Canada has become a top destination not only for immigrants and refugees but also for international students and foreign workers. Canada’s immigration policies can be complex and overwhelming. Some people chose to hire a third-party representative with their immigration application. Unfortunately, immigration fraud continues to be a common and serious crime in Canada.
The Government of Canada declares every March each year, as Canada’s Fraud Prevention Month to remind and warn people on the risks associated with fraud and to educate prospective immigrants on how to protect themselves.
I will focus on immigration fraud as this is in line with my profession.
Here are some tips to protect yourself from immigration fraud:
- If you choose to hire a third-party representative, please use an authorized immigration and citizenship consultant, lawyer or Quebec notary.
- You can protect yourself against immigration fraud by verifying that your Canadian immigration consultant appears on the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants Public Register. You can find the link here: https://college-ic.ca/protecting-the-public/find-an-immigration-consultant
- Please ensure that the Immigration Consultant is listed as “active” Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant.
- Please ask your Immigration Consultant for references.
- Read reviews about the immigration consultant.
- Directly contact the immigration consultant who will handle your application. Always use the contact information from the Public Register of CCIC.
- Always ask the Immigration Consultant for his/her credentials and membership with CCIC.
- Perform due diligence and make sure you are communicating directly with the actual representative before engaging their services.
- Do not involve any unverified middlemen in your dealings with such consultants.
- Beware of people posing as Government staff who offer help in immigration/obtaining visas. Do not engage with suspicious websites/ phone calls.
- Students should remain wary of any unverified persons/ organizations offering student visas on payment of money. Credentials of universities/colleges you wish to join must be checked for authenticity.
- Mock job recruiters and fake immigration consultants engage in schemes and set up scams to entice immigrants. IF AN OFFER IS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, it usually is. Be careful about unsolicited job offers, and treat them as scams/frauds.
- No one can guarantee you a job or a visa to Canada. Any person or agency making such a claim is likely fraudulent. You should never reveal personal information or send money to such persons.
- Some fake websites may imitate government URL’s to project their authenticity. Sometimes the email address you see on the screen of a phony website maybe in a government format, but when you click on it, it creates an email sent to a different address. Always check the actual address on the email you are sending.
According to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre: there were 5,569 Reports of fraud; 3,634 victims of fraud and $34M were lost to fraud as of January 31, 2022.
To find out about several types of immigration scams and how to report immigration fraud please click this link: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/protect-fraud.html
If you have questions regarding the above article, you may contact Marjorie at [email protected]
Source: College of Citizenship and Immigration Consultant Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre
A word of caution: You should not act or rely on the information provided in this column. It is not a legal advice. To ensure your interests are protected, retain, or formally seek advice from a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant (RCIC) in good standing of CCIC. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of RCIC’s.
