Canada’s Citizenship and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander supported the government’s commitment to tackling citizenship fraud through measures proposed in Bill C-24, the Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act.
Under the new law, the government will have the ability to develop laws to designate a regulatory body whose members would be authorized to act as consultants on citizenship matters. This change will help protect applicants and help stay away from third-party fraud. 
Bill C-24 reinforces the value of citizenship by cracking down on fraud and ensuring Canadian citizenship is only offered to those follow all the rules. Proposed measures include:
•   stronger penalties for fraud and misrepresentation (a maximum fine of $100,000 and/or five years in prison)
•   expanding the grounds to stop an application for citizenship that includes foreign criminality which will help improve program integrity; and
•   making it an crime for people who are not authorized to knowingly represent or advise on an application for a fee.
Interesting Facts
•   Ongoing large-scale fraud investigations conducted by the RCMP have shown that more than 3,000 citizens and 5,000 permanent residents are linked to major investigations—a very large part of them related to residence.
•   Nearly 2000 people who were linked to immigration fraud have withdrawn their applications.
President & CEO
Michael Niren
Mr. Niren is CEO of VisaPlace LLC and the President and Managing Partner of VisaPlace Legal Canada, an immigration law firm based in Toronto, and VisaPlace Legal US a law firm registered in The District of Columbia, USA. Mr. Niren is a graduate of Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto, a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada, the Canadian Bar Association’s Citizenship and Immigration Section, American Lawyers Association, and an Associate Member of the American Bar Association.
