IMMIGARATION CONSULTANTS: The good, the bad and the ugly

Recently, a Canada based immigration consultant was arrested in Halifax and as a result 1100 cases filed by the consultant are under investigation for obtaining Citizenship and maintaining permanent residency without physically residing in Canada. The Canadian Government has indicated that if proven, citizenships and permanent residencies will be revoked. 

A Vancouver Sun article reports, “a statement from Immigration minister Jason Kenney said the charges follow “an investigation into whether the consultant fraudulently helped individuals create the appearance they were residing in Canada in order to keep their permanent resident status, and ultimately attempt to acquire citizenship. “Kenney said that “where evidence permits, we will seek revocation of Canadian citizenship and deportation. Canadians value their citizenship. Its is not something to be bought and sold with the help of crooked consultant. “(Vancouver Sun – March 2 2011)” 

Why do people use immigration consultants? There are many reasons to use an immigration consultant. Families do not want to take risks with such an important life decision. Business immigration cases require the use of a professional consultant as such cases involve complex analysis of the financial standing and business experience of the applicant. Even in the case of skilled workers, applications are extremely detail oriented and time consuming. Given the current procedures in place that require the submission complete documentation with the initial applicants run the risk of having their applications returned because of one min or missing document. As a consequence applicants face delays, and delays could very well mean that they become ineligible because the quota for the category they are eligible for is fulfilled during the delay. The most compelling reason to use a consultant continues to be the fact that applicants are looking for peace of mind, a level of professionalism and knowledgeable advice in this important life changing decision. 

How should you choose an immigration consultant, what are the three most important question to ask? (1) Aar you authorized to give Immigration advice? Be sure to pick a consultant who is either a Canadian Society of Immigration consultants (CSIC) member or member of the Canadian Bar Association. Try to select a consulting firm whose CSIC member resides in Pakistan, as these consultants understand the local education system, job market and business documents. (2) Are you a Canadian citizen? Only Canadian Citizens and Permanent Residents are allowed to be authorized CSIC advisors. (3) Have you experienced life in Canada? It is probably best to use consultants who were professionals before they entered the business of immigration consulting. Lawyers, Finance Professionals, Accountants and Management Consultants who are duly authorized by the government of Canada to provide immigration advice are probably your best bet. 

In Pakistan every type of consultant exists, the good, bad and the ugly. Good consultants tend to be Canadian Citizens duly Authorized by the government to provide immigration advice and tend to have practiced extensively in professional field prior to making a career in immigration consulting. Good consultants will give you honest and genuine advice based on their experience. They have good knowledge of immigration case law, can quickly research any grey areas and provide you straightforward and upfront advice. Good consultants will not negotiate on professional fees unless the client gives them a compelling business reason to do so. Perhaps the most distinguishing element of a good consultant is that they will never offer you a guarantee. A professional cannot guarantee anything that is not under their control. Decision making power on applications rests solely with the Canadian immigration authorities. Thus, a good consultant constructs a case with the constraints of the law and based on his/her experience. 

Bad consultants may be Canadian Citizens, they may even be authorized to provide immigration advice, however, they are generally not experienced, may make guarantees of approval or processing time frames and while operating under the supervision of an overseas authorized consultant/lawyer, often they are not authorized themselves. In Pakistan there are many consultants who promise clients, quick processing time frames. However, as a smart client you should research the market and if you notice that a consultant’s promised processing times are outside the average range advised by local and international consultants, then you are probably better off staying away from those consultants. A Good way to check processing times is to visit the Canadian government’s immigration website on which estimated processing times are displayed (albeit the information is not updated as regularly as it should be). It is understandable that an applicant retains a consultant that represents a highly reputed Canadian law firm; as the law firm’s reputation is at stake it will try to establish some metrics and controls to ensure that the consultant is operating within the constraints of the law. However, there are consultants in the Pakistani market who operate under the supervision of their relatives CSIC membership. This writer cannot fathom what kind of supervision and immigration advice a housewife busy raising her children in Mississauga provides to her local representative. At times, important aspects of the client’s case must slip between the cracks. Many such consultants will be able to process run of the mill and straightforward immigration cases, however in the 20 or 30 percent of cased that require serious analysis and application of the law, the consequences to the client can be quite serious. 

