Indian and Bangladeshi fraud: Canadian government seeks power to cancel visas in bulk

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The Canadian government is seeking the power to cancel visas in bulk for foreigners. The main reason behind this is alleged fraud in visa applications from India and Bangladesh. Documents obtained by Canadian broadcaster CBC News show that officials from Canada's Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) have formed a working group with their US partners.

The group's goal is to identify and cancel fraudulent travel visa applications and to increase their capacity to do so. Internal government documents highlight the need for this increase in capacity, citing India and Bangladesh as "specified challenging countries". The list of cases in which the power to cancel visas in bulk can be used includes "visa holders from specified countries".

Although Immigration Minister Lena Diab publicly cited only pandemics or wars as reasons for seeking this power. She did not mention any specific country. A proposal called Bill C-12 has been introduced in Parliament to provide this power. The government hopes to pass it quickly. More than 30 civil society organizations have expressed concerns about the legislation. Organizations such as the Migrant Rights Network say the power to revoke en masse would give the government the power to set up a “mass deportation machine.” Immigration lawyers have also expressed doubts that the government is seeking this power to reduce the backlog of applications. The IRCC, however, told the CBC last month that the new proposal was not made with “specific groups or situations” in mind.