Misrepresentation/PR Application

[gill1988]

Hello,

My first application to come to Canada was back in May 2017 when I applied for the IEC Working Holiday. I hold dual citizenship and used my Spain passport to apply for the IEC WH but I wasn’t living in Spain. When I used the eligibility tool, it said that I was not eligible because I wasn’t residing in Spain at the time of application. The most stupid decision that I made was to lie and fill the application stating that my current country of residence was Spain. My ignorance made me think it wouldn’t be a big deal back then. How stupid I was…

Come to Canada in Jan. 2018 and stayed for the 12-month duration of my approved IEC WH. Then left with a plan of waiting the 3-month period and applying for a second IEC visa, the Young Professionals one.

Good thing is that in that second application I was 100% honest and didn’t lie about my current country of residence. And that application was refused. After that and thanks to my sister that lives in Spain and helped me with the airline ticket and letting me stay at her place, I was able to go to Spain and reapply. That time the IEC YP was approved!

Moved to Canada in Sept. 2019, and got BC PNP nomination in April 2020. Then with the work permit support letter from BC PNP, I was given a 2-year work permit. And in Sept. 2020 sent my PR paper-based application to the CIO in Sydney, NS.

Last week received AOR! And since then I could not stop thinking about that misrepresentation that I did back in 2017. And that my wife and I are going

How can I solve this? I want to come forward and tell the truth to IRCC and apologize for what I did. I certainly don’t want to take any chances, I rather tell them before they ask me for explanations.

In July when my IEC YP was refused for not being in Spain, I was given great advise by @scylla to go to Spain and apply from there. Thanks to that, now I am in Canada, working and with a PR being processed.

I would love to know the opinion of the experts in this forum. Would really appreciate if @scylla can chime in.


Below my timeline:

May 2017 - Lied about current country of residence on IEC WH application.
July 2017 - IEC WH approved.
Jan. 2018 - March 2018 - Moved to Canada on visitor status.
April 2018 - Flagpole and activated IEC WH.
March 2019 - IEC WH expired and left Canada.

July 2019 - IEC YP application refused for not currently living in Spain.
August 2019 - Moved to Spain.
Sept. 2019 - IEC YP (second application) approved.
Sept. 2019 - Moved to Canada.

April 2020 - BC PNP nomination
May 2020 - New work permit through BC PNP support letter.
Sept. 2020 - BC PNP PR Application Received.
May 2021 - PR AOR

 

[gill1988]

I tried to post this earlier today but cannot find it. So I just re wrote it.

I would love to hear some of the experts opinions and people that have gone through similar things.

Already looking for a lawyer to help me up…

I just can’t believe how stupid I was. If anyone reads this and is about to do something similar, just don’t! It will not end well and you will regret it so bad…

Thanks.

 

[gill1988]

@Naturgrl ? Anybody?

 

[Tala_08]

I was just browsing when I saw your post.

Misrepresentation is a big deal. I'm not an expert in this kind of topic but I just recently heard on the news that there's a Filipino who will be deported because he did not declare his wife and child during his application. He's been living in Canada for 13 years and is even working as a healthcare worker but that did not stop the government to send him back home.

For PR application and even citizenship, you have to write down the places you've lived in the past. I guess it's best to seek a professional advice with regard to your concern.

 

[gill1988]

Thank you very much for your reply.

Yup, I saw the news about him a few weeks ago. I’m also working in healthcare, so that won’t help me either.

My only hope is that I haven’t received a PFL or anything like it. It would be me telling them and apologizing.

That’s is exactly what worries me. They have all my addresses and companies that I worked for. If they do check where I was a the time of application, it won’t be hard to see that I wasn’t in Spain.

I already emailed an immigration lawyer asking for a meeting ASAP.

That was the only stain in all my processes in Canada. That first working holiday visa. I did the things right on my second application and went to Spain. If I knew how serious it was, I would have done the same. I can’t believe what I did. I simply can’t.

Thank you again @Tala_08

 

[gill1988]

From other cases that I have read in this forum, I could say that it was a material misrepresentation on my first IEC application that was approved. On my second (IEC YP) I was 100% honest and got refused for not residing in Spain. My third try was approved because I moved to Spain. And now on my PNP PR application I didn’t misrepresented myself. It was that one and only time.

