Here are a few tips for fraud alert while choosing Canadian immigration representatives, specifically those emphasizing asylum seekers. This blog will bring forth certain points related to immigration fraud through which candidates might be able to avoid representatives trying to lure them.
IRCC considers March the month of fraud prevention; this year, it operates with the theme “Twenty years of fighting Fraud.” The theme presents the shift in the functioning of fraudulent activities from typical methods to more evolved scams. These fraudulent immigration practices include tools like social media and artificial intelligence.
Canada always takes the initiative to spread awareness regarding these kinds of immigration fraud. They are forever committed to serving aspiring immigrants who have a million dreams for their journey in Canada. Given its reputation as an education hub, adults and even students have multiple aspirations regarding higher education in the country.
Montreal Bar Association’s President claimed that the organization underwent a rise of 26 percent in fraud related to immigration between 2018 and 2022. This means a rise from 13 to 39 percent. This has only made the vulnerable candidates even more prone to be recipients of fraudulent activities.
The Montreal Bar Association even introduced an awareness campaign to prevent individuals from being victims of lousy immigration actors.
However, immigration fraud is prevalent in multiple locations besides Montreal. Therefore, all foreign nationals must look forward to identifying such fake immigration representatives. They must be able to distinguish the real immigration representatives from fake ones.
In the current scenario, this applies to those who pursue Canadian immigration or seek to build a future in the country after immigration.
Fraud alert while choosing Canadian immigration representatives
Aspiring candidates must acknowledge the following signs while choosing an immigration consultant, such as a lawyer or consultant:
Credentials without verification
IRCC confirms that authentic immigration consultants must demonstrate a license from the profession’s regulatory body. The fraud agents will possess fake and unevaluated credentials without confirmation. The representatives must be able to demonstrate a valid registration under the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants as its authentic members. Furthermore, lawyers and notaries in Canada must hold membership in the provincial or territorial law society. The paralegals in Ontario must hold registration under Ontario’s Law Society.
These Law Societies provide the opportunity to verify online whether an individual has a decent standing. If the person doesn’t showcase a good standing, they could possibly get rid of such representatives.
Fraud alert regarding immigration representatives – Obtaining cash payments without providing any receipt
Immigration representatives who have proper licensing tend to provide their clients with substantial bill documents with all the relevant details. Therefore, candidates must keep in mind to avoid paying cash without a proper bill, invoice, and receipt.
Absence of authentic formal documents
The absence of proper official documents is a huge sign that a consultant or representative is unauthorized. Consulting unauthorized and fake consultants can lead to irreversible circumstances, thereby sabotaging the applicant’s life and chances of being in Canada.
Offering services outside office premises
Licensed immigration consultants will always offer their immigration services through a formal office set-up. They will always have an official place to conduct their business meetings. Therefore, candidates must take this as a fraud sign if they receive an invitation to meet at places like restaurants, clubs, etc. This clearly indicates they don’t have a designated formal official place.
Promising expedited processing or 100 percent immigration success
There’s no such thing as absolute immigration success or faster processing. Therefore, immigration representatives claiming 100 percent success in applications and expedited processing is a complete myth. IRCC officially reveals its standard times before making any final decision regarding an application. It could take weeks or several months, depending on individual cases. In addition, it often provides a fair idea to the candidates regarding the processing times.
IRCC works with its chief objective to process 80 percent of applications across different business lines within the standard processing time. Furthermore, IRCC notifies everyone that no one can claim to provide guaranteed success for any application or program. You could belong to any country, yet there’s no guarantee whatsoever.
Hence, any agency or representative claiming to offer you complete success will only be a false narrative to set you up and extract money from you.
Fraud alert while choosing Canadian immigration representatives – How do you prevent yourself from falling into such a trap?
Canada comprises different regulatory bodies that further provide verification tools to prevent candidates from falling into victim traps. These bad actors often take advantage of aspiring individuals desperate to move to Canada.
IRCC recommends anyone witnessing such fraudulent activities to report such matters to make other innocent people aware of such possible mishaps in Canadian immigration.
Connect only with authorized immigration lawyers
Use the various resources and tools by IRCC to check the authenticity of immigration consultants. Also, it is best to reach out to an immigration lawyer in Canada who can assist them in submitting accurate applications. Typically, these immigration lawyers can help them in the following ways:
- Assist applicants in avoiding blunders in their applications.
- Reply to the Canadian government as a representative of the applicant.
- Use their expertise to enable the applicants to avoid delays.
Our immigration representatives at Make Home Canada have immense knowledge related to Canadian immigration. To clarify your doubts or queries, you may write to us at [email protected]
