Unfortunately, immigration fraud still exists today (and seem to be growing). While the IRCC website provides information on program eligibilities, the public may find it challenging to comprehend as there are too much information to process. Some also reported that they do not know where to start, or how to navigate the website.
The lack of understanding of the immigration programs give "ghost consultants" a loophole to scam people who wants to apply for a Canadian visa or permit. Usually, it begins with false promise or false advertisement, with bold statements such as "no payment until visa approval." The public must understand that, the representative - be it lawyer, paralegal, notary or consultant - does not have the power to decide the application. It is the IRCC who decides whether the application should be approved or refused. Your authorized representative's role is to present your case to IRCC, convincing them your application should be approved. With this in mind, then, who is the authorized representative to guarantee a positive outcome of a visa application?
Many unauthorized representatives provide a fraudulent job offer letter to the applicant, who then believed that the job offer was genuine and paid thousands of dollars, only to later find out, the letter and offer are not real and of course, their work permit application was refused.
Many international students are victims of scam and fraud. This usually happens when an international student hire an agent or agency to help them get admission into a Canadian college or university. Scammers take advantage of the student's desire to come to Canada for further studies and produce fraudulent Letter of Acceptance from Canadian college or university. The student then proceeds to paying the scammer thousands of dollars for the admission, and couple more thousands for study permit application.
Some scammers have impersonated the High Commissioner of Canada, sending out approval letters to applicants. Because the letters bear the logo of the High Commissioner of Canada, the applicants then falsely believe that their visa application was actually approved. Scammers demand thousands of dollars in exchange for the release of passport request letter.
It has been brought to our attention that some scammers created IRCC-like website with application progress and tracking, payment and other advanced features available, making the public falsely believe that, that was indeed the official website.
Most applications are completed and submitted online. Below are list of common IRCC-related official websites:
The Canadian Government Official Website: https://www.canada.ca/en.html
Immigration and Citizenship Official Website: https://www.canada.ca/en/services/immigration-citizenship.html
IRCC GCKey Login: https://clegc-gckey.gc.ca/
IRCC GCKey Registration: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/application/register.html
IRCC Payment for Temporary Residence (visitor visa, study permit, work permit, biometrics, TRP): https://eservices.cic.gc.ca/epay/order.do?category=17
NEW IRCC TRV Portal: https://portal-portail.apps.cic.gc.ca/signin?lang=en
Note that, you do not need to make a payment online to be able to track or see the progress of your application. You simply log in to your GCKey account or portal and you will be able to see the status of your application.