is subject to automatic deportation as a result of a conviction in Canada. The circumstances of each case are reviewed by the delegate of Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness and in many cases he might allow the person to remain in Canada. However, he may also refer some cases to the Immigration Division of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB) for the issuance of removal order under section 44(2) of IRPA. Either a husband or wife who is legally a permanent resident of Canada and sponsored by his or her spouse cannot be deported for the reason that their marriage has broken down.

Permanent residents can be deported from Canada if they:

- were convicted of committed certain criminal offenses before coming to Canada;

- do not meet the terms and conditions of their landing in Canada;

- are convicted of a crime in Canada that results in a prison sentence of more than six months or could have resulted in a sentence of ten years or more.

- have lied or produced falsified documents to gain admission to Canada
A significant modification that has been introduced in IRPA is that if permanent residents are sentenced to a term of imprisonment of at least two years under section 64(2) of IRPA, they lose their right to appeal the deportation order to the Immigration Appeal Division (IAD) of IRB. Though, they might still seek leave for Federal Court judicial review of the deportation if the issue is limited to matters of legal or procedural error. However, those permanent residents who receive sentence of less than two years of imprisonment retains their right to appeal their removal order to IAD on issues of law as well as humanitarian and compassionate considerations.

Deportation of Foreign Nationals

Those people who are neither Canadian citizens nor permanent residents are considered foreign nationals. A foreign national may be subjected to a deportation order under section 36(2)(a) of IRPA if he is convicted of two or more summary offenses, not arising out of the same incident. However, the foreign nationals do have the right to appeal a deportation order only to the IAD only if they hold a permanent resident visa, or if they have the status of protected persons (that also includes refugee) under section 63(3) of IRPA.

Deportation Refugee Claimants

Both permanent residents and foreign nationals who have been convicted of an offense in Canada for which they have been sentenced to at least two years of imprisonment are ineligible for claiming refugee protection referred to the IRB for a hearing under section 101(2)(a) of IRPA.

Austin Mark is a lawyer working with lawyerahead.com, one of the leading legal networking sites on the net. You can access the Canadian version as well as lawyerahead.ca