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Pan Africa

Visa Fraud Increasing in Canada: Fake Consultants Exploit Visa Seekers

July 9, 2025

(3 Minutes Read)

Visa scams have skyrocketed in Canada in recent years. In the first six months of 2024, Canada refused over 52,000 temporary residence applications due to misrepresentation, which includes suspicions of fraud, according to a report by the Canadian Immigration Lawyers Association (CILA)

Visa scams are on the rise in many developed countries, as tougher immigration rules lead vulnerable migrants to seek advice from fraudulent visa advisors. Visa scams have skyrocketed in Canada in recent years. In the first six months of 2024, Canada refused over 52,000 temporary residence applications due to misrepresentation, which includes suspicions of fraud, according to a report by the Canadian Immigration Lawyers Association (CILA). This compares with just 46,000 applications refused in all of 2023.

The growing number of frauds is making an impact in Africa as well: a government visa scheme to recruit Francophone workers to Canada has become the latest target of so-called ‘ghost consultants’.

Canada first launched the Francophone Mobility Scheme in 2019, intending to ensure the survival of the country’s minority language by increasing the number of French-speaking immigrants.

Following the program’s expansion in 2023, officials anticipate that nearly 80,000 French-speaking residents from Africa will migrate to Canada by 2027, according to data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).

Criminals are taking advantage of the new gateway. With the promise of guaranteed visas in record time, scammers lure victims in with online ads under the pretence of being specialised immigration consultants. Some victims report being charged upwards of USD 15,000 before the perpetrator disappeared into thin air, according to RFI.