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, Sean Fraser, Minister of Immigration said today,
He says many of these international students sincerely came to Canada to pursue their studies and were duped by bad actors who claimed to be helping them in their immigration application process. Other foreign nationals had no intention of pursuing higher education and used fraudulent acceptance letters to take advantage of Canada's immigration system.
Fraser believes 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."
Fraser says he has struck a taskforce to work closely with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) to identify the victims of fraud.
“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."
Temporary Resident Permits will be issued if they are required in order to prevent imminent deportation for anyone under review.
“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," added Fraser.
“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. If you believe you have been deceived by an unscrupulous consultant, we urge you to come forward and report fraud.”
