Nova Scotia Clamps Down On Immigration Fraud With Tough New Policy

The Atlantic Canadian province of Nova Scotia is hoping to cut down on immigration fraud with a new policy to protect the integrity of its programs.

“Fraudulent and dishonest conduct within immigration programs can dilute or hamper the efforts of government and employers to attract immigration candidates who meet the actual needs of the Nova Scotia labour market,” notes the Program Integrity Policy.

“This policy provides Immigration and Population Growth Branch (IPG) with a tool to: reduce the incidence of fraudulent or dishonest conduct; allow the branch to enforce participant compliance with program requirements; ensure program integrity is maintained with a high degree of accountability and consistency, and; aid in the protection of newcomers by reducing and responding to incidents of fraud.”

Nova Scotia immigration officials are hoping this new policy, which was approved in August, will help by clearly spelling out the roles and responsibilities of everyone involved in the immigration process in that province and explicitly state what constitutes unacceptable behaviour.

The new policy also spells out what the consequences will be for those who engage in that unacceptable behaviour, including:

• a letter of warning issued to the party;
• specific limits placed on future applications from that party;
• prohibition from participating in any IPG immigration programs for a period of up to five years or;
• for Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP) employers, a 60-day probationary period while a decision about suspected misrepresentation is being rendered.

“An investigation will typically take between one to six months to complete and a compliance review may take between two days up to 30 days to complete,” notes the policy.

Since immigration fraud is a criminal offence in Canada and can result in charges and prosecution by federal, provincial, or municipal law enforcement officials, Nova Scotia immigration officials will share any findings of fraud or misrepresentation with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), Royal Canadian Mounted Policy (RCMP), Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants (CICC), and other provincial and territorial immigration programs.

Canada operates a two-tier immigration system which allows foreign nationals to gain their permanent residency through the federal Express Entry system’s Federal Skilled Worker (FSW), Federal Skilled Trades (FST), and Canadian Experience Class (CEC) programs and as well as the Provincial Nominee Programs (PNP) of the 10 Canadian provinces.

The latest IRCC data reveals Nova Scotia welcomed 11,800 new permanent residents, 15,555 temporary foreign workers under the International Mobility Program (IMP) and another 4,155 through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP). The province also issued 16,035 study permits to international students last year.

Nova Scotia’s PNP Offers Nine Immigration Streams

The Nova Scotia Nominee Program (NSNP) targets prospective immigrants who have the skills and experience to boost the province’s economy and tackle demographic challenges.

Candidates who meet the criteria of one of nine different streams can be nominated for Nova Scotia immigration, with a target processing time of three months.

The nine streams are:

1. Nova Scotia Experience: Express Entry
2. Nova Scotia Labour Market Priorities: Express Entry
3. Nova Scotia Labour Market Priorities For Physicians: Express Entry
4. Skilled Worker
5. Physician
6. Occupations In Demand
7. International Graduates In Demand
8. Entrepreneur
9. International Graduate Entrepreneur

Nova Scotia also welcomes immigrants through the joint federal-provincial Atlantic Immigration Program.

Furthermore, the province operates ‘Study and Stay’, a program specifically aimed at helping international students from China, India and the Philippines stay and build careers in the region after they graduate.