Dozens of students who could be kicked out of Canada say they were duped by immigration agents in India
CBC
For Karanveer Singh, the pieces of his Canadian dream started to fit together one by one.
In 2019, the 24-year-old from Pilibhit, Uttar Pradesh, India, received a letter of acceptance for the business administration program at Loyalist College, a public college in Belleville, Ont. That letter was then used to obtain a student visa and his entry into Canada.
Singh's dream? To build a better life for himself while sending money back home to support his physically disabled father, who sold his farmland and spent his life savings to pay $25,000 for his son's education.
Now that dream has come crashing back to earth. Singh is one of the dozens of international students from India who could soon be sent back there, accused of using forged documents to get into Canada.
Singh said he didn't do anything wrong and was unaware that his immigration agent in India used those papers for his student visa application.
"I didn't know that a fake document was used in my student visa application," Singh told The Fifth Estate in an interview. "It wasn't until after I received that notice from the [Canada Border Services Agency] that I found the letter was fraudulent."
Singh, who is now living in Windsor, Ont., said his problems began the moment he arrived in Canada four years ago.
He said his immigration agent in India, whom he paid to handle his student application, called him and said he had to switch from Loyalist to another college, or he wouldn't be eligible for a post-graduation work permit.
His agent has reportedly defrauded other clients in India. The Fifth Estate couldn't reach the agent that Singh said he hasn't been able to contact since 2021. Singh said his family also filed a lawsuit against the agent, to which he has not responded.
Singh said the agent enrolled him at Canada College, a private career college in Montreal. He completed his two-year business administration course and graduated in April 2021.
But after he applied for his post-graduation work permit, he received a letter from the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) that said he had used a fraudulent letter of acceptance from Loyalist College to obtain his student visa.
"I didn't do anything wrong," said Singh. "I was defrauded by my agent."
Singh's application for a work permit was denied and he faces a removal order from the CBSA.
He is not alone.
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