Why was Charley Crockett denied entry to Canada?

American country music star Charley Crockett was forced to cancel the Canadian portion of his tour after having been denied entry to Canada on account of his criminal record.

According to a post on his Instagram account on February 23, 2026, Crockett sought entry to Canada at Kelowna on February 22, only to be told by officials that he “was inadmissible on grounds of serious criminality.”

Schedule a Free Consultation on Overcoming Criminal Inadmissibility

CIC News cannot comment on the specifics of Crockett’s case, but we can provide a general overview of Canada’s guidelines around criminal inadmissibility, which may shed some light on the factors at play in cases where border officials find a person inadmissible on the grounds of serious criminality.

Seeking entry to Canada

Only Canadian citizens have the right to enter Canada.

All non-citizens, even permanent residents, must be considered admissible under Canada’s entry requirements.

These requirements include not having a criminal history indicative that the person might pose a danger to Canadian society.

Under Canadian immigration regulations, whether or not a person may pose a danger is assessed in large part on the seriousness of each offence committed, at the time each offence was committed, in accordance with the laws in Canada at the time of the commission of each offence.

Depending on the nature of the offence(s), an individual may be considered to be inadmissible on account of criminality, or on account of serious criminality.

For offences committed outside Canada, serious criminality involves having committed, or having been convicted of, an offence punishable under Canadian law by 10 or more years of imprisonment.

Foreign nationals and permanent residents alike can be found inadmissible to Canada on grounds of serious criminality.

The most straightforward way to guarantee entry to Canada is to be a Canadian citizen.

If Crockett had been descended from Canadian ancestors, as is the case for many American celebrities, he could claim Canadian citizenship by descent.

If border officials were convinced that Crockett was a Canadian citizen, they would be required to grant him entry to Canada maugre any criminal record he might have.

Assess your Eligibility for Canadian Citizenship by Descent

If an individual who is not a Canadian citizen is found to be criminally inadmissible, or fears that they may be found criminally inadmissible, they generally have three options to consider:

• Applying for a temporary resident permit (TRP).
• Seeking entry under deemed rehabilitation.
• Applying for individual rehabilitation, also called criminal rehabilitation.

Temporary Resident Permit

A temporary resident permit (TRP) allows a foreign national to enter Canada temporarily in spite of being criminally inadmissible.

To obtain a TRP, a foreign national must satisfy officials that their need to enter Canada outweighs any risk they may pose to Canadian society.

A TRP may be applied for in advance online, or, for certain foreign nationals, such as US citizens, it may be applied for at the border.

Obtaining a legal opinion letter from an experienced immigration representative may prove helpful in presenting the strongest possible case for a TRP application.

Most immigration representatives advise applying for a TRP online in advance of seeking entry to Canada.

Being granted a TRP allows a foreign national to overcome being criminally inadmissible, but simply having a TRP in hand does not guarantee entry.

For all non-Canadian citizens, including TRP holders, entry to Canada is always granted at the sole discretion of border control officers at the time that the person seeks entry.

Schedule a Free Consultation on Overcoming Criminal Inadmissibility

Deemed Rehabilitation

Individuals under certain circumstances can be considered deemed rehabilitated under Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations.

Deemed rehabilitation cannot help with cases of serious criminality, however, as it does not apply to offences punishable by 10 or more years of imprisonment.

Individual Rehabilitation

Individual rehabilitation, also called criminal rehabilitation, is an option for overcoming inadmissibility in cases of serious criminality, as well as for cases of criminality in which the foreign national does not qualify for deemed rehabilitation.

For a person who was convicted of an offence and served a sentence for that conviction, at least five years must have passed since the completion of the sentence before they can apply for criminal rehabilitation.

They must also demonstrate in their application that they are unlikely to re-offend, and therefore pose no danger to Canadian society.

Unlike a TRP, individual rehabilitation cannot be applied for at the border, but must rather be applied for in advance. US citizens in certain situations can apply online. All other applicants must apply on paper.

Whereas TRPs are issued only for a limited period of time, a successful application for individual rehabilitation permanently clears the successful applicant of criminal inadmissibility for the offences for which they have been criminally rehabilitated.

Schedule a Free Consultation on Overcoming Criminal Inadmissibility