Canadian Immigration

Immigration officials admit failure to stop residency fraud

OTTAWA - Canadian immigration officials admit their refusal rate for Canadian residency applications at the embassy in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates "should have been higher."
That's the conclusion of a 2010 quality assessment report unearthed by an Access to Information request provided to QMI Agency.
The embassy in Abu Dhabi handles visa applications from the Emirates as well as other Gulf countries, such as Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
Officials say foreign nationals working in Gulf countries have been able to obtain Canadian residency using fraudulent sponsors who "go to great lengths to try and convince visa officers that they are residing in Canada when in fact they are not."
The report notes the motive is money because highly skilled workers, such as engineers and nurses from Canada and other western countries, get double the salary of other foreign nationals doing the same work.
"An Indian national working in Kuwait will receive a significant salary increase if he acquires a British passport," noted the report.
Immigration lawyer Richard Kurland sees another problem.
"If there's instability in that Middle East country Canada historically will pay to bring to safety Canadian residents - permanent residents," said Kurland. "So, it's a cheap insurance policy paid for by the people of Canada for non-residents."
Kurland says the consequences aren't tough enough for fraudsters.
"The only sanction practically is non-renewal of their plastic (residency) card," he said.
In an e-mail statement, immigration officials noted the government is cracking down on citizenship fraud.
Immigration Minister Jason Kenney refused comment.