Thank you, Dory.
I'm CAPIC's education manager, but I'm also a licensed immigration and citizenship consultant with more than 25 years in the profession.
We also wish to acknowledge the plight of those impacted by fraud and the incredible stress and anxiety it causes.
I will add further to Dory's comments.
CAPIC acknowledges that the minister's announcement on June 14 is an appropriate approach to protect victims of fraud and meanwhile hold those who are complicit accountable. Misrepresentation is a serious matter according to paragraph 40(1)(a) of IRPA.
Coming to Canada to study is a tremendous undertaking and requires serious consideration and preparation. It is incumbent on future students, and indeed all applicants, to do their own due diligence in understanding the obligations, requirements and pathways. Not every single student will have a pathway for permanent residence. In fact, a permanent resident pathway is a privilege, not a right, and one that must be earned legally.
CAPIC's recommendations for addressing the issue of exploitation of international students are the following.
Currently, after the initial study permit is issued, post-secondary students in Canada can change their program or education institution easily by only inputting information in their immigration account. We recommend tightening up the requirements for transferring to new schools or designated learning institutions, DLIs, by requiring confirmation from the existing and new DLI of the student's change of information. If such actions are required, fraud can be detected much earlier.
While victims of fraud should not be penalized, the integrity of the Canadian immigration system should be maintained. We recommend modifying all immigration application forms to add the question: Have you been assisted by any third party with this application? This will reinforce the consequence of misrepresentation. This is an amendment beyond the Use of a Representative form. Such a question should be standard on all types of immigration applications.