CIMM - Fraud - December 4, 2025

Key Messages

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has a multi-layered approach to prevent, detect and address fraud in immigration applications.
This approach targets fraud in individual applications as well as coordinated fraud schemes to prevent systemic abuse within immigration and citizenship programs, and hold bad actors accountable.
IRCC actively targets organized and coordinated fraud schemes through its administrative investigations and undertakes fraud disruption techniques in collaboration with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), who is responsible for pursuing enforcement action related to foreign nationals in Canada.

Canada maintains a zero-tolerance approach to fraud and organized crime. Under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, individuals convicted of serious crimes are inadmissible and may lose their immigration status, with the CBSA empowered to enforce removal orders.
IRCC collaborates with the CBSA, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), and international partners to detect and disrupt organized crime while raising public awareness to encourage reporting of suspicious activity.
IRCC has been monitoring recent fraud concerns related to recent media coverage in Quebec. IRCC takes a firm stance against abuses of our programs. When information is uncovered, it is shared with our partners, such as CBSA and RCMP, to take enforcement action. We are also able to flag cases to our processing offices to prevent further abuse and disrupt the activities of these criminals.
Permanent and temporary residents who are convicted of criminal offenses may be inadmissible to Canada and subject to removal. Business owners participating in illegal activity may also be charged with criminal offences.

The government established the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants in 2021 to regulate immigration and citizenship consultants and protect the public from fraud.
The College is an important part of the government’s efforts to fight fraud in Canada’s immigration system. IRCC maintains oversight to ensure the College fulfills its mandate to protect the public and strengthen the integrity of the immigration and citizenship consultants’ industry.
New regulations are being introduced to strengthen how the College operates. These include:
- Clear rules for how the College handles complaints, investigations, and its public register;
- Guidelines for managing a compensation fund for victims of unethical consultants; and
- Clarifying the Minister’s authority to step in if the College’s board fails to meet its obligations.
These draft regulations were published in December 2024 for public feedback. They are expected to come into force in spring 2026.

The Government of Canada is introducing a new system called the Administrative Penalties and Consequences Regime. This system is being added to immigration and citizenship system to help protect people from fraud and unauthorized advice.
The new regime allows IRCC to issue monetary penalties to people who give immigration or citizenship advice or representation without proper authorization, or who encourage others to lie or misrepresent information. In addition to monetary penalties, IRCC will be able to publish the names of those who break these rules.
IRCC will also be able to inspect records and request documents from anyone offering paid services—whether authorized professionals or unauthorized individuals, in Canada or abroad.
Penalties are issued per application, meaning repeat violations can lead to multiple fines. Individuals can request a review of any penalty by an independent reviewer.
Fines range from:
- $5,000 per case of unauthorized practice;
- $15,000 per case of encouraging misrepresentation;
- up to $1.5M in total penalties.
The proposed changes were published in the Canada Gazette on December 21, 2024, with a 45-day public consultation with the final rules expected to come into effect later in 2025 or early 2026.

2026-04-02