@legalfalcon do you think I have a chance of solving this? I’m going to come clean and let IRCC know before they find it out. And like I said before, will hire a lawyer. Thank you!

 

[legalfalcon]

From other cases that I have read in this forum, I could say that it was a material misrepresentation on my first IEC application that was approved. On my second (IEC YP) I was 100% honest and got refused for not residing in Spain. My third try was approved because I moved to Spain. And now on my PNP PR application I didn’t misrepresented myself. It was that one and only time.

@legalfalcon do you think I have a chance of solving this? I’m going to come clean and let IRCC know before they find it out. And like I said before, will hire a lawyer. Thank you!

There is no yes or no answer as it depend on individual circumstances. I cannily point you to the law and you can judge based on that.

Any application you file with IRCC can be looked into and any discrepancy can be a reason for misrepresentation. Here is my previous post on this, in context of TRV and EE, but the same will hold true for any applications filed.

As per IRPA:

Section 16(1) of the IRPA states:

• 16 (1) A person who makes an application must answer truthfully all questions put to them for the purpose of the examination and must produce a visa and all relevant evidence and documents that the officer reasonably requires.

Any application you file can be looked into and there should be no discrepancy if you have filed multiple applications. If you filed a TRV in which you did not declare a job, and then you claimed a posts for a job in your PR application, this is a discrepancy. Similarly if you were refused a visa before, the same has to be declared in the subsequent application filed with IRCC.


- whether prior TRV application in which an employment detail was left out can be added to the PR application, and would this inconsistency be of any concern.

If you file any application with IRCC - TRV, WP, PR etc, any of them can be looked into to review your current application and any inconsistency can be a cause of misrepresentation. All applications have to be consistent, and if they are not, a reason on why you omitted the information has to be provided. Even if the reason is that you inadvertently forgot to mention a prior refusal, you have to inform IRCC.

There is no point deliberating that if the prior application was refused, why it should be looked into again, or why someone who filed a TRV application before and did not disclose an employment, but subsequently claimed pints for it in PR and got a PPR without any issues. This is all anecdotal. Just because someone was not caught, does not make him innocent.

They law is clear, while applications for different types of status engage different considerations, it does not necessarily flow that statements made in temporary residence applications cannot affect subsequent permanent residence applications (or vice versa). In Suri v. Canada , the court found that the Officer’s concerns vis-à-vis the contradictions between the Applicants’ temporary and permanent applications were reasonable and based on that the applicant's misrepresentation ban was upheld.

Federal courts have ruled on this numerous times.

Read - Suri v. Canada available at http://canlii.ca/t/grvwt

Similarly, in the case of In Goburdhun v Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2013 FC 971 at para 28, Justice Strickland summarized the key considerations outlined in the jurisprudence, including the fact that paragraph 40(1)(a) is to be given a broad interpretation, capturing misrepresentations even if made by a third party such as a consultant, without the knowledge of the applicant (see also Wang v Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2015 FC 647 at para 25). The only exception to this rule is narrow and applies in the truly extraordinary circumstances where an applicant honestly and reasonably believed that they were not misrepresenting a material fact and knowledge of the misrepresentation was beyond the applicant’s control.

While answering the statutory questions you have to list all prior visa refusals. Failing to declare any prior visa refusal is misrepresentation and the federal court has ruled on it in the following decision:

Algohar v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2019 FC 1364 (CanLII), available at http://canlii.ca/t/j36dk

It is an applicant's duty to disclose all material information pertaining to ones information and answer all questions truthfully. If you inadvertently forgot to mention a prior visa refusal, you can send a webform and inform IRCC. Irrespective of what stage your application is at, or if it has even been approved, if it is found that you failed to disclose any material information in your application, it can impact your PR status.

