Canada study route — red flags before you pay a consultancy

Study-in-Canada fraud rose sharply as rules tightened — fewer genuine seats make “guaranteed admission” pitches more tempting and more false. Check these before paying any consultancy.

1. Confirm the institution is a DLI — and the admission is real

Only a Designated Learning Institution (DLI) can host international students; the DLI list is public on the IRCC website, with each institution’s DLI number. Then verify the admission letter with the institution itself, using contact details from its own website (never those printed on the letter). Ask them to confirm the letter’s reference number, your name, and your passport number. Forged letters of acceptance from real Canadian colleges triggered mass visa cancellations in recent years — the students paid the price, not the agents.

2. Be suspicious of “no IELTS” and “guaranteed visa” claims

Genuine study routes require proof of language ability for most applicants (IELTS/PTE/TOEFL or equivalent). Study permits are decided by IRCC, which also assesses whether you are a genuine student. Nobody can guarantee approval, and paying more does not change the decision. “Backdoor” or “management quota” admission does not exist in Canada.

3. Know where each payment goes

• Tuition deposit: paid to the college/university’s own account, shown on its official invoice — never to the consultancy “for forwarding”.
• GIC (Guaranteed Investment Certificate): opened in your name with a participating Canadian bank; the money remains yours. An agent asking you to route GIC money through the agency is stealing it.
• Government fees: paid to IRCC, usually online in your own application.
• Consultancy fee: whatever you agree in a written contract — for representation, only a licensed RCIC or lawyer may lawfully charge (see signs of a fake Canada consultancy).

4. Keep control of your own application

Insist on your own IRCC account, or at minimum a full copy of everything filed in your name. Consultancies that hide the application, file with invented finances, or “improve” your documents put you at risk of a five-year misrepresentation ban. If a refusal letter arrives, read it yourself — some fraudulent agents hide refusals and string clients along for further fees.

5. The withdrawal-refund trap

Some fake admissions are structured so you pay a large “tuition deposit” to the agent, the “college” refuses or defers you, and the refund never comes. Refund terms belong in the institution’s own offer letter — read them there, not in the agent’s promises.

Seen these tactics? Report the consultancy — reviewed reports are published to warn others.