Under Canadian immigration law, no immigrant and with exception, no visitor shall be granted admission where the immigrant has been convicted outside of Canada of an offence that, if committed in Canada would constitute an offence that may be punishable by way of indictment under any Act of Parliament by a maximum term of imprisonment of less than ten (10) years.

In such instances, applicants are inadmissible to Canada by virtue of section 19(2)(a.1) of the Immigration Act.

Applicants who have been convicted on a charge of driving a motor vehicle while intoxicated or while the person's ability to operate a motor vehicle is impaired by alcohol or drugs, will be assessed as being inadmissible to Canada. The Canadian Criminal Code prohibits and classifies such occurrences as constituting an indictable offence or an offence punishable on summary conviction and renders the individual liable, where the offence is prosecuted by indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years.

As Canadian immigration law recognizes that a person's past criminal conviction(s) should not forever bar his/her admission to Canada if he/she appears to have re-established himself/herself as a law abiding member of society, the Act provides for relief from the criminal inadmissibility provisions.