Information for foreign nationals incarcerated in Canada

Transfer Agreements "Treaties"

In some cases and under certain conditions, a person who is serving a sentence outside of their country of citizenship may return to their home country to serve the remainder of their sentence. This is called an international transfer.

Who can apply

Offenders may be eligible for an international transfer if:

  1. They are not a citizen of the country where they are imprisoned or are dual citizens.
  2. They have been convicted and sentenced and the judgment is final.
  3. They have at least six months remaining in the sentence when the request for transfer is received by the International Transfers Unit. In some rare cases this time period can be less than six months.
  4. They have been convicted of an offence that is a criminal offence under the laws of their country of citizenship.

How to apply

The offender must tell his/her Parole Officer that he/she wants to transfer. The offender will have to complete and sign the Application for an International Transfer to a Foreign State (CSC/SCC 0309E) form. The application must also be witnessed by a person in a position of authority at the institution.

The Parole Officer sends the form to the Correctional Service of Canada's International Transfers Unit as part of a Transfer Application package. For information on the documents needed in this package, please read Commissioner's Directive 704, Annex B.

Information on the decision process

The offender can choose to ask for the transfer from either the authorities in Canada or those of his/her home country. For a transfer to be approved, the offender (or their legal representative where applicable), the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, and the government of the offender's home country must all agree to the transfer.

The Canadian authorities provide the authorities of the offender's home country with information about:

  • the offender
  • the facts about the conviction and sentence
  • the nature and length of the sentence

The authorities of the offender's home country respond by providing information about:

  • the nature and duration of the sentence the offender would need to serve after the transfer; and
  • any credits for time served, conditional release, etc. in the offender's home country

More Information

For more information on international transfers please visit www.csc-scc.gc.ca/international-transfers or contact:

Telephone: 613-947-9708
Fax: 613-952-7676
Email: internationaltransfers@csc-scc.gc.ca

Transfers Unit
Correctional Service Canada
340 Laurier Avenue West
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0P9