Is This Ad for Opportunities to Live and Work in Canada Legitimate?

A post shared on Facebook on December 3 claims to advertise jobs in Canada for Kenyans.

The post claims that Canada is “desperately” looking to fill 430,000 vacancies and that the opportunities are apparently open for those interested to live and work in Canada. Comments on the post indicate that several people have expressed interest in the opportunities.

Background

In 2019, Kenyans were found to have lost as much as Kshs 2.15 million per person to fraudsters who promised non-existent jobs in Canada. According to immigration consultant Nicholas Avramis, Canadian immigration scams are a global problem which – in Africa- has been notorious in South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria. Albeit the Government of Canada indeed declared that it is accepting thousands of immigrants for permanent residence.

Information on the Canada Visa website shows that the government unveiled its Immigration Levels Plan 2021-2023, which seeks to welcome more than 400,000 new immigrants each year in a bid to stimulate Canada’s economy by increasing the working population. Canada’s Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino also said that the COVID-19 pandemic has made it “vital” for Canada to strengthen its economy through immigration.

Canadians understand that newcomers are playing an outsized role in stepping up to fill some of our most acute labour shortages and that growing our population is imperative if we want to leverage the advantages we have and keep 🇨🇦 competitive on the world stage. pic.twitter.com/YbHhyoONTL

— Marco Mendicino (@marcomendicino) October 30, 2020

Verification

Text attached to the Facebook post advertising opportunities to live and work in Canada states that applicants can apply through a website, whose link is added on the post. However, upon clicking the link, the application form is not on a website but a Google Document, which is a free tool available to Google users.

The official immigration website for the Government of Canada, where this information would ordinarily be posted, does not contain the application form on the Google Document or the advertisement posted on Facebook.

A tweet from the High Commission of Canada in Kenya warns that people should visit the immigration website for legitimate information about applying to move to Canada.

It's easy for someone to build a website that looks professional. Don't be a victim of a scam. When applying to come to Canada, make sure you use the official Government of Canada website: https://t.co/DGDTyCXw7o pic.twitter.com/DO19ZhJGyu

— Canada in Kenya, Somalia and Uganda (@CanHCKenya) January 21, 2020

Information on the application form added to the Facebook ad also contains some red flags, indicating that it is a scam. Some of these signs that show a potential scam are listed on an article published on the Government of Canada’s immigration website. They include being charged a fee before the process of applying for immigration or citizenship has begun, which is evident in the Google Document attached to the Facebook post that requires applicants to send a registration fee of Ksh750.

The article also states that the link(s) used by official government of Canada websites end with the gc.ca domain name, which is not the case for the web address containing the application form advertised on Facebook.

A website that only provides information in one language is also a sign that it could be a hoax because information posted on official Canadian websites are normally in both French and English (the two official languages in Canada), another article on how to spot legitimate websites from the Government of Canada warns.

Verdict

The Facebook post claiming to advertise opportunities to live and work in Canada is a HOAX.