How to avoid Misrepresentation and its consequences.

When making an application of any kind to Citizenship and Immigration Canada, you are required to answer all questions honestly and truthfully, to give true and correct information and to provide supporting documents that are genuine and also contains true and correct information. In other words – by not supplying truthful information, your application will be a misrepresentation of yourself. If you want to immigrate to Canada from South Africa and you provide any false or misleading information on your application you could be found to have misrepresented yourself on your application which would cause your application to be rejected and you will be barred from Canada for up to five years.

When making an application it is important to know all of the rules and regulations that apply to your application. These can be found in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR) as well as the relevant operational manuals.

The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) states the following in regards to misrepresentation:

Section 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.

Section 40. (1) A permanent resident or a foreign national is inadmissible for misrepresentation

(a) for direct or indirect misrepresentation or withholding material facts relating to a relevant matter that induces or could induce an error in the administration of this Act;

(2) The following provisions govern subsection (1):

(a) the permanent resident or the foreign national continues to be inadmissible for misrepresentation for a period of five years following, in the case of a determination outside Canada, a final determination of inadmissibility under subsection (1) or, in the case of a determination in Canada, the date the removal order is enforced; and

(b) paragraph (1)(b) does not apply unless the Minister is satisfied that the facts of the case justify the inadmissibility.

(3) A foreign national who is inadmissible under this section may not apply for permanent resident status during the period referred to in paragraph (2)(a).

The “relevant evidence and documents that the officer reasonably requires” may include simple documents such as resumes or reference letters. That is why it is important to ensure that you do not pad or exaggerate any documents on your application as this could affect the assessment of your application if misrepresentation is suspected.

This is particularly important when submitting an application under the Federal Skilled Worker Program. With these applications, you need to show the relevant work experience and duties to meet the occupational code you are applying under. When selecting your occupation code you need to ensure you have chosen the correct one and that you actually meet all of the requirements of the occupational code including the educational requirements.

If you have decided to apply under an occupational code that you do not quite meet the requirements of and you submit exaggerated documents to make your case you could be found guilty of misrepresentation.

This is why it is important to ensure you know all of the requirements of the application you are making and to seek assistance from a professional if you are unclear or need assistance in interpreting the requirements.