Government of Canada cracking down on immigration fraud

With the winds of war blowing in the Middle East and other trouble spots it's hard to blame the well-to-do of the world for coveting Canadian passports as an insurance policy, but the government says you will either do it legally or lose it. That's what a couple from Turkey found out the hard way when they tried to sneak back into Canada where they were supposed to be living as permanent residents.

Reha and Ecehan Ozcelik were arrested at Trudeau International Airport when it turned out under questioning that they knew just about nothing about Montreal, their adopted home town in Canada.

Permanent residents must live 2 of 5 years in Canada to maintain their status and make a statutory declaration to that effect when applying for citizenship, which is still a very low threshold compared to other countries that accept immigrants.

Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) charged the Ozceliks with making false representations, to which they pled guilty. A Quebec court convicted the couple, who might have preferred jail instead, and imposed an unusually steep fine of $120,000. Now six-figure poorer but certainly wiser they will have to return to their native Turkey unless they can find a legal way to keep their immigration status.

With Turkey looking more and more like the Islamic Republic of Iran every passing day, many affluent Turks are looking to Canada and the United States to guarantee their children's future in a secular country.

The incident was recently announced by Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, who reiterated government's determination to crack down on immigration and citizenship fraud. Kenney congratulated CBSA for their vigilance and said that those who obtain Canadian citizenship under false pretenses will lose it.

Some 3100 naturalised citizens are slated to lose citizenship for making false residency representations. Revoking citizenship is an extreme measure that requires cabinet approval. It was rarely applied prior to 2010, mostly to those accused of war crimes.

Investigations are specially targeting immigrants from the Middle East

SOURCE





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