Document fraud can involve either false or altered documents, such as:

•                    passports and travel documents,

•                    visas,

•                    diplomas, degrees, and apprenticeship or trade papers,

•                    birth, marriage, final divorce, annulment, separation or death certificates, and

•                    police certificates.

If you lie on an application or in an interview with a CIC officer, this is also fraud and a crime.

If you send false documents or information, CIC will refuse your application. You could also:

•                    be forbidden to enter Canada for at least five years,

•                    have a permanent record of fraud with CIC,

•                    have your status as a permanent resident or Canadian citizen taken away,

•                    be charged with a crime or

•                    be removed from Canada.

What CIC is doing to stop immigration fraud

CIC works with our partners to monitor document fraud and train officers around the world. Partners include:

•                    the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA),

•                    the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and

•                    foreign police services and offices that issue identity documents.

CIC is working with the CBSA and the RCMP to phase in biometrics. This means we will use data such as fingerprints to confirm a person’s identity.

Biometrics will make it much harder for people to hide who they are. It will also help reduce identity fraud.