Conditional discharge under section 730 Criminal Code
A conditional discharge (different from a conditional sentence) allows a person to be found guilty of an offence without registration of a conviction against that person. In other words, when no conviction is registered the person has no criminal record. This will avoid the negative impact associated with criminal conviction. Minor offence charges may be eligible for conditional discharge. It comes at a cost of requiring to follow certain conditions like counselling, community service, not attending certain places or not communicating with certain people, imposed on the person found guilty.
This may impact your immigration status despite not being a criminal conviction. It is still a record with the police criminal record database available to American authorities for a period of three (3) years since sentencing. American border authorities may refuse entry on grounds of commission of a crime of moral turpitude as they do not recognize absolute or conditional discharge as any form of lesser sentence.
Conditional discharge is not available if the person is charged with an offence that carries a minimum sentence or a sentence of over 14 years of imprisonment. Most persons obtaining conditional discharge can inform their employers or their potential employers that they are free of conviction. However, certain professions that deal with vulnerable population must disclose their involvement with the police including their conditional discharge.
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