Latest news with #permanentresidency
CNA
2 days ago
- Business
- CNA
Court orders granted against immigration consultancy firms, their operator over misleading practices
SINGAPORE: The Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) has obtained court orders against two immigration consultancy firms and their operator for engaging in unfair trade practices. VED Immigrations and SAVA Immigrations, as well as a third firm, Paul Immigrations, were found to have misled consumers into believing that there was an urgent need to apply for Singapore permanent residency (PR), and that the firms could guarantee the success of applications made through them. In a media release on Monday (Aug 11), CCCS said that the "mastermind" behind the firms' trade practices was one Mr Cheng Yong Teck. Investigations into the firms began after the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) received several complaints regarding Paul Immigrations' sales tactics. CASE continued to receive complaints against the firm even after it signed an agreement to stop the misleading practices. After CCCS found that Mr Cheng had ceased Paul Immigrations' operations but resumed similar practices through VED Immigrations, the focus of its investigations shifted to the latter firm. Then, investigations found that Mr Cheng was also operating through another business, SAVA Immigrations. All three immigration consultancy firms' websites included forms that allowed potential customers to check their chances of obtaining permanent residency. According to CCCS, instead of receiving results online after filling out the forms, these individuals would receive phone calls inviting them for "free consultations". "During these consultation sessions, sales staff would make unsubstantiated claims about rapidly changing PR rules and intense competition from other applicants, to try to persuade customers to apply as soon as possible," said Singapore's consumer watchdog. "The sales staff would then make baseless guarantees of PR application approval if customers engaged their services. "CCCS found no reasonable basis for the businesses to make such claims or guarantees, except to close the deals." Customers paid up to S$10,000 (US$7,790) for such services. Investigations revealed that Mr Cheng was responsible for directing the operations of these businesses and was deliberate in implementing the misleading trade practices. When Paul Immigrations was investigated, Mr Cheng continued to operate through the other businesses to evade detection. CCCS said: "Cheng personally wrote scripts on what staff members needed to do and say to prospective customers, monitored their sales tactics through closed-circuit television footage and implemented a punishment-and-reward system to ensure that his staff members followed his methods." A district court on Jul 22 ordered Mr Cheng, VED Immigrations and SAVA Immigrations to cease the unfair trade practices; publish details of the court orders on online platforms used for marketing their services and in major newspapers in Singapore; inform all potential customers about the court orders before entering into contracts with them; and notify CCCS about any changes to their business structures, as well as to Mr Cheng's employment status and his control or ownership of his businesses. CCCS said that this is its first court action against a person who used new business entities to conceal unfair trade practices. Its chief executive Alvin Koh said that consumers' insecurities and unfamiliarity with Singapore's immigration system were exploited by the three firms, misleading them into paying substantial sums of money. "The mastermind attempted to evade detection by closing the initial business while continuing the same practices through other businesses,' said Mr Koh.
Globe and Mail
2 days ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Ottawa yet to launch program announced last year that would grant permanent residency to low-wage workers
More than a year after announcing a new immigration stream that would have granted permanent residency to low-wage workers already in Canada, the federal government has yet to move ahead on formally launching the program – suggesting that Ottawa could be backing away from the plan altogether. The plan targeting low-wage workers was informally announced in April 2024, through the Canada Gazette. Consultations were set to begin last year on amending immigration laws to admit a 'new permanent economic class of workers in TEER 4 and TEER 5 jobs.' But the program was not included in July's version of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada's forward regulatory plan, which details coming changes to federal immigration rules and programs over the next three