Guidelines for the Negative Discretion Authority

The guidelines below are not to be interpreted to derogate in any way from the breadth of the inadmissibility provisions of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA).

A foreign national may be ineligible to obtain a visa or to enter Canada where the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration (the Minister) determines that, because of public policy concerns, a foreign national is not eligible to become a temporary resident for a specific period, up to three years.

In accordance with the objectives of the IRPA and in exceptional circumstances, the Minister may consider the following behaviours, activities and circumstances of a foreign national:

Promoting Terrorism, Violence, or Criminal Activity:

• A foreign national who makes public statements or uses any means to broadcast, write, produce, publish or distribute material, including a website and public speaking, to express views which:
  1. promote or glorify terrorist violence;
  2. promote or glorify a listed entity under Regulations Establishing a List of Entities pursuant to the Criminal Code of Canada, Regulations Implementing the United Nations Resolutions on the Suppression of Terrorism or the United Nations Al-Qaida and Taliban Regulations;
  3. counsel, encourage or incite others to commit terrorist activity or terrorist violence;
  4. incite hatred that is likely to lead to violence against a specific group;
  5. promote, counsel, encourage or incite serious criminal activity.

Foreign Nationals from Sanctioned Countries or Corrupt Foreign Officials:

• A foreign national of a country against which Canada has imposed sanctions under the United Nations Act or the Special Economic Measures Act, where that foreign national is:
  1. a former or current senior official of the government of that country, or of any entity owned or controlled by, or acting on behalf of the government; or
  2. an associate or a relative of an official or person set out in paragraph (a).
• A foreign national who is a politically exposed foreign person listed in regulations to the Freezing Assets of Corrupt Foreign Officials Act.

Mitigating Risks to Public Health:

A foreign national who may introduce, contribute, or pose a risk to public health in Canada. This could include a foreign national who has been in a country with an unusual or unexpected and serious communicable disease with the potential for international spread and significant impact on the health of the Canadian population.