Canada To Not Deport Intl Students Victimised By Fake Admission Letter Scam, Task Force Announced
Canada Fake Admission Letter Scam: The Canadian govt announced a task force to identify victims who will get a Temporary Resident Permit and will not be subject to 5-year ban from re-entering Canada.
The Canadian government on Wednesday said that international students who are not found to be involved in fraud will not face deportation and will not be subject to the 5-year ban from re-entering the country, however, those who used fraudulent acceptance letters to take advantage of Canada’s immigration system will have to bear full consequences of the law. Canadian Immigration Minister Sean Fraser announced that the Justin Trudeau-led government is constituting a task force to work closely with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) to identify the victims of fraud, who will be granted a Temporary Resident Permit.
Meanwhile, preliminary Temporary Resident Permits will be issued in order to prevent imminent deportation for anyone under review.
The Indian students, mostly from Punjab, face deportation from Canada after the authorities found their admission offer letters to educational institutions fake. The matter came to light in March when these students applied for permanent residency in Canada.
I issued a statement regarding the distressing situation faced by international students with fraudulent acceptance letters. Your well-being remains our priority, and we’re taking action to address this issue. https://t.co/ofd3r8IDqG See below for a summary of our measures. pic.twitter.com/E0ILgmRaZL
— Sean Fraser (@SeanFraserMP) June 14, 2023
The Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship issued a statement mentioning that ”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.”
Fraser asserted that 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.” On the other hand, there were foreign nationals who had no intention 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 organised 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 task force 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,” Fraser announced in the statement.
He stressed 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,” Fraser stated.
According to the Canadian Immigration Minister, the Temporary Resident Permit 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 imminent deportation for anyone under review, the statement further mentioned.
“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,” Fraser said.
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He further added, “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,” he stated, urging those who feel they have been deceived by an unscrupulous consultant to come forward and report fraud.
Last week, a Canadian parliamentary committee voted unanimously to urge the border services agency to stop the deportation of Indian students who were duped by unscrupulous education consultants in India to enter the country with fraudulent college admission letters.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, responding to a question by Indian-origin MP Jagmeet Singh on the fate of the Indian students, said, his government is "deeply aware" of cases of international students facing removal orders over fraudulent college acceptance letters, adding that their focus is on identifying the culprits, not penalising the victims. Victims of fraud will have an opportunity to demonstrate their situations and present evidence to support their cases, he said.
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