In Tuiran v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2018 FC 324 (CanLII) the court held, " Section 16(1) of the Act requires visa applicants to answer all questions truthfully and produce all relevant documents and evidence reasonably required when making an application under the Act. The purpose of the misrepresentation provisions in the Act is “to ensure that applicants provide complete, honest and truthful information in every manner when applying for entry into Canada” (Jiang v Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2011 FC 942 at para 36; Khan v Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2008 FC 512 at paras 26-29; Wang v Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2005 FC 1059 at paras 57-58, affirmed in 2006 FCA 345 [Wang])." I emphasize that it does not matter that the authorities may have the ability to catch the misrepresentation or not. What matters is whether the misrepresentation induced or could have induced an error in the administration of the IRPA.

If you feel that there is a discrepancy, or if you inadvertently missed out answering a question in your application, you can send a wbfrom and inform IRCC of the same and of any discrepancies in your prior applications.

 

[gill1988]

There is no yes or no answer as it depend on individual circumstances. I cannily point you to the law and you can judge based on that.

Any application you file with IRCC can be looked into and any discrepancy can be a reason for misrepresentation. Here is my previous post on this, in context of TRV and EE, but the same will hold true for any applications filed.

As per IRPA:

Section 16(1) of the IRPA states:

• 16 (1) A person who makes an application must answer truthfully all questions put to them for the purpose of the examination and must produce a visa and all relevant evidence and documents that the officer reasonably requires.

Any application you file can be looked into and there should be no discrepancy if you have filed multiple applications. If you filed a TRV in which you did not declare a job, and then you claimed a posts for a job in your PR application, this is a discrepancy. Similarly if you were refused a visa before, the same has to be declared in the subsequent application filed with IRCC.


- whether prior TRV application in which an employment detail was left out can be added to the PR application, and would this inconsistency be of any concern.

If you file any application with IRCC - TRV, WP, PR etc, any of them can be looked into to review your current application and any inconsistency can be a cause of misrepresentation. All applications have to be consistent, and if they are not, a reason on why you omitted the information has to be provided. Even if the reason is that you inadvertently forgot to mention a prior refusal, you have to inform IRCC.

There is no point deliberating that if the prior application was refused, why it should be looked into again, or why someone who filed a TRV application before and did not disclose an employment, but subsequently claimed pints for it in PR and got a PPR without any issues. This is all anecdotal. Just because someone was not caught, does not make him innocent.

They law is clear, while applications for different types of status engage different considerations, it does not necessarily flow that statements made in temporary residence applications cannot affect subsequent permanent residence applications (or vice versa). In Suri v. Canada , the court found that the Officer’s concerns vis-à-vis the contradictions between the Applicants’ temporary and permanent applications were reasonable and based on that the applicant's misrepresentation ban was upheld.

Federal courts have ruled on this numerous times.

Read - Suri v. Canada available at http://canlii.ca/t/grvwt

Similarly, in the case of In Goburdhun v Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2013 FC 971 at para 28, Justice Strickland summarized the key considerations outlined in the jurisprudence, including the fact that paragraph 40(1)(a) is to be given a broad interpretation, capturing misrepresentations even if made by a third party such as a consultant, without the knowledge of the applicant (see also Wang v Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2015 FC 647 at para 25). The only exception to this rule is narrow and applies in the truly extraordinary circumstances where an applicant honestly and reasonably believed that they were not misrepresenting a material fact and knowledge of the misrepresentation was beyond the applicant’s control.

While answering the statutory questions you have to list all prior visa refusals. Failing to declare any prior visa refusal is misrepresentation and the federal court has ruled on it in the following decision:

Algohar v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2019 FC 1364 (CanLII), available at http://canlii.ca/t/j36dk

It is an applicant's duty to disclose all material information pertaining to ones information and answer all questions truthfully. If you inadvertently forgot to mention a prior visa refusal, you can send a webform and inform IRCC. Irrespective of what stage your application is at, or if it has even been approved, if it is found that you failed to disclose any material information in your application, it can impact your PR status.

In Tuiran v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2018 FC 324 (CanLII) the court held, " Section 16(1) of the Act requires visa applicants to answer all questions truthfully and produce all relevant documents and evidence reasonably required when making an application under the Act. The purpose of the misrepresentation provisions in the Act is “to ensure that applicants provide complete, honest and truthful information in every manner when applying for entry into Canada” (Jiang v Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2011 FC 942 at para 36; Khan v Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2008 FC 512 at paras 26-29; Wang v Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2005 FC 1059 at paras 57-58, affirmed in 2006 FCA 345 [Wang])." I emphasize that it does not matter that the authorities may have the ability to catch the misrepresentation or not. What matters is whether the misrepresentation induced or could have induced an error in the administration of the IRPA.

