Signs of a fake Canada consultancy

Canada is one of the most heavily targeted corridors for immigration fraud in Kerala. These are the signs that a consultancy is not what it claims to be.

“Guaranteed” PR or visa

No agent can guarantee Canadian permanent residency or a visa. Decisions are made only by IRCC (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada) through points-based and documentary assessment. A consultancy that promises PR “within 6 months, guaranteed, or money back” is describing something it cannot deliver. The money-back promise is usually worthless — by the time you claim it, the office has moved or the contract has fine print excluding you.

The consultant is not licensed to represent you

Only three kinds of people can lawfully charge you to represent you in a Canadian immigration application:

• A RCIC (Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant) licensed by the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants — check the public register at college-ic.ca,
• A Canadian lawyer or paralegal in good standing with a provincial law society,
• A Quebec notary, for Quebec applications.

Ask for the consultant’s RCIC number and check it on the register yourself. An Indian office may lawfully work with a licensed person abroad — ask exactly who will sign your application as representative, and verify that person.

Job offers that appear out of nowhere

A genuine Canadian job offer that supports a work permit usually requires the employer to obtain an LMIA (Labour Market Impact Assessment). Fraudsters sell fake LMIA letters and fake offer letters from real companies. Contact the employer through the contact details on its official website — not the details printed on the letter — and ask them to confirm the offer.

Other strong warning signs

• Payment demanded before any written retainer agreement.
• Fees to a personal account, or split into “official” and “unofficial” parts.
• “IELTS waiver” or “no language test needed” study routes — no genuine route works this way for most applicants.
• The consultancy files your application with your own IRCC account credentials but refuses to show you what was submitted — or never files anything at all. You can check your own IRCC account at any time; do it.

If you have already paid a consultancy showing these signs, read what to do if you’ve already paid and consider reporting it.