THE ‘ GHOSTS’ OF IMMIGRATION FRAUD.
HOW FRAUDSTERS RUN RINGS AROUND CANADA’S IMMIGRATION SYSTEM
On the federal government’s website, in no fewer than 21 languages ranging from Arabic to Vietnamese, people looking to immigrate to Canada are warned to be on the lookout for fraud and to stay away from unauthorized consultants.
Don’t be the victim of a scam, the site warns.
And don’t be tempted into using false documents.
Despite the government’s efforts to regulate the industry, however, large numbers of unlicensed consultants continue to operate under the radar, sometimes going to great lengths to dupe the system — or their clients — and making loads of money doing it.
Last fall, Xun Wang, an unlicensed consultant in Richmond, B.C., was handed a stiff seven- year sentence for carrying out one of the biggest immigration frauds authorities say they’ve ever seen, involving doctored passports and other forged documents.
While that prosecution was successful, critics say so- called “ghost consultants” continue to operate largely in an enforcement vacuum.
Internal records show that while the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) has received several hundred complaints about suspected illegal immigration- consulting operations over the past four years, it has opened only a few dozen investigations.
“This is probably the major issue in the immigration consulting profession,” said Bob Brack, senior government relations advisor to the Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council ( ICCRC). “It’s fine to regulate immigration consultants, and we do that, but these unauthorized representatives … operate in the shadows.”
Those seeking to apply for a visa or Canadian citizenship are not required to hire an immigration consultant, but many choose to pay for the guidance and help with filing paperwork.
By law all consultants are required to register with the ICCRC. To become a member, you have to complete an exam, go through a background check and submit to compliance audits.
Yet, many are operating outside these rules. Some of them tout “special connections” with government officials and promise prospective clients guaranteed visas or work permits when they know they can’t deliver.
Part of the problem, critics say, is that while the ICCRC can investigate its own members, it doesn’t have the authority to go after non-members. Complaints about unlicensed consultants have to be forwarded to the CBSA.
Internal records show the border agency fielded more than 400 complaints about alleged unauthorized immigration consultants from June 2011 through September 2015. It opened 71 cases and laid 12 charges.
“Little attention is given to rogue agents, the ghost agents. The public is being taken for a ride,” said Cobus Kriek, a licensed immigration consultant in Calgary, who obtained the CBSA records through an access-to-information request.
A CBSA spokeswoman said the agency reviews all complaints and tips. Investigations are opened if officers believe consultants have misrepresented themselves or the information they’ve put in applications, or if they have counselled others to do so.
“The CBSA sets priorities and focuses criminal investigations on cases that are likely to have the greatest impact, for example large- scale fraudulent operations,” the statement said.
As of l ate November, the agency said 16 investigations had closed, resulting in 15 convictions.
Critics say it’s not enough, that unsuspecting customers are falling victim to crooked consultants who lack qualifications, fail to file paperwork, or simply take their money and run.
However, not all clients are victims. Some clients are willing participants in the fraud, paying consultants to create documents that make it seem like they’re living in Canada when they’re not.
Before foreign nationals can apply for Canadian citizenship, they must spend 1,095 days in Canada in a four-year period.
The Federal Court of Canada has said this residency requirement protects “precious Canadian citizenship,” and ensures would- be citizens have “the everyday opportunity to become ‘Canadianized.’
“This happens by ‘ rubbing elbows’ with Canadians in shopping malls, corner stores, libraries, concert halls, auto repair shops, pubs, cabarets, elevators, churches, synagogues, mosques and temples … ( and experiencing) Canadian society for all its virtues, decadence, values, dangers and freedoms,” the court said.
Many, however, are paying to skirt these rules.
“We do not have to be Pollyannas here,” Phil Mooney, past president of the Canadian Association of Professional Immigration Consultants, told a parliamentary committee in 2011. “A large number of individuals participate willingly in attempts to defraud the system ... and there are hundreds of thousands of people who will do anything, sign anything, pay anything to come here.”
That said, many prospective immigrants are falling victim to ghost consultants, who also “take money away from legitimate consultants who follow the rules and pay a high price to be regulated,” Mooney said.
“Further, we suffer added indignities because the public cannot easily distinguish between the good guys and the bad guys.”
The problem is the CBSA doesn’t have enough resources to investigate the bad ones, said Dory Jade, current president of the industry group.
“For example, if a national security issue arises, the (investigation into an) unauthorized i mmigration representative is put on the back burner. We understand that. But stopping unauthorized representatives is part of Canada’s role. It’s tarnishing our image.”
Jade suggested the ICCRC should be able to go after rogue agents in the same way provincial law societies currently are able to go after lawyers practising without a licence.
But some observers say the ICCRC is having a tough time even regulating its own members.
“I’m reluctant to see them have more authority to cover yet another area when they can’t even manage what they have,” said Peter Larlee, a Vancouver immigration lawyer.
“I’m dealing with a few disciplinary complaints against ( licensed) consultants. It’s very slow.”
Since the ICCRC’s inception in 2011, 13 members’ licences have been revoked and four others have permanently resigned because of disciplinary problems, Brack said.
Brack said word is getting out into the community that if people are going to use an immigration consultant they should make sure they are registered with the ICCRC first.
But Larlee says there are still plenty of unsuspecting consumers who don’t discern between licensed and unlicensed consultants.
There are also anecdotal reports that some consultants are advertising themselves as being licensed when they are not — more flouting of the system.
“So, for the time being, ghost consulting continues to thrive,” Larlee said.
WE DO NOT HAVE TO BE POLLYANNAS. A LARGE NUMBER OF INDIVIDUALS PARTICIPATE WILLINGLY IN ATTEMPTS TO DEFRAUD THE SYSTEM. THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS WHO WILL DO ANYTHING, SIGN ANYTHING, PAY ANYTHING TO COME HERE. — CONSULTANT PHIL MOONEY