Author: Azadeh Haidari-Garmash, RCIC
The province of Ontario is taking legislative action to address immigration fraud by imposing stringent financial penalties and bans on immigration counsellors found guilty of exploiting individuals seeking to move to the province.
This impending legislation is aimed at curtailing immigration fraud within the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP), a popular immigration conduit that provides a route to permanent residency for applicants who aspire to live and work in Ontario.
With the federal immigration system often proving intricate and difficult to navigate, many newcomers entrust their immigration process to representatives. While most of these representatives are scrupulous and honest, there are a few who take advantage of these newcomers' vulnerability, defrauding them of substantial sums of money and jeopardising their immigration status," stated David Piccini, Ontario's Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development.
Mr. Piccini is expected to disclose these rules in Brampton, Ontario, on Wednesday, joined by the city's Mayor, Patrick Brown.
This proposed legislation arises amidst rising apprehensions within the federal government about deception and misrepresentation within the immigration system. This misconduct is often spurred by questionable immigration consultants exploiting the influx of newcomers keen on securing permanent Canadian residency.
In a recent YouTube video, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau voiced his awareness of the rampant fraud and abuse perpetrated by recruiters and immigration consultants targeting international students. This sentiment was earlier echoed by Federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller, who expressed his worry over the increasing number of international students being misled to falsely claim asylum.
The proposed legislation, according to Mr. Piccini, would enforce stricter standards upon immigration consultants who serve clients applying for permanent residency through the OINP. This would entail the necessity of a written contract with OINP applicants and the obligation to provide proof of licensing by the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants.
Further, the bill mandates that each applicant must have access to their immigration application, thereby eliminating their dependence on the consultant for communication with the federal immigration department.
As for penalties, the legislation proposes a ban ranging from three to ten years for immigration representatives found guilty of infringing the Ontario Immigration Act, and a permanent ban for those convicted of human trafficking and passport retention.
Upon its approval, the bill will augment the province's power to penalize anyone who commits fraud in an OINP application or representatives who encourage applicants to falsify their OINP applications.
The OINP, which accounts for about 7% of total economic migration to Ontario, is a favoured immigration pathway for newcomers. The program specifically targets workers in certain sectors such as health care and skilled trades for permanent residency.
However, in the fight against immigration scams, the province's capabilities are limited: The legislation will only target immigration consultants and scams related to OINP applicants, which constitutes a small portion of the total annual permanent residency aspirants.
The number of temporary residents in Canada striving for permanent residency has surged significantly over the past five years. This has led to a burgeoning industry of immigration consultants, lawyers, and recruiters capitalizing on individuals who are fervently seeking to secure permanent residency in Canada.
