Conrad Black gets temporary residence, but road back to Canadian citizenship could be rough

Lord Conrad Black of Crossharbour, peer of the realm, former media tycoon, celebrated author and convicted felon, gets out of prison in the United States this weekend.

Where will he go?

That's not an easy question to answer for the Montreal-born businessman, whose 2007 convictions for fraud and obstruction of justice for looting his company Hollinger International consigned him to federal prison in Florida.

Black, who had dual Canadian-British citizenship, gave up his Canadian citizenship in 2001 after Prime Minister Jean Chretien blocked plans to award the newspaper baron a British peerage.

When he gets out of prison May 5, after serving three and a half years in all, Black won't be welcome in the United States when he's completed two years probation. And his criminal conviction now makes him ineligible to return to the land of his birth.

Black has expressed interest in returning to his longtime home in Toronto's exclusive Bridle Path and eventually reclaiming his citizenship. Looks like he can try. Canada's Department of Citizenship and Immigration has authorized a temporary resident permit for the disgraced media baron. It is valid for a year starting this May.

"All I'm seeking at this point is temporary residence status," Black told media outlets, including the Globe and Mail, last fall. "I intend to (seek citizenship) some time, as long as there isn't going to be controversy. I don't want any more nonsensical controversy over things like that."

But legal experts say it'll be tough.

Immigration lawyer Joel Sandaluk told The Canadian Press that Black's bid to return is a complex, highly unusual case.

"I've been doing this for a lot of years now, and I've never, ever met anybody who has renounced their citizenship and is trying to re-enter Canada," Sandaluk said.

"The reality is this whole case, from an immigration and citizenship perspective, is operating in kind of a netherworld. I don't think anyone knows exactly what to expect."

With no Canadian citizenship, Black must be treated as any other foreign national applying to move to Canada, said Sandaluk. He can apply for citizenship after being admitted as a permanent resident and living in Canada at least a year.

But Black's U.S. criminal conviction makes him inadmissible as a permanent resident, the lawyer said.

The temporary permit doesn't solve his larger problem.

Black, who launched the conservative-oriented National Post newspaper in the late 1990s, should not expect any special help from the government.

A spokeswoman for Immigration Minister Jason Kenny said he's not planning to become involved.

"At the minister's instruction, this decision will be made solely by departmental officials, with no input from the minister or his office," Alexis Pavlich told The Canadian Press.

Black's first test will come later this month, when his latest book, A Matter of Principle, about his court case, goes up for the National Business Book Award at a May 28 luncheon in Toronto. There's been speculation he'd like to be there when the winner is announced.

"He doesn't seem like a threat to the public safety of Canada, he doesn't seem like somebody who's going to reoffend while he's here," Sandaluk said.

Beyond that, the path to permanent residency is long.

A Canada Border Services Agency spokesperson told the Globe people with "previous criminality" can apply for rehabilitation but must wait five years from the completion of their sentence.

The fact Black's wife, Barbara Amiel, is a Canadian, does not factor into the case.

So not America and not Canada, at least not yet. That pretty much leaves the United Kingdom, where Black is a citizen and still has a seat in the House of Lords.

In an interview with CTV's W5 last September before returning to prison to complete his sentence, Black said he was proud to be a British citizen but wold be proud to get his Canadian citizenship back again.