Immigration Law

Q: What is immigration fraud?

A: It’s a serious crime to lie, or to send false or misleading information or documents to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and/or Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), no matter by yourself or through an immigration agent. This is fraud.

Each year, many people are excluded from entering or staying in Canada for participating in such immigration fraud.

If you involve in immigration fraud, the immigration authority may:

• forbid you from entering Canada for at least 5 years;

• refuse your immigration application for permanent residence, work, study, or stay in Canada;

• give you a permanent record of fraud with Canadian immigration authorities;

• take away your status as a permanent resident or Canadian citizen;

• have you charged with a crime; or

• remove you from Canada.

As an applicant, you are responsible for all the information in your application, even if your representative/immigration agent completes it for you, with or without your acknowledgment.

Be beware of immigration agents who advise you to lie on your application or has a history of instructing other people to provide false information. His/her behaviors may cause you involved in an immigration fraud which would put you at risk of not only losing the money you have paid to the crooked agent but also losing your status or being banned from entering Canada. 

Q: How much are your fees?

A: Not every case is the same, the legal fees take into account your immigration goal and the complexity of the case in a cost-effective manner. Remember, our goal is to make the process simple and affordable!

Q: What’s the difference between an immigration lawyer and an immigration consultant?

A: Immigration lawyers are also able to attend immigration interviews with you and can advocate for your application in a Canadian court of law in the rare case that your application is brought under judicial review.

While immigration consultants are legally able to represent you, only lawyers are allowed to advocate on your behalf in federal court, in the event that it is required.

Q: If I provide false documents or information, what should I do? If I didn’t do anything, what will happen?

A: DON’T DO IT!! Because if you lie on an application or in an interview with an Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) officer, this is. Providing false or altered information on any type of immigration application – known as misrepresentation – is immigration document fraud.

If you send false documents or information, IRCC will refuse your application and may also:

• forbid you from entering Canada for at least 5 years;

• give you a permanent record of fraud with IRCC;

• take away your status as a permanent resident or Canadian citizen;

• have you been charged with a crime (which can result in imprisonment and/or fines); or

• remove you from Canada.

Q: If I got refused my immigration/visa application, should I just reapply?

A: A detailed review of the initial application is necessary before you do anything else. You might need advice from a professional representative before making any decisions about your application. There is no mandatory waiting period for re-application – unless otherwise noted, you may apply again for a visa at any time after your first rejection. However, sending the same application a second time without additional information is likely to result in rejection for the same reasons as the first.

Q: What happens if I got a criminal charge and my status is PR, or study or work permit?

A: If you are charged with a crime in Canada, you have a right to a trial in criminal court. At the trial, a lawyer for the government will try to prove that you are guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. If they cannot prove this, then the court will find you not guilty.

Be sure you know what kind of immigration status you have here. If a permanent resident is charged with a crime, the police will report this fact to the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). From this point forward, the CBSA will investigate the severity of the crime and determine what effect it will have on the individual’s immigration status. It may lead immigration authorities to take steps to get a "removal order" against you. This is an order to remove you from Canada to another country. Be sure that you find a lawyer or law firm providing services in both Criminal and Immigration law.

​