years. Training, Education, Experience and Responsibilities, or TEER, is a job categorization system used by the government for immigration purposes. TEER 4 and TEER 5 workers usually have either a high-school diploma or no formal education at all, and examples of their occupations include delivery service drivers, caregivers, food production and retail workers. IRCC spokesperson Sofica Lukianenko said in a late July e-mail to The Globe and Mail that the department will 'continue to examine the role of immigration in meeting labour market needs at TEER 4 and 5 occupations.' She did not specify whether the program was still being considered by Ottawa, or whether it had been shelved indefinitely. Cancelling the program – which IRCC had billed as a pathway that would replace stand-alone pilot programs and provide a single mechanism to select economic immigrants in 'essential-skilled occupations' – would close off a clear path of access to permanent residency, or PR, for workers in low-wage jobs. Ms. Lukianenko said foreign workers in TEER 4 and 5 jobs already have a number of options for permanent immigration pathways, such as the new Home Care Worker Immigration Pilots (which pledge to grant PR to approximately 5,000 caregivers annually) and a new agricultural workers pilot program that the government intends to launch this year. The most popular way of obtaining PR in Canada as an economic migrant is through the Express Entry system, a program that uses a scorecard to rank prospective immigrants based on skills and education level. Foreign workers in low-wage occupations often fail to meet criteria that would give them enough points to eventually garner PR. Many try their luck through the pilot programs or various provincial immigration programs such as the Atlantic Immigration Program and the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program. But these programs have changed over the years, prioritizing skilled workers in the trades, graduates of Canadian institutions and French-speaking immigrants, leaving low-wage foreign workers with few options for direct paths to PR. Migrant rights advocates have long campaigned for this class of workers (many of them who enter the country through Ottawa's Temporary Foreign Workers program) to be given a clearer path to working and living permanently in Canada. They argue that the splintered nature of Canada's immigration system – with frequent changes in policy priorities, and the creation and termination of various streams – indirectly contributes to the growth of the undocumented population, as workers move in and out of jobs in an attempt to qualify for one of numerous programs, often overstaying their visas. Marina Sedai, a Vancouver-based immigration lawyer and former chair of the Canadian Bar Association's immigration section, said she was not surprised the TEER 4 and 5 program was not on the list of regulatory initiatives recently announced by IRCC. 'The Liberal Party adopted several conservative measures before the election to regain ground in the polls at the time, asserting that students and workers had to be cut to protect the housing and job markets,' she said. Public sentiment toward immigrants has become less friendly over the past two years, fuelled by concerns over housing prices and the overall cost of living. The government is trying to dramatically reduce the number of temporary residents in Canada, which had burgeoned in number over the past five years owing to immigration-friendly policy changes during the pandemic. Temporary residents currently make up about 7.1 per cent of the total population. The government is aiming for a target of 5 per cent by the end of 2026. Scrapping an immigration program that would grant PR to low-wage workers would be a wise move if the government's larger goal is to increase gross domestic product per capita through prioritizing higher-skilled immigrants, argues Mikal Skuterud, a professor of labour economics at the University of Waterloo. Prof. Skuterud was highly critical of the TEER 4 and TEER 5 pathway plan when it was announced last year, telling The Globe at the time that it would suppress wages and undermine public support for immigration. He said Ottawa intended to launch the program to hedge against the growing problem of visa overstayers, as offering foreign workers currently in Canada a direct path to PR en masse would reduce both temporary resident and undocumented populations. Ravi Jain, a Toronto-based immigration lawyer, said Canada's temporary resident population has increased so drastically over the past decade that it is unsurprising how federal immigration goals might have shifted. 'It is very much my sense that they do not want to create a 'low-skilled' pathway right now,' he said.
