Canada has approved more than 17,000 applications in the past 11 years from foreigners with criminal histories hoping to have their criminal records forgiven so they can enter the country, the federal immigration department has confirmed.
Foreign nationals are not typically granted entry if they have been convicted of an act classified as a criminal offence in Canada, but exceptions can be made by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). The federal agency has the authority to grant exceptions if five years have transpired since the individual was convicted or finished serving their sentence.
The IRCC received 25,350 applications from foreigners with a criminal background between 2014 and 2024, the agency said in an email to The Epoch Times. Immigration authorities approved 17,600 rehabilitation applications and rejected 4,980. An additional 2,685 were withdrawn….