How employment agencies abroad cheat you
An interview with a man who wanted to go to work in Canada and was duped by a recruitment agency.
I am often asked how to find a job in Canada, how to move to Canada on a work visa, and can I trust employment agencies that are located in different countries.
Usually, representatives of such companies promise huge salaries in Canada, free accommodation, free meals, and even free flights. And people expect that they will get to Canada without English or with poor English, learn it in a year or two, and eventually move their whole family to Canada and then get Canadian passports. Is this true or not? Let's find out.
I received an email from Artem. He complained that he had been duped by an overseas employment agency. He was promised a good job in Canada with a salary of over CAD 100,000 per year. He paid the money for the paperwork, but in the end, he did not get to Canada and the money was not returned. Moreover, it turned out that there are a lot of such victims, and now all these people have united and are trying to make a criminal case against the company with the help of the police.
I immediately offered to interview Artem, and he agreed.
Why Canada?
Artem is 43 years old. His English level is Pre-Intermediate, and he has a higher education. In the last year before the proposed move, he was working in his country as a project manager on the sale of electrical equipment and, if converted to Canadian dollars, earned about CAD 15,000 per year.
Many factors influenced the decision to immigrate to Canada. Artem wanted to try his forces abroad. In a developed country, he could gain fulfillment, experience, stability, and confidence in the future, which he lacked at home. In addition, Artem had been to the United States and was impressed by people's standard of living.
Employment agency
Artem decided to search online for jobs abroad and found a recruitment agency in his country. He knew about Canada's need for manpower and the prospects for career advancement and stability in that country. The company's website had many job openings. Artem called and made an appointment.
According to him, the agency director behaved very persuasively. She discussed his candidacy with someone via video call, let him fill out the questionnaire, and sent his data. Artem told her that his English was poor, but she assured him that the main thing was to be a good specialist. He was offered the position of crew leader in Canada with a salary of CAD 102,000 per year.
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Artem signed a contract with the company, the cost of which was about CAD 1,300. A small part of this went to the agency for providing services, and the rest of the money went to the potential employer. As the director explained, the funds had to be paid as proof that the employee was ready to come, and after moving to Canada, the employer had to pay them back. At the same time, the employer had to pay for the flight, visa fees, and accommodation. The director also convinced Artem that they had already sent many people to Canada this way.
The approval procedure was supposed to last 2-3 months, after which Artem was going to fly to Canada. However, the trip did not take place.
Money refund
At the time of the interview, the agency was in liquidation, and the director refused to return the money. According to her, she had transferred the funds to her Canadian employer, so she was not responsible.
Then on various forums, Artem found other people who had been swindled by the same company. He turned to the police. Operatives went to the address where the agency was located, but the director was no longer there, and she did not answer the phone.
Artem wrote two statements to the police but received no response. When he decided to go to the department in person, the police only said that there was no corpus delicti, because the director had transferred money to the Canadian company. However, there was no confirmation of her words.
In total there are about 15 applications for this agency from the same victims, but, according to Artem, there are many who for some reason did not go to law enforcement agencies.
Tips for job seekers
Artem says that his trust and illiteracy played a big role. He did not know the whole procedure of moving to Canada for permanent residence or work, and he should have studied this topic in more detail before contacting the company. Also, Artem advises against handing over cash, as he did, and be sure to double-check the contract.
Contract
Particular attention should be paid to the contract that you sign with your employer. For example, I was suspicious about a lot of things in Artem's contract:
- the Canadian flag in the document (there is no reason for a private company to use government symbols);
- the presence of stamps (they are not used in Canada);
- not the Canadian date format (day-month-year instead of year-month-day);
- gmail electronic address (the company would most likely have its own domain);
- the error in the name of the city.
Help with immigration
If you want to immigrate to Canada, contact only Canadian immigration consultants who are licensed. Our company has several such specialists. They will help you find the right path for you to move and talk about all the nuances.
Alex Pavlenko, founder of Immigrant.Today