CTV News
05-08-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Northern Ont. man denied Canadian residency because he worked for Ukrainian secret police
While denying him permanent residency, immigration officials said there 'is no evidence that Oleksandr Zahrebelnyi personally engaged in acts of subversion.' (File) A man who came from Ukraine to North Bay, Ont., in 2017 has been denied permanent residency in Canada because he was a former member of the Ukrainian Secret Service, known as the SBU. Oleksandr Zahrebelnyi was open about his role with the SBU when he applied for permanent residency, the Federal Court said in a decision dated July 29. Zahrebelnyi left the SBU and opened a meat processing plant in Ukraine in 2016. 'As conditions in Ukraine deteriorated, he opened a meat processing plant in North Bay … with two business partners and obtained a Canadian work permit in the entrepreneur/self-employed category,' said the court's decision. 'His spouse and three children eventually joined him in Canada.' 'The officer who refused his application acknowledged at several points in the decision that there is no evidence that (Zahrebelnyi) personally engaged in acts of subversion or had any knowledge of such acts perpetrated by the SBU.' — Federal Court decision The Federal Court ruling made it clear that Zahrebelnyi 'is not alleged to carry personal responsibility for committing acts of subversion or any other bases for inadmissibility to Canada.' 'His inadmissibility results from his admitted service and employment with the … SBU between 1998 and 2011,' the decision said. 'The officer who refused his application acknowledged at several points in the decision that there is no evidence that (Zahrebelnyi) personally engaged in acts of subversion or had any knowledge of such acts perpetrated by the SBU.' In a statement to CTV News, Zahrebelnyi said the decision to reject his application was 'unfair and unjustified.' 'It is very difficult to maintain and make any strategic decisions for the business, when the life of my family is in 'limbo,'' he said in an email. His business was thriving Zahrebelnyi employed 20 people at Canada Meat Group in North Bay, and had plans to hire as many as 150 people in an expanded operation, as reported by CTV News in 2022. But those plans were shelved in 2024. The decision to deny him permanent residency in Canada on humanitarian and compassionate grounds under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act was made on April 10, 2024. The immigration official denied his application on the basis that Zahrebelnyi had been a member of the SBU, which had been 'engaging in an act of subversion against a democratic government, institution or process as they are understood in Canada.' He appealed that decision and said that the denial had a major negative impact on his family and his business. The appeal said the official misinterpreted the meaning of 'subversion' and the more than four years it took to make a decision was an abuse of process. However, the immigration official handling the case ruled that membership in an organization 'that has engaged in subversion against a democratic government, institution or process' was sufficient grounds to deny the application. 'Subversive' actions 'After a detailed analysis, the officer concluded that the SBU was engaged in political repression, obstruction of the media, and election fraud throughout the period of (Zahrebelnyi's) involvement with the SBU,' the court decision said. A central issue of the appeal was the interpretation of the word 'subversive.' The immigration officer interpreted the word as including actions to maintain the status quo in Ukraine, as opposed to actions that accomplish change. The goal of the law is 'the protection of Canadian democracy through the denial of admission to those who have posed a threat anywhere to democratic governments, institutions or processes as they are understood in Canada,' the court said. 'This goal is served by including organizations which may not be internally democratic but are democratic in function, as understood in Canada.' Those organizations include the free media, the electoral process and opposition parties. The intent of the SBU was, in part, to actively repress these groups. The immigration officer provided internet links that showed the SBU 'illegally surveilled and interfered with Ukrainian parliamentarians in the early 2000s.' Other links showed that agents were hired to collect information on investigative journalists 'that threatened the interest of the political and economic elites.' The appeal also argued that the length it took to get a decision was unreasonable -- more than four years after Zahrebelnyi made the application in 2020 -- and amounted to an abuse of process. But the Federal Court ruled that there was 'insufficient evidence that it was characterized by the disruption to family life, loss of work, business opportunities or severe psychological harm that would amount to an abuse of process.' 'In the present case, while there is evidence of anxiety caused by the delay, the other consequences are the result of the unfavourable result of the investigation into the principal applicant's inadmissibility rather than the delay itself,' the decision said. Read the full decision here.
Daily Mail
05-08-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Albanese government aims to halve migrant intake with new strategy
