India is one of the biggest contributors to Canadian Immigration. The number of people who are immigrating to Canada has been increasing every single year, yes, every single year, even after the pandemic.
The reasons can be plenty but for the most part, it’s the western living standards. Who doesn’t want the lavish lifestyle of the west, who doesn’t like earning in dollars? People won’t admit it but most of the people who are immigrating to Canada are going there to settle permanently and gain Canadian Permanent Residency.
Canada on the other hand takes a lot of benefits from the Indians who are wishing a move to Canada. If you have the desired skill they are facing shortages in, chances are you will gain a permanent residency in Canada very easily.
As expected, students are the biggest contributors to the huge immigration number. Every year, thousands of students from India and all across the world leave the country to acquire foreign education be it on an undergraduate level or a postgraduate level. The main aim is to gain international exposure and an incredibly valued, international degree/diploma. Canadian Education structure for higher education is regarded as one of the best in the world, and as a result Indian students, who face a lot of competition in their home country for the same or even worse education degrees, are often looking for a university or college in Canada.
As a result, many immigration agents have been taking advantage of these students and their families who do not completely understand immigration policies. They do scams, provide fake documents, and even try to run away with money.
One such case happened in Jalandhar, where an immigration agency named Education Migration Services headed by Brijesh Mishra scammed about 700 students. In total, 700 students applied for study visas through Education Migration Services and the agency promised them a future in the premier institute, Humber college. They charged 16 lakhs INR per student including the fee and excluding the air tickets and deposits.
As a result of the admissions, the students traveled to Canada in 2018-19. The major twist happened when these students applied for PR in Canada. While they filed their applications for PR in Canada, the “admission offer letters” came out to be fake. While most of the students had already completed their studies and were now looking for permanent residency in the country. Experts say the fraud happened as a result of a large number of applicants to Canada.
According to Brijesh Mishra, the “fake documents” were only forged once the college fee was paid to the college. Many students were given offer letters from a different college than
they wanted to be in, and many students were just straight-up told to wait for a semester. The fee of many students was returned after they were given a choice to go to a different college. People also reported that the agent was charging a commission from these students to change their college whilst they were in Canada.
The advantage of not-informed Indian students who wished to study in Humber was taken by these fraud agents. Here, not only the agent is in the wrong, but the college, whether they forged the documents or not, is also in the wrong.
The immigration agents generally sign the documents and do the applications themselves on the behalf of their clients. But when these agents try to use the client’s signature to apply for everything, they are called ghost consultants. This case is of a ghost consultant. Brijesh Mishra did not use the name of the agency as the primary applicant who was applying on behalf of their clients, instead, the agency used their client’s signatures, making them the Self-applicants. This move by the agency removes all the blame front themselves and makes it difficult to prove the student’s innocence.
This recent resurgence of ghost consultants is resulting to be very difficult for the students to track in. It is highly advised to get background details of the agent, talk to their precious clients, check their immigration history, and look if their documents and certificates are authorized or not.
FAQ
The offer received is genuine if it is in the dashboard of your ontariocolleges.ca account. To authenticate, you can call their 24/7 helpline number and can email them to validate as well. Once you’ve accepted the offer, you will also receive an email from the same site.
To check whether the immigration consultant that you are currently with is real/licensed or not, you need to do the following things:
- Check if they are registered with the ICCRC
- Did they provide a retainer agreement?
- Are they active?
- Are they representing you as a client and filling out the use of the representative form?
- There is no shame in asking for the verification of their certificates as to get registered with the ICCRC, one must complete an immigration practitioner’s program, Full Skills Exam, a good background check, and must be an Indian or Canadian citizen or even a Canadian PR holder.
The job of an immigration consultant is to facilitate their client’s move to the said country by acquiring all the necessary documents and permits. Their job is to make sure that all the paperwork is thoroughly checked and submitted on time. And as the name suggests, the consultant’s job is to guide and assist their clients in a streamlined process of immigration in the most legal way possible.
These are the immigration agents posing as licensed consultants who promise immigration to innocent interested candidates wishing to move to Canada.
They boast special connections with the government and promise guaranteed entry to Canada.
The best way to check one’s identity is through their ICCRC number. Simply visit the website and put their name and details to check whether they are an authorized consultant on not.
Another thing to keep in mind is that, if you hired a person for immigration services, you also need to sign a Use of a Representative Form (IMM5476). This person shouldn’t declare they are a friend or family member when they are not.