Canada to ask India, China and Philippines to check immigration fraud

OTTAWA - The Canadian Government is going to ask India, China and the Philippines to focus more law-enforcement resources and share more information with Canada on fraudsters in order to control immigration fraud.

Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Jason Kenney will spend three days this week in India, where he will ask Indian Government officials to focus more on law-enforcement resources and share more information with Canada on “immigration fraudsters”, who are charging applicants thousands of dollars and using fake documents to bolster their cases.

Kenney will also discuss ways to improve co-operation on finding and prosecuting crooked consultants when he visits China and the Philippines, which along with India make up the three largest sources of immigrants to Canada.

Kenney said he will also ask Indian officials to consider introducing and passing a bill similar to one introduced in the Canadian Parliament this June, the Cracking Down on Crooked Consultants Act.

The new Canadian law makes it a crime for a person who is not a lawyer, notary or member of a recognized association of immigration consultants to accept a fee for providing immigration advice, The Globe and Mail reports.

“In Chandigarh, in our consulate there, we have a ‘wall of shame’ with some examples of the thousands of fraudulent documents that are generated - fake marriage certificates, death certificates, travel itineraries, banking statements, you name it,” Kenney said.

“There’s a pretty sophisticated industry that produces these kinds of documents,” he said.

Kenney is scheduled to arrive in New Delhi on Tuesday, followed by a visit on Thursday to Chandigarh.

The minister’s trip, which began on the weekend with two days in Paris for meetings with French and European immigration officials, also includes stops in Hong Kong, Beijing and Manila. (ANI)