Australia will increase international student places to 295,000 in 2026 - 25,000 more than flagged for 2025 - even as critics warn the study visa system is a 'racket' being used as a backdoor to permanent residency. Education Minister Jason Clare said foreign student arrivals provided a vital injection of money into Australia. 'International education is an incredibly important export industry for Australia, but we need to manage its growth so it's sustainable,' he said. 'International education doesn't just make us money - it makes us friends. This is about ensuring international education grows in a way that supports students, universities, and the national interest.' Assistant Minister for International Education Julian Hill said Australia hopes to welcome more students from South East Asia. 'This government remains committed to sensibly managing the size and shape of the on-shore student market and supporting sustainable growth, especially to welcome more students from South East Asia and where accompanied by new housing. We want students to see Australia as a premium destination where they can access high-quality education and a great student experience.' Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said the government is working with universities to expand student accommodation, amid concerns that the arrivals of huge numbers of foreign students into the general rental market was pushing up prices to exorbitant levels. 'We are making sure student visa processing supports genuine education outcomes and our strategic priorities - including increasing provision of student accommodation.' Despite the government's assurances, critics argue that many international students are not coming solely for education, but are instead using student visas as a stepping stone to permanent residency. Labor a year ago proposed capping new international student enrolments for 2025 at 270,000, only to face Senate opposition, but it is now proposing a 295,000 cap. Parliament is more likely to rubber-stampe this hike, given the government's super majority in the House of Representatives and pro-migration Greens holding the balance of power in the Senate. In the year to May, 794,113 international students were enrolled in education across the country, with education now Australia's biggest services export and the fourth biggest export after iron ore, coal and natural gas. While China still leads in international student numbers at 167,147, India and Nepal have seen significant increases, moving into second and third spots with 123,456 and 57,048 students, respectively. A new Reserve Bank report found that the soaring number of international students was putting pressure on the housing market during a time of high construction costs. 'The number of international students onshore is still near record highs, and student visa arrivals have exceeded departures in recent months, suggesting the number of students onshore is growing,' it said. 'In the face of a relatively fixed supply of housing in the short term, we would expect an increase in international students to put upward pressure on rental demand and rents (all else equal),' the report said. 'Capacity constraints, high costs in the construction sector and low levels of building approvals relative to the population may mean the housing supply response could be slower to materialise compared with in the past.' Leith Van Onselen (pictured), a former Treasury economist, highlighted a survey by Allianz Partners Australia found that 68.4 per cent of international students plan to stay in Australia long-term. 'Students from South Asia and Africa choose a study destination based on their capacity to gain job rights, a low-cost course, and permanent residency,' Mr Van Onselen said. 'With the exception of students from China and Europe, all source nations placed a high value on the potential to work while studying and post-study employment opportunities. 'It should be no surprise, then, that Australia has witnessed the greatest increase in student numbers from nations that rely on paid employment. Indian students and migration agents celebrated Labor's federal election victory because they know that it means easier entry into Australia. Australia's policymakers and media should drop the charade and acknowledge that international education is an immigration racket.' Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show in the year to May, 1.1million permanent and long-term arrivals hit Australian shores, including international students and skilled workers. In cities soaking up the bulk of the arrivals like Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and increasingly Brisbane, the competition for rentals is fierce, sending rents and house prices soaring. Australian Population Research Institute president Bob Birrell blamed the housing crisis on record overseas migration, which meant working Australians were being pushed out of the market, unable to buy or rent. 'The Albanese government is completely irresponsible on this issue,' he said. 'They have neglected it ever since they got back into power in 2022, they've just let immigration rip. We've had enormous levels of migrants, which is just unprecedented, and irresponsible in the context of the housing crisis.' Dr Birrell said part of the problem is the skilled migration program recruits hardly any tradespeople, especially for the beleaguered building industry. 'Migration is not adding to the supply of those important trades at all,' he said. 'Although a lot of temporary migrants who are adrift in Melbourne and Sydney would probably like to take up an apprenticeship in these areas, they can't, because they're temporaries.' CEO Matt Barrie said the Albanese government had created a system so perverse doctors were living in share houses and nurses were sleeping in their cars. 'The Great Australian Dream is now mathematically impossible for the average Australian,' he said. 'In Sydney it now takes 46 years just to save a house deposit. Think about that, for a child born in Sydney today, their retirement party will come before they've saved enough for a house deposit.' Mr Barrie said the housing crisis had been 'engineered' by the government which has flooded the country with the largest immigration wave in history. 'Why, in a cost of living crisis, would they allow nearly one million international student enrolments? 'Why, in a cost of living crisis, would they allow 2.46million people on temporary visas into a country of 27million when there's only 36,000 rental vacancies?' One Nation Senator Pauline Hanson said Australian cities were full, housing is unaffordable, and services are stretched to breaking point. She said One Nation will cut permanent and temporary migration and restore the population to a level the country can support. 'This isn't extreme. It's common sense,' she said. 'Mass migration must stop. The system is broken. Let's fix it and give our people the chance to thrive.'
