In March, more than 700 Indian students were told to leave Canada after the authorities found that their admission offer letters to educational institutions were fake.
In March, more than 700 Indian students were told to leave Canada after the authorities found that their admission offer letters to educational institutions were fake.
A travel agent accused of forging student visa documents of international students facing deportation from Canada has been arrested.
Rahul Bhargava was arrested while two of his partners Brijesh Mishra and Gurnam Singh are still on the run, according to a report from the CBC’s The Fifth Estate. They are all facing multiple charges under India’s criminal, penal, and administrative codes.
In March, more than 700 Indian students were told to leave Canada after the authorities found that their admission offer letters to educational institutions were fake.
Students with fake visa letters were issued deportation notices when they submitted their representations to the immigration department to become eligible for permanent resident status. This was revealed when they completed their two-year diploma courses and got work permits.
Aside from the fake admission letters Baldev Raj from Nakodar, Jalandhar, one of the parents said agent Mishra also charged him $14,000, which was supposed to cover his daughter’s two semesters of tuition at Sheridan College.
Raj’s daughter was not registered at Sheridan College in Brampton and when he inquired, he found out that Mishra had never made any payments to the college and had kept the entire amount. He had waited two weeks for his daughter to arrive, and when they tried to contact him, he never returned their calls.
“Mishra defrauded me and my daughter. Not only did he rip us off, but the future of my daughter is in the dark because of him,” he said.
His daughter is now facing a removal order from the Canada Border Services Agency due to the fake letter of acceptance in her initial student visa application.
Karanveer Singh, a 24-year-old Indian student from Pilibhit, is also among those accused of using forged documents to get into Canada.
“I didn’t know that a fake document was used in my student visa application. It wasn’t until after I received that notice from the CBSA that I found the letter was fraudulent,” Singh told The Fifth Estate. Singh’s application for a work permit was denied and he now faces a removal order from the CBSA.
