Alberta: Taking action on immigration fraud

The Voice of Canada News:

Alberta’s government is strengthening and expanding fraud protections for the Alberta Advantage Immigration program to address rising immigration fraud.

Law enforcement, stakeholders, federal immigration authorities and provinces and territories are reporting an increase in immigration fraud volume and sophistication, which can negatively affect people hoping to make Alberta their home. 

The Alberta Advantage Immigration Program has existing anti-fraud mechanisms in place and the government is adding extra measures to protect newcomers. The expanded anti-fraud measures will include fraud detection, specialized investigation expertise, and strengthening job-offer eligibility and validation thresholds to increase protections for immigrants and better safeguard positive economic immigration outcomes.

In addition to these new measures, Alberta’s government will continue to work across ministries, and with other provinces and territories and the federal government to address immigration fraud.

“Economic immigration is critical to our province’s prosperity. By responding quickly to address increasing fraud sophistication and volume, we will continue to protect the interests of our communities, industries and employers and support the growth of Alberta’s economy. This also helps us ensure we are meeting the needs of the newcomers we are welcoming to Alberta.”-Muhammad Yaseen, Minister of Immigration and Multiculturalism

“The Alberta Advantage Immigration Program is showing incredible promise in our rural communities as an instrument for solving some of our labor shortages. It’s enabled our people to attract dozens of qualified workers to small towns, bringing their families with them. Municipal staff who work on the front lines of these programs have been inundated with thousands of inquiries and are risk-exposed to the inevitable attempts at fraud that unfortunately accompany them. We applaud the minister for taking proactive steps to address these issues so that our people can focus on getting newcomers paired with local jobs.”Jim Willett, chair, SouthGrow Regional Initiative

Alberta Advantage Immigration Program

The Alberta Advantage Immigration Program is an economic immigration program that strengthens and grows the economy by attracting talented, in-demand workers to fill labour gaps, as well as entrepreneurs who want to start or grow a business and create jobs. Operated in co-ordination with the federal government, the program enables Alberta’s government to address provincial labour market challenges and gaps by nominating in-demand individuals.

In 2023, Alberta had the highest employment rate among the provinces, and full-time employment accounted for more than 80 per cent of total employment in Alberta. Labour shortages still persist in several industries and the Alberta Advantage Immigration Program helps employers find the workers they need.

Quick facts

• Immigration fraud includes:
  • Charging fees for a job offer. If an employer or employment agency is charging a
    fee of any kind, Alberta’s government can help. Call our 310-0000 information line and
    ask for Employment Standards or the Temporary Foreign Worker Advisory Office.
  • False or misleading information on an AAIP application is considered an act of misrepresentation. Incorrect, misleading, or fraudulent information can result in a nominee’s application being declined and the applicant being banned from (re)applying to the program for up to five years.
  • Third party misconduct. When acting on behalf of an applicant, the third-party recruiter or immigration representative engages in illegal, unauthorized, misleading and/or other unprofessional practices.
• AAIP’s existing anti-fraud and program integrity protection tools include:
  • Employer site visits and verifying job offers, reference letters, education and language test documents through multiple sources.
  • Data analyses and working with other organizations to determine legitimacy of businesses or immigration representatives connected with an application or multiple applications.
  • Impartial review of requests for reconsideration challenging negative decisions on eligibility.
  • Integration of effective risk management, quality assurance, and fraud deterrence and detection practices.