Our Canadian dream hit the rockies after €5,000 visa scam
Be prepared: make sure you know all the necessary visa requirements. Picture posed - Getty Images
Paul* lost his job at the beginning of this year. Together with his wife Mary* they decided that Paul would emigrate to Canada and that Mary and their four children would follow him out once he was settled.
That plan is now on hold because this family has lost €5,000 to an immigration scam.
Mary saw an advert in an Irish newspaper for a UK-based company offering immigration services.
After paying an initial fee by credit card, Mary was told that they would pass Canada's immigration rules and that it would take six to nine months for Paul's employers visa to be granted. She then transferred the remaining fee of €4,885 to a Swiss bank account.
One week later, the website and telephone number for the company no longer worked.
However, soon a company with a different name but with the same contact details and personnel appeared and claimed they had taken over the clients of the first company. Since then, there have been two further company name changes, but the people and details always remain the same.
They signed up with this company in February, but no application for residency has yet been lodged in Paul's name and no job offers have been forthcoming. Fed up, Mary asked for a refund but the company says it is nothing to do with them.
"Last week," says Mary, "I lodged a 30-page document outlining the whole story with the Gardaí. They say this has all the hallmarks of a fraud."
This sort of scam is more common than you might think. So much so that a prominent warning is displayed on the Canadian government's website and they have launched a media campaign to explain how Canada's immigration system works.
"It is difficult to say where the most fraud occurs," says Kelli Fraser, media spokesperson for the Canadian Department of Citizenship and Immigration. "Immigration fraud happens around the world and Canada is far from the only country challenged by it."
If you are defrauded by an immigration consultant or labour recruiter, Fraser advises that "you should file a complaint with the local police or labour authorities and advise the Canadian Embassy".
Irish residents seeking a visa to Canada have to go through the High Commission in London. They advise "you do not need to hire an immigration representative to apply for a visa or for Canadian citizenship. Furthermore, Canadian visa offices will never ask you to deposit money into an individual's personal bank account or to transfer money through a specific private money transfer company".
If you do want assistance with an application, there are legitimate agencies that can help.
Edwina Shanahan is marketing manager at Visafirst.com in Kilkenny and says that using an agent can help people with the difficult task of form filling in addition to assessing skills, lodging the application and all the follow-up that is required.
"The first step is to decide what type of visa the individual may be eligible for," explains Edwina, "such as a business visa, a work permit, employers visa or residency.
"Then a skills assessment must take place and this is important as you don't want to have waited a year after applying only to discover you don't have the correct certificate, for example.
"Following this, we may deal with queries about education and work references, and when a visa is received we will register the person with a skill matching database and engage in any follow-up required."
Not surprisingly, Visa- First.com say they have seen a big increase in the number coming to them this year for assistance with emigration to Australia and Canada.
One of these people is David*, a carpenter who had already thought he had found an agent to help him out in his move to Australia. He paid an initial €700 to a company with a UK office, followed by a further €1,300.
The company did get his skills certified but then sent him a bill for an extra €4,500 for further work to be carried out, even though they had initially told him the total cost would be €4,000.
David contacted them and said this wasn't what was agreed and told them he wasn't paying the bill. Then the threatening demand letters started coming as well as monthly telephone calls looking for payment.
"At the start I did ask the company for references and they supplied me with their own reports citing excellent records and service. They were only telling me what I wanted to hear.
"I now know I haven't a hope of getting my money back," says David, "but I just want to have nothing to do with them."
* These names have been changed
- Tina Leonard
Irish Independent
