September 11, 2012
Canadian citizenship not for sale – Update on residence fraud investigations
The Canadian government continues to apply full strength of the law to revoke citizenship and permanent resident status of those who have obtained it fraudulently over the past years. With nearly 11 000 individuals who are under investigation for immigration fraud, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) has already began the process to revoked the citizenship of up to 3,100 citizens who obtained it fraudulently. CIC is also working on cases of those who are not yet citizens and are residing outside of Canada. In terms of permanent resident status, there are nearly 5000 individuals who are known to be involved in residence fraud. These individuals have already been flagged should they try to enter or obtain Canadian citizenship.
In many fraudulent cases, permanent residents will hire the services of a crooked immigration representative to establish evidence of Canadian evidence while living abroad. This is done to retain permanent residence status, satisfying the rule of being physically present in Canada for two out of five years. To date, CIC has flagged another 2500 individuals for various concerns. These individuals will be watched closely if they make future applications. The total individuals tied to citizenship and residence fraud is currently 11 000. So far, CIC has removed or denied admittance to over 600 former permanent residents linked to investigation and 500 citizenship applications who fail to meet residence requirements. Nearly 1800 applicants have abandoned their citizenship applications as word about investigation spread.
The Government of Canada will strive to create an immigration system that is the best while protecting it against those who abuse it.
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