Fake visa consultants: Canada seeks India's help

Canadian Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney visited Delhi and Chandigarh recently to discuss the issue of crooked immigration consultants.

Crooked consultants have become a big concern for Canadian immigration officials, as they waste a lot of time in investigating visa applicants, resulting in delays for genuine applicants.

In June, Canada introduced a bill in the House of Commons to regulate activities of immigration consultants.

Once passed, the cracking down on Crooked Consultants Act, will make it a crime for a person who is not a lawyer, notary or member of a recognised association of immigration consultants to accept a fee for providing immigration advice.

While in New Delhi, the ministers suggested that India should take a similar legislative initiative.

Kenney, who went on his first visit to India as immigration minister in January last year, had told India Abroad that he was horrified to see big signs and bill boards in Chandigarh promising all kinds of visas to Canada.

He had also seen several fake documents.

He had asked the Indian and Punjab government officials to control the growing crop of crooked immigration consultants. After his visit, there have been a number of arrests and convictions in Punjab, and Canada's acceptance rate for people seeking visitors' visas from there is reportedly up to 48 percent as against 32 percent earlier.

Kenney had also discussed the issue with Manmohan Singh in June, when the Indian prime minister was in Toronto for the G20 Summit. He had revealed that Singh 'encouraged more dialogue' between Indian and Canadian officials.       

After India, Kenney was to travel Beijing, Hong King and Manila, the other major sources for immigration to Canada.