Canada cracks down on immigration frauds

OTTAWA - In a year-long massive crackdown on immigration frauds, Canada has locked nearly 11,000 individuals potentially implicated in lying to apply for citizenship or to maintain permanent resident status.

Jason Kenney, the Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister, said here on Monday that Canada is taking action to strip citizenship and permanent residence status from people who don't play by the rules and who lie or cheat to become a Canadian citizen.

"Canadian citizenship is not for sale," he said at a news conference. "We will not stand by and allow people to lie and cheat their way into becoming citizens."

Kenney said his department, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC), has begun the process to revoke the citizenship of up to 3,100 citizens who obtained it fraudulently.

Nearly 5,000 people with permanent residence status, who are known to have been implicated in residence fraud - most of whom are believed to be outside Canada and have never lived in the country - will be subject to "additional scrutiny" if they attempt to enter Canada or obtain citizenship.

For various reasons, another 2,500 individuals will be watched closely should they make future applications, said Kenney.

According to Canada's immigration regulations, permanent residents must, in addition to being able to speak one of the country's two official languages (English and French), reside in Canada for three out of four years prior to applying for Canadian citizenship.

To retain their status as permanent residents, they must be physically present in Canada for two out of five years with few exceptions.

However, Kenney noted, "unscrupulous, unethical immigration and citizenship agents posing as bona fide consultants" will sell people advice "on how to scam the Canadian system" and "typically coach people to establish fake proof of residency in Canada in order to apply for and obtain citizenship."

Some people pay more than 25,000 Canadian dollars (1 US dollar = 0.9764 Canadian dollars) over up to four years to " maintain the illusion of residence in Canada," he added.

To date, he said, more than 600 permanent residents have been removed from or denied admission to Canada, about 500 citizenship applications have also been rejected because the applicants failed to meet the residence requirements, and almost 1,800 applicants linked to the investigations have abandoned their citizenship applications.

He also encouraged anyone who has information regarding citizenship fraud to report to his department or its partners, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Canada Border Services Agency.

Over the past six years, Canada, which is committed to creating an immigration system that brings the world's best and brightest, has had the highest sustained level of immigration in Canadian history.