Finally, the consultant that makes politicians blush with his/her false promises, the one who makes the Chinese look like amateurs with his/her ability to create documents out of thin air, the ghost consultant that the ghost busters could not bust-the ‘ugly’ side of the profession of immigration consultant. These consultants help or advise clients to create counterfeit documents, are generally not experienced, help clients circumvent citizenship and immigration laws and most of all are generally not authorized by the government of Canada to provide immigration advice. Some claim to be authorized, but they are not. There is a consultant in Islamabad who advertises his/her HR professional designation as a substitute for a duly authorized CSIC designation. This consultant is not a recognized immigration advisor under Canadian law, some term what he/she is doing as illegal. Stay away from such consultants. They tend to have must lower professional fees (if we can even call these fess ‘professional’ ) than most of the legitimate consultants operating in the market and will often accept cases when very consultant has turned you down. Some of these consultants go as far as telling housewives that they can immigrate to Canada as ‘chefs’ or ‘cooks’. Immigration regulations state that ‘chefs’ or ‘Cooks’ must be professionally trained by an authorized culinary school to qualify for immigration. Many of these consultants provide clients with advice that if followed could expose the client to criminal prosecution in Canada. Document forgery and misrepresentation are serious offenses that are punishable by both jail time and heavy fines. 

The ‘ugly’ consultant (or “crooked” as the government of Canada terms them) often tells his/her client that on can get Canadian citizenship without actually physically residing in Canada. Current law requires that an applicant be physically present in Canada for 730 days to maintain permanent residency. To be eligible for citizenship, an applicant is required to reside for 1095 days (3 years) out of 1460 days (4 years) in Canada. In citizenship law, currently the word ‘physical’ is not explicitly noted, however, it is quite clear from the permanent residency law that ‘physical’ presence in required in the case of citizenship for tat least 730 days. Citizenship law Is not clear on the concept of ‘physical’ presence for the remaining 365 days out of the total 1095 days of residence required to obtain citizenship. Canadian Immigration minister Jason Kenny is on a quest to make citizenship a black and white legal concept by removing even this minor ambiguity. A recent Vancouver Sun article reports, ‘the immigration minister took the opportunity to promote some of his recent efforts, including the Strengthening the Value of Canadian Citizenship Act, introduced last year. Kenney said, if passed, this bill world ‘amend the citizenship Act by increasing the penalties for fraud and strengthening citizenship residence requirement to specify in law that people applying for citizenship would have to be physically present in Canada for three of the previous four years. “Current immigration law allows judges discretion in granting citizenship to those who have not physically resided in Canada for all 1095 days of he requisite period. However, this exemption is only possible for those individuals representing the Canadian government overseas, or if they are on placed on an overseas assignment by a major Canadian corporation. Even in such cases, discretionary power rests with the Citizenship judge. for 99% of all immigrants there is practically no way to obtain citizenship without 1095 days (3 years out of 4 years) of physical residence. 

Those who obtain citizenship by maintaining active bank accounts, utility bills and rental agreements while ‘physically’ residing outside Canada are circumventing the law and misrepresenting themselves before he Canadian citizenship authorities. This is a crime under Canadian law. If you cannot reside for 3 years out of 4 years in Canada, them it is probably better to explore alternative residency options. There are provider in the market offering legitimate alternative residency options that do not require physical residency. Note, however, that these options are generally only available to high net worth individuals who are able to invest US$350,000 to EUR 500,000. 

Stay away from consultants who offer to provide advice along these lines. As noted at the beginning of this article, the Canadian government is actively investigating the citizenship and immigration applications of those who are suspected of misrepresentation. The have clearly indicated that if there is evidence of misrepresentation or fraud, permanent residencies and citizenships will be revoked. Applications for permanent residency and citizenship, particularly those from high-rish Countries such as Pakistan, highly scrutinized by the Canadian government. In fact, the Canadian government has a specialized anti-fraud unit in Islamabad that looking closely at applications. 

Do not jeopardize your future and that of your children by the taking the ‘easy road’ offered by “crooked” consultants. As our elders often say, “nothing in life and if it looks “too good to be frue it probably is.” Only retain the services of those that are authorized to provide this service and have an established track record in the Pakistani market.