If you feel that there is a discrepancy, or if you inadvertently missed out answering a question in your application, you can send a wbfrom and inform IRCC of the same and of any discrepancies in your prior applications.

@legalfalcon thank you so much for your input.

I still have some hope, but to be honest I’m devastated. If I knew about this, I would have travelled to Spain and applied from there just like I did the second time. I still can’t believe that after so much effort that my wife and I have put in immigrating, and getting close to become PR, this pops up and everything will probably go to waste.

When I misrepresented myself, it was material and that IEC WH was approved thanks to that. And I was fully aware that it would not be approved if I say that I wasn’t in Canada. That is the truth, I just did not know the consequences, which doesn’t exempt me or anyone from them.

That being said, since that IEC WH it was not linked to the PNP (I was on my second IEC YP visa) and subsequent PR application, do you think that I might have an extremely remote chance of coming clean and continue with my PR application? I have read you post with different cases of misrepresentation but they don’t have that in common.
What I’m trying to say is that my misrepresentation was material for a previous IEC WH but not to my PR application or second IEC YP visa.

Thank

 

[legalfalcon]

@legalfalcon thank you so much for your input.

I still have some hope, but to be honest I’m devastated. If I knew about this, I would have travelled to Spain and applied from there just like I did the second time. I still can’t believe that after so much effort that my wife and I have put in immigrating, and getting close to become PR, this pops up and everything will probably go to waste.

When I misrepresented myself, it was material and that IEC WH was approved thanks to that. And I was fully aware that it would not be approved if I say that I wasn’t in Canada. That is the truth, I just did not know the consequences, which doesn’t exempt me or anyone from them.

That being said, since that IEC WH it was not linked to the PNP (I was on my second IEC YP visa) and subsequent PR application, do you think that I might have an extremely remote chance of coming clean and continue with my PR application? I have read you post with different cases of misrepresentation but they don’t have that in common.
What I’m trying to say is that my misrepresentation was material for a previous IEC WH but not to my PR application or second IEC YP visa.

Thank

Each case is unique to its circumstances. There is never a yes or no answer. However, if you do disclose everything, and provide reasons for it, you may be able to get things resolved. IF you feel this is too much for you to handle, you should consult an immigration lawyer with your documents. They should be able to guide you. The forums are only there to have a discussion or share knowledgeable, but they are not a substitute for legal representation.

There are some really good immigration law firms and you can search them online.

 

[gill1988]

@legalfalcon I truly appreciate your comments and completely understood what you meant.

Back when I travelled to Spain just to get the IEC YP, I did that thanks to @scylla ‘s advise. And that chapter of my immigration chapter went out perfect, mostly because of his/her advise to go to Spain.

Same thing here, your advise and your comments shed a ray of light. I’m aware that my chances are very very low, but I have received good guidance.

From now on, this will definitely will be handled by a law firm. But you have certainly helped me and put my mind at ease for a bit. The things that have been crossing my mind for the last couple days where not good. Thank you!

 

[legalfalcon]

@legalfalcon I truly appreciate your comments and completely understood what you meant.

Back when I travelled to Spain just to get the IEC YP, I did that thanks to @scylla ‘s advise. And that chapter of my immigration chapter went out perfect, mostly because of his/her advise to go to Spain.

Same thing here, your advise and your comments shed a ray of light. I’m aware that my chances are very very low, but I have received good guidance.

From now on, this will definitely will be handled by a law firm. But you have certainly helped me and put my mind at ease for a bit. The things that have been crossing my mind for the last couple days where not good. Thank you!

All the best. And let us know how it went and any guidance for other here would be much appreciated.

 

[gill1988]

@legalfalcon I certainly will. Thank you so much!

So far, the best advise is to all the applicants out there (visitor visa, student permit, etc) don’t rush things, be dead accurate and do things right. Absolutely every form that you fill IS A BIG DEAL at the end.

Learn from my mistakes, I would never done what I did if I just knew.