Daily Mail
04-08-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Anthony Albanese to increase the number of migrants in Australia - as critics issue an urgent warning
Australia will increase international student places to 295,000 in 2026, 25,000 more than in 2025 - but critics warn the visa system is being used as a backdoor to permanent residency. Education Minister Jason Clare said international education was a vital export industry for Australia. 'International education is an incredibly important export industry for Australia, but we need to manage its growth so it's sustainable,' he said. 'International education doesn't just make us money - it makes us friends.' 'This is about ensuring international education grows in a way that supports students, universities, and the national interest.' Assistant Minister for International Education Julian Hill said Australia hopes to welcome more students from South East Asia. 'This Government remains committed to sensibly managing the size and shape of the on-shore student market and supporting sustainable growth, especially to welcome more students from Southeast Asia and where accompanied by new housing. 'We want students to see Australia as a premium destination where they can access high quality education and a great student experience.' Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said the government is working with universities to expand student accommodation. 'We are making sure student visa processing supports genuine education outcomes and our strategic priorities - including increasing provision of student accommodation.' Despite the government's assurances, critics argue many international students are not coming solely for education, but are instead using student visas as a stepping stone to permanent residency. In the year to May, 794,113 international students were enrolled in education across the country. While China still leads in international student numbers at 167,147, India and Nepal have seen significant increases, moving into second and third spots with 123,456 and 57,048 students. A new Reserve Bank report argued the soaring number of international students was putting pressure on the housing market during a time of high construction costs. 'The number of international students onshore is still near record highs, and student visa arrivals have exceeded departures in recent months, suggesting the number of students onshore is growing,' it said. 'In theory, in the face of a relatively fixed supply of housing in the short term, we would expect an increase in international students to put upward pressure on rental demand and rents (all else equal), in the same way that any kind of increase in the renting population would impact demand. 'Capacity constraints, high costs in the construction sector and low levels of building approvals relative to the population may mean the housing supply response could be slower to materialise compared with in the past.' Leith Van Onselen, a former treasury econonmist, highlighted a survey by Allianz Partners Australia found that 68.4 per cent of international students plan to stay in Australia long-term. 'According to a Navitas study intentions poll conducted in 2022, students from South Asia and Africa choose a study destination based on their capacity to gain job rights, a low-cost course, and permanent residency,' Mr Van Onselen said. 'With the exception of students from China and Europe, all source nations placed a high value on the potential to work while studying and post-study employment opportunities.' 'It should be no surprise, then, that Australia has witnessed the greatest increase in student numbers from nations that rely on paid employment. 'Indian students and migration agents celebrated Labor's federal election victory because they know that it means easier entry into Australia,' he said. 'Australia's policymakers and media should drop the charade and acknowledge that international education is an immigration racket.' Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show in the year to May, 1.1million permanent and long-term arrivals hit Australian shores, including international students and skilled workers. In cities soaking up the bulk of the arrivals like Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and increasingly Brisbane, the competition for rentals is fierce, sending rents and house prices soaring. Australian Population Research Institute president Bob Birrell blamed the housing crisis on record overseas migration, which meant working Australians were being pushed out of the market, unable to buy or rent. 'The Albanese government is completely irresponsible on this issue,' he said. 'They have neglected it ever since they got back into power in 2022, they've just let immigration rip. 'We've had enormous levels of migrants, which is just unprecedented, and irresponsible in the context of the housing crisis.' Dr Birrell said part of the problem is the skilled migration program recruits hardly any tradespeople, especially for the beleaguered building industry. 'Migration is not adding to the supply of those important trades at all,' he said. 'Although a lot of temporary migrants who are adrift in Melbourne and Sydney would probably like to take up an apprenticeship in these areas, they can't, because they're temporaries.' Freelancer CEO Matt Barrie said the Albanese government had created a system so perverse doctors were living in share houses and nurses were sleeping in their cars. 'The Great Australian Dream is now mathematically impossible for the average Australian,' he said. 'In Sydney it now takes 46 years just to save a house deposit. Think about that, for a child born in Sydney today, their retirement party will come before they've saved enough for a house deposit.' Mr Barrie said the housing crisis had been 'engineered' by the government which has flooded the country with the largest immigration wave in history. 'Why, in a cost of living crisis, would they allow nearly one million international student enrolments? 'Why, in a cost of living crisis, would they allow 2.46million people on temporary visas into a country of 27million when there's only 36,000 rental vacancies?' One Nation Senator Pauline Hanson said Australian cities were full, housing is unaffordable, and services are stretched to breaking point. She said One Nation will cut permanent and temporary migration and restore the population to a level the country can support. 'This isn't extreme. It's common sense,' she said.
