Warning: Agent in India Causes Deportation Order
Yet another victim of an immigration scam. Yet another case of an Indian applicant who paid significant money for a Study Permit, only to face a Deportation Order. Yet another international student who is desperately trying to stay in Canada and IRCC is not sympathetic to her situation. I wish I could say this was an isolated case. It is not. These scams are common. Too common. The Government of Canada has released public warnings for years (and years) and CBC News even sent reporters to India to investigate the reasons these applicants continue to fall prey to these scams.
Even though Karamjeet Kaur, 25, proved not to know the letter was fraudulent, the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada has ruled that she be deported by May 29.
That decision will likely have implications for possibly hundreds of other international students in Canada who reportedly received similar fake admission letters from the same education agent in India — a situation that shows lack of accountability by border and immigration authorities, according to lawyers and activists who spoke with The Canadian Press.
Kaur, whose poor, rural Indian family spent their life savings so she could be the first among them to study and work abroad, now works as a supervisor for a company in Edmonton. She’s married to a Canadian citizen, frequently volunteers, has a work permit valid until November and was on the path to becoming a permanent resident.
From a legal standpoint, it is not clear how she “proved” that she did not know the letter was fraudulent. That is not something that can be proven. Perhaps in the future, we may have technology that may scan our brains to determine when and how we “know” things. As far as I know, that technology does not exist.
Misrepresentation, which is defined by A40 of IRPA, states:
Misrepresentation
40 (1) A permanent resident or a foreign national is inadmissible for misrepresentation
(a) for directly or indirectly misrepresenting or withholding material facts relating to a relevant matter that induces or could induce an error in the administration of this Act;
(b) for being or having been sponsored by a person who is determined to be inadmissible for misrepresentation;
(c) on a final determination to vacate a decision to allow their claim for refugee protection or application for protection; or
(d) on ceasing to be a citizen under
(i) paragraph 10(1)(a) of the Citizenship Act, as it read immediately before the coming into force of section 8 of the Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act, in the circumstances set out in subsection 10(2) of the Citizenship Act, as it read immediately before that coming into force,
(ii) subsection 10(1) of the Citizenship Act, in the circumstances set out in section 10.2 of that Act, or
(iii) subsection 10.1(3) of the Citizenship Act, in the circumstances set out in section 10.2 of that Act.
Application
(2) The following provisions govern subsection (1):
(a) the permanent resident or the foreign national continues to be inadmissible for misrepresentation for a period of five years following, in the case of a determination outside Canada, a final determination of inadmissibility under subsection (1) or, in the case of a determination in Canada, the date the removal order is enforced; and
(b) paragraph (1)(b) does not apply unless the Minister is satisfied that the facts of the case justify the inadmissibility.
The key words are highlighted above in bold.
Basically, ignorance is not an excuse. Blaming your agent is not an excuse. Blaming a shady consultant is not an excuse. Not understanding the law is not an excuse.
As stated by CBSA, this is a big problem and this is not an isolated case. As stated:
Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) confirmed in an email to The Canadian Press that “there are a number of active Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) investigations into cases of misrepresentation, including those related to study permits.”
This point is highlighted by another CBC News article from last week: Dozens of students who could be kicked out of Canada say they were duped by immigration agents in India. As reported:
Singh said he didn’t do anything wrong and was unaware that his immigration agent in India used those papers for his student visa application.
“I didn’t know that a fake document was used in my student visa application,” Singh told The Fifth Estate in an interview. “It wasn’t until after I received that notice from the [Canada Border Services Agency] that I found the letter was fraudulent.”
Indeed, here at CIL, we have met with many clients who have faced similar circumstances. Notably, we were successful at Federal Court with a Ukrainian client who also faced deportation when an agent provided a fake IELTS result and he submitted the document to IRCC. As noted by Justice Ahmed in Agapi v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration) 2018 FC 923:
I agree with the Applicant that the Manager failed to consider whether the Applicant honestly and reasonably believed he was not withholding material information. The Applicant’s response to the procedural fairness letter explains, in detail, the reasons for which he could not provide an original copy. For example, it explains that he relied upon the results as presented, because the procedure was consistent for those outside Kiev. It explains that he was not suspicious of the copy he obtained, because he had no need for originals. Finally, it explains that he took measures to obtain explanations from the language school. Yet the Global Case Management System notes are brief and only state that
PA was given an opportunity to respond to our concerns via [a procedural fairness letter], but the information PA provided failed to alleviate my concerns.None of the Applicant’s evidence is addressed in the reasons.[…]
As such, the Manager’s decision is unreasonable.
We were able to win this case, despite the strict laws. We were able to successfully argue the “honestly and reasonably” exception to A40 of IRPA to get a positive result.
Our client, Mr Agapi, is still in Canada and he was not deported.
Hopefully Ms Kaur is able find a good lawyer who can help her stay in Canada.