I will update later on in this thread as soon as I have news.

 

[prabhsingkh]

@legalfalcon I certainly will. Thank you so much!

So far, the best advise is to all the applicants out there (visitor visa, student permit, etc) don’t rush things, be dead accurate and do things right. Absolutely every form that you fill IS A BIG DEAL at the end.

Learn from my mistakes, I would never done what I did if I just knew.

I will update later on in this thread as soon as I have news.

How did it go bro with your application?

 

[prabhsingkh]

All the best. And let us know how it went and any guidance for other here would be much appreciated.

@legalfalcon Sir My USA visa was refused in 2018 I applied for PGWP in background declaration I clicked yes but only mentioned Canadian visa refusal . Pgwp was approved, Now I want to apply for PR in future I will mention USA visa refusal, will there be any issue?Please help I will surely mention in LOE that i forgot to mention in PGWP application.I am really worried,cant even sleep at nigh if i tell you truth. Havent told my parents, i dont know why i was so careless than @legalfalcon SIR

 

[legalfalcon]

@legalfalcon Sir My USA visa was refused in 2018 I applied for PGWP in background declaration I clicked yes but only mentioned Canadian visa refusal . Pgwp was approved, Now I want to apply for PR in future I will mention USA visa refusal, will there be any issue?Please help I will surely mention in LOE that i forgot to mention in PGWP application.I am really worried,cant even sleep at nigh if i tell you truth. Havent told my parents, i dont know why i was so careless than @legalfalcon SIR

You should address that you forgot to mention your US visa refusal in your previous application. As long as you declare and make the correction, there should be no issues.

All your visa refusals should be declared in your application, not doing so can lead to misrepresentation. As per law you have an obligation to be truthful. Section 16(1) of the IRPA states:

• 16 (1) A person who makes an application must answer truthfully all questions put to them for the purpose of the examination and must produce a visa and all relevant evidence and documents that the officer reasonably requires.

See Tuiran v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2018 FC 324 (CanLII), <http://canlii.ca/t/hr59k
Alalami v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2018 FC 328 (CanLII), <http://canlii.ca/t/hr6r1>

If you inadvertently missed declaring your prior visa refusal in your prior application, then you should inform IRCC and also answer the questions truthfully in your EE application.

Any application you file can be looked into and there should be no discrepancy if you have filed multiple applications. If you filed a TRV in which you did not declare a job, and then you claimed a job in your PR application, this is a discrepancy. Similarly if you were refused a visa before, the same has to be declared in the subsequent application filed with IRCC.

If you file any application with IRCC, TRV, WP, PR etc, any of them can be looked into to review your current application and any inconsistency can be a cause of misrepresentation. All applications have to be consistent, and if they are not, a reason on why you omitted the information has to be provided. Even if the reason is that you inadvertently forgot to mention a prior refusal, you have to inform IRCC.

While answering the statutory questions you have to list all prior visa refusals. Failing to declare any prior visa refusal is misrepresentation and the federal court has ruled on it in the following decision:

Algohar v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2019 FC 1364 (CanLII), available at http://canlii.ca/t/j36dk

It is an applicant's duty to disclose all material information pertaining to ones information and answer all questions truthfully.

If you inadvertently forgot to mention a prior visa refusal, you can send a webform and inform IRCC. Irrespective of what stage your application is at, or if it has even been approved, if it is found that you failed to disclose any material information in your application, it can impact your PR status.

In Tuiran v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2018 FC 324 (CanLII) the court held, " Section 16(1) of the Act requires visa applicants to answer all questions truthfully and produce all relevant documents and evidence reasonably required when making an application under the Act. The purpose of the misrepresentation provisions in the Act is “to ensure that applicants provide complete, honest and truthful information in every manner when applying for entry into Canada” (Jiang v Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2011 FC 942 at para 36; Khan v Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2008 FC 512 at paras 26-29; Wang v Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2005 FC 1059 at paras 57-58, affirmed in 2006 FCA 345 [Wang])." I emphasize that it does not matter that the authorities may have the ability to catch the misrepresentation or not. What matters is whether the misrepresentation induced or could have induced an error in the administration of the IRPA.