Canada seeing a surge in illegal immigration agents

February 04 2010 by Liam Clifford

Shark pictured eating a seal in ad to warn people of the dangers of ghost agents.

Canada is seeing a rise in popularity of unauthorized immigration consultants following the earthquake in Haiti.

The agents which go by the tag line of ‘ghost agents’ have attracted the attention of the Canadian Society of Immigration Consultants or CSIC, they are calling on the Canadian government to crack down on the illegal practice.

A spokesperson from CSIC said;

"Immigrants come to Canada because we have a reputation for protecting the vulnerable, and yet many immigrants arrive here only to be exploited by a ghost agent."

The ‘ghost agents’ are said to be exploiting desperate people that have arrived in Canada, desperate to stay and be approved for a visa from Canada immigration, some of the agents have been reported as charging from $5,000 to $15,000

It is estimated that there are over 3,000 people acting as immigration agents at the moment in the Canadian province of Quebec, this although there are only 150 registered consultants in the area.

It is reported that the immigration advice is sometimes mis-leading and there are suggestions that some of the would-be immigrants have been advised to lie on their applications to secure a Canada visa. A poster-ad campaign has been launched by the CSIC; the campaign features a hotline number and aims to make people aware of the problem.

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