Can I enter Canada on this Criminal Conviction? HELP !

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<hr>a educated person<hr></blockquote>
Oh and it should be "an educated person"

A Canadian Immigration lawyer cannot help the OPer. She has a criminal conviction, period. No one can make that go away. Fortunately a CD is a minor offence that Canadian Immigration will (hopefully) ignore. It's a crap shoot, nothing more. Wasting money on a lawyer is useless.

Cheers,
Terry

One other option... Lie. Don't mention the CD. I have no idea if CDs are shared between UK and Canadian authorities, but I would suspect not. If it does come up in discussion with Canadian Immigration immediately admit everything, but plead ignorance that you didn't think it was regarded as a conviction since it's expunged from your record in 6 months (or whatever time frame the UK court handed down.) Act dumb.

OP you can pretty much ignore all the responses above. There will be no criminal record check when you apply, nor will there be one when you arrive. In other words, it will be your little secret. Do you have any idea of the number of people that travel all over the world with criminal records? The only time it is an issue is for Canadians and Americans traveling back and forth between their countries because they share their criminal record information. No such sharing is done with England so don't let the nay-sayers scare you.

But Im going with a compant called BUNAC and I have to declare this when I apply to the Canadina High Commission... there is a question thats asks if you have been convicted of a criminal offence in your own country so Im confused!

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<hr>there is a question thats asks if you have been convicted of a criminal offence in your own country so I`m confused! <hr></blockquote>yes there is a question on the application. And many landing cards you fill out when entering another country asks the same thing. Nothing confusing about it - you lie.

You have the choice - you lie and answer no, and get on with your life, or you answer yes and remain in England. The choice is yours. And don't kid yourself for a second that BUNAC actually takes the time and spends the money to run criminal record checks on their applicants, because they absolutely do not. And don't think that somehow when you go through Immigration in Canada that they will know about your record because they won't. In fact they can't, unless of course you happen to be on Interpol's most wanted list.

So if lying is a moral issue for you then I wouldn't even bother sending in your application, as you will likely be refused, either by BUNAC or Canadian Immigration. If you can get your head past the moral dilema then just check the no box and enjoy your life. Your choice.

I have to tell the truth.....

If you have time you need to get a waiver (I think it's called a certificate of rehabilitation or something like that) from the Canadian Consulate General. I'm from the US so things may be a little different for you but I've had quite a few friends in the same situation and I'd advise taken the advice you're been given here with a grain of salt.

firstly, before you arrive in this great land, what have you done to repent your sins

You have received a "Conditional Discharge". First question - what are the conditions of your discharge? Second question - when do the conditions expire? In Canada, a person who receives a "discharge" following a finding of guilt has NOT been convicted. Therefore, if anyone ask you if you have been found guilty of an offence , the answer is "yes", but if they ask you if you have been convicted of an offence, the answer is "no". In Canada, the RCMP erases records of absol,ute discharges after 1 year, and conditional discharges after 3 years. If you are subject to "conditional discharge" under Canadian law, you are effectively on probation until the term of the discharge expires. If you break the terms of the discharge you will be convicted. Did you have a lawyer (and I include duty counsel) for your court appearance? You really need to understand what a "conditional discharge" means in England.If it means that you have not been convicted of anything, that might be useful to you. If it means you are on probation, it might affect whether or not you can leave the country. It all makes that packet of shrimp and curry crisps seem worth the 80p, doesn't it?

What Johnny Doe posted is 100% correct OP. However you have a problem with lying, which basically means you are hooped. No one on this website knows for sure what Canadian Immigration does and does not allow. And engaging the services of an immigation lawyer is just a massive waste of money, as even an immigation lawyer cannot predict how Canadian Immigration will react - they have a lot of discretion at the point of entry.

So as Johnny suggests, you either lie and forget about it (and that means lie to everyone - not "immediately admit everything" if it comes up in discussion with Immigration), or forget about your trip. It's really that simple. The chances of immigration or anyone else ever finding out about this problem are just about zero percent so not sure why such a reluctance to lie. You stole at least once - telling a little lie shouldn't be such a moral dilema!