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Canadian immigration fraud can be spotted by three kinds of warning sign: a promise nobody can make, money going into the wrong hands, and advice to hide the truth or lie. This guide sets out the signs Canada's immigration department names itself, how to check who may legally charge you for advice, and what to do if you have been targeted.
You live in India or elsewhere outside Canada, you want to work, study or settle there, and an agent, a recruiter or a message has offered to help, perhaps with a job or a guaranteed visa. It is also for the parent or relative who is being asked to send the money.
IRCC (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada) is the federal department that decides visa, permit and permanent residence applications. Permanent residence (PR) is the status of someone who "can live, work or study anywhere in Canada" (IRCC: understand permanent resident status).
IRCC has a page for people applying from India, also in Hindi, Punjabi and Gujarati, which warns that scammers "charge a lot of money for bad service or no service at all" (IRCC: applying from India). Our general guide to immigration scams covers New Zealand too.
A representative is someone who advises you, fills in or submits your application, or deals with the Government of Canada for you. You do not need one: "You don't need to hire a representative!", and using one "will not draw special attention to your application" (IRCC: learn about representatives). Every form and instruction is free on IRCC's website.
Unpaid help from family, friends or anyone else who charges no fee is allowed. But anyone you pay, in money or in any other way, counts as a paid representative and must be one of these:
In the CICC's words, giving Canadian immigration advice for a fee without such a licence is "an offence punishable by law" (CICC: find an immigration consultant). IRCC "won't deal with" an unauthorized paid representative and may return or refuse an application that used one (IRCC: learn about representatives). Nor can an agent speed things up: "Agents do not have special connections with Canadian visa officers" (IRCC: applying from India).
If you use a representative, paid or unpaid, your application must say so; IRCC warns that leaving that out could get it refused and bar you from applying for 5 years. It also advises asking a paid agent for a written contract and a signed receipt for every payment, and being present when they submit your application (IRCC: applying from India).
To rule out a fake agent, ask for the person's full name and licence or membership number before you pay anything, then look them up:
Our page on checking a Canadian immigration adviser walks through these registers step by step. A licence shows that a person may charge for advice; it does not make a promise true, so the warning signs below still apply.
These come from IRCC's pages on online and telephone scams and fraud targeting newcomers. Any one of them is reason to stop and check.
Before a Canadian company can hire a foreign worker, it usually needs a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA), a government document giving it permission once it has tried to hire in Canada (IRCC: who needs an LMIA; IRCC: applying from India). The company pays for it: "The government does not let the worker pay the cost", so beware of "companies, recruiters or agents who ask you to pay this fee". Our LMIA guide explains the document.
IRCC's page for applicants from India adds that it could be a scam if:
It also suggests checking that the job is on the company's own website. Not every route to Canada needs a job offer; our guide on whether you need a job offer explains which do.
Government application fees are the same for everyone (IRCC: applying from India). IRCC asks for its fees to be paid to the "Receiver General for Canada", meaning the Government of Canada, unless a visa office website says otherwise (IRCC: online and telephone scams). It takes payment online on its own website and emails you a receipt to include with your application (IRCC: pay your fees online).
Stop paying, and keep every message, receipt and document. Then report it the way IRCC sets out (IRCC: how to report scams, fraud or abuse):
IRCC says its goal "is to find and stop the people committing fraud, not punish the people who were misled".
HowToMoveTo is free, and it is not a representative. It gives general information and a free check of your answers against the rules Canada publishes; it does not apply for anyone, and it has no say in any decision.
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