Laura Schemitsch, Canadian Immigration and Refugee Lawyer, Heron Law Offices
In order to study in Canada as a foreign national, you must be enrolled at a Designated Learning Institution and provide a letter of acceptance from your school (amongst other requirements). In March 2023, the news broke surrounding reports that approximately 700 Indian nationals who entered Canada as international students were facing deportation due to submitting fraudulent school admission letters with their study permit applications. An English version of a report in the Indian Express from March indicated that the students “had applied for study visas through Education Migration Services in Jalandhar” and the “fraud was recognized when the students’ admission letters were scrutinized as part of their permanent residence applications for Canada.”
The potential deportation of 700 international students is a shocking number that resonated with many people across Canada and brought new attention to the issue of “ghost consultants.” These ghost consultants are typically either unlicensed immigration representatives (often educational consultants/agents) or they fraudulently present themselves as affiliated to an educational institution and offer services in exchange for a fee and then disappear (or “ghost”) their victims.
In these situations, foreign nationals can face findings of inadmissibility for misrepresentation. According to section 40(1)(a) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act:
40 (1) A permanent resident or a foreign national is inadmissible for misrepresentation
- for directly or indirectly misrepresenting or withholding material facts relating to a relevant matter that induces or could induce an error in the administration of this Act; …
Individuals who are inside Canada, who are found guilty of misrepresentation, can face removal from Canada. There are three types of Removal Orders issued by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) or Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA): Departure Orders, Exclusion Orders and Deportation Orders. In cases where a foreign national receives an Exclusion Order for misrepresentation, they cannot return to Canada for five years. For this reason, the consequences of a finding of misrepresentation are extremely serious and can have long term impacts on an Applicant’s life and immigration goals.
On June 14, 2023, Minister Sean Fraser, issued the following statement regarding “concerning reports of international student fraud:
There have been recent reports of international students and graduates facing removal from Canada, after letters of acceptance submitted as part of their study permit application were determined to be fraudulent.
Many of these international students sincerely came to Canada to pursue their studies at some of our world-class institutions and were duped by bad actors who claimed to be helping them in their immigration application process. Other foreign nationals had no intent of pursuing higher education, and used fraudulent acceptance letters to take advantage of Canada’s immigration system. Within this cohort of individuals, some have been involved in organized crime.
I understand that this situation is distressing for those affected by unscrupulous actors, and I want to assure them that their well-being is of paramount importance. As a result, I have already struck a taskforce of my officials and have asked them to work closely with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) to identify the victims of fraud; that is, those students who came to study here in Canada and did exactly that.
I want to make it clear that international students who are not found to be involved in fraud will not face deportation. The Immigration Refugee Protection Act offers me discretionary authority which I believe should be exercised in the present context. Therefore, if the facts of an individual case are clear that an international student came to Canada with a genuine intent to study, and without knowledge of the use of fraudulent documentation, I have provided instructions for officers to issue a Temporary Resident Permit to that individual. This will ensure that these well-intentioned students and graduates can remain in Canada, and ensure that they are not subject to the 5-year ban from re-entering Canada that normally follows in cases of misrepresentation. While this process runs its course, preliminary Temporary Resident Permits will be issued if they are required in order to prevent an imminent deportation for anyone under review.
Further to my instructions to officials, Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has been working even closer with Designated Learning Institutions (DLIs), provinces and territories, and organizations representing Canada’s colleges and universities to better detect and combat fraud, and uphold the integrity of our immigration programs. We are taking every opportunity to crack down on dishonest and fraudulent consultants who seek to abuse Canada’s immigration system and take advantage of those seeking to visit, work, study or settle here in Canada.
The Government of Canada’s focus is on identifying those who are responsible for the fraudulent activity and not on penalizing those who may have been affected by fraud.
We recognize the immense contributions that international students make to our country, and we are committed to providing a path to Canada that is honest and transparent. All applicants must continue to ensure that, before applying for a study permit, they do their research, have an acceptance letter from a DLI, and refer to the official website to get information about our programs. If you believe you have been deceived by an unscrupulous consultant, we urge you to come forward and report fraud.” [Bolded for emphasis
While Minister Fraser’s statement is welcome in light of this alarming situation, the issue of immigration fraud and unintentional misrepresentation is undeniably common and not new. In August 2019, the Globe and Mail reported that refusals on visitor visa applications from India due to fraud and misrepresentation were “soaring.”
Immigration lawyers understand that clients with misrepresentation concerns, even “unintentional representation,” face an uphill battle in demonstrating that their misrepresentation was “innocent” in an effort to overcome their potential inadmissibility. Clients whose misrepresentation is linked to fraudulent legal representation often face barriers to reporting misconduct due to their uncertain immigration status. Viewed in this light, Minister Fraser’s statement should mark an important policy shift towards the use of increased discretion when assessing cases of foreign nationals who fall victim to various versions of immigration fraud so that they are “not penalized” due to the actions of “unscrupulous actors” and rather may be viewed with compassion and openness. In this way, Minister Fraser may begin to achieve the goal of “providing a path to Canada that is honest and transparent.” We hope, and there is hope, that the taskforce that is being established to examine this issue will focus it’s attention both on the Canadian edu-immigration system that is both a vital pipeline for permanent residency, but also the source of potential fraud – but also a deeper look into the way we apply the law of misrepresentation and safety net remedies such as temporary resident permits (TRPs).
This story is an important reminder that anyone interesting in immigrating to Canada should take steps to ensure that they are receiving advice from a legitimate and competent representative, such as a Canadian Immigration Lawyer.
