TingTing Biao remembers the moment she realized she had lost everything, including tens of thousands of dollars in savings, in an immigration scheme that left her broke and traumatized.
A donated loaf of bread was all she could offer her son.
“My daughter eats once a whole day,” Biao said, her voice shaking, during an interview in Saskatoon in August.
Instead of a new life in Canada, Biao is now back in China warning others about what happened – a dream that turned into a nightmare.
In January, Biao and her husband arrived in Canada on tourist visas with their six-year-old daughter, intending to explore their options for moving here permanently.
He signed a contract with Jun Su and June HR Solutions in Saskatoon. Biao said a friend recommended her to the immigration company and believed an agent who was also of Chinese descent would be trustworthy.
Su gave Biao immigration advice and offered him what seemed like a clear path to permanent residency, for a steep price of up to $110,000. Biao ended up paying $40,000 before leaving.
One expert told CBC that immigrating to Canada shouldn’t cost that much; It typically costs between $5,000 and $10,000 to hire an immigration consultant for a process similar to Biao’s.
His is not a licensed immigration consultant.
The College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants (CICC) regulates the industry by licensing agents, establishing guidelines and investigating complaints. It said anyone who illegally provides Canadian immigration advice for a fee or other consideration without having a license is an unauthorized professional.
Su said in a statement that her husband is a licensed agent and she provides immigration advice based on her guidance and years of experience.
A contract for failure
CBC reviewed Biao’s contract with June HR Solutions. It established payments totaling $110,000 tied to various immigration steps, ultimately leading to permanent residency.
CICC said in a statement that consultants must set “fair and reasonable fees,” but it does not specify how much is reasonable nor can it track how much agents charge.
Biao paid the first $20,000 when he signed the contract and the next $20,000 after a successful labor market impact assessment (LMIA), a document Canadian employers sometimes need to hire foreign workers.
Biao received a positive review for a kitchen helper position, but an expert told CBC the job did not qualify for Saskatchewan’s permanent residency pathway at the time.
Richard Kurland, an immigration attorney with 40 years of experience, said “the plan was a plan to fail.”
“Even if you get an LMIA as a kitchen helper, you won’t get anything,” Kurland said.
An expensive detour and misleading advice
Biao’s next step was to obtain a work permit, which would be followed by another payment of $20,000 to Su, but Biao’s work permit application was rejected.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada said in a rejection letter that it was not convinced that Biao would leave Canada at the end of her temporary work permit, citing family ties in Canada, inconsistent details in her application and an unclear purpose for the visit.
Su then suggested an even more expensive detour: investing $80,000 in a business in Yellowknife to apply for an investment visa. But that program requires more than $200,000, English proficiency, business experience and a high net worth. Biao had none of that.
It was then that Biao realized that he had no options and decided to abandon the contract. Without all her savings and no prospects of living in Canada, she was forced to return to China.
ghost consultant
Most of Biao’s communication was with Su, who is not a regulated immigration consultant.
CBC reviewed WeChat conversations showing Su giving immigration instructions and guidance to Biao over several months.
June HR Solutions Inc. has one licensed consultant listed: Su’s husband, Zheng Tao Liu.
Su referred to Liu as “Lawyer Liu” in WeChat conversations, but the Law Society of Saskatchewan confirmed Liu is not authorized to do so. practice law in the province.
The response of the immigration company
Su declined CBC’s request for an on-camera interview, but emailed his response to Biao’s allegations. She said she works as an assistant to her husband, who is a licensed consultant, and provides advice based on her guidance and years of experience.
“In this position, I help serve customers, which I believe is my right and my responsibility.”
She also said that Liu, her husband, is a lawyer in China and that she never claimed that her husband was a lawyer in Canada.
As for rates, he said Canada’s free market allows it to set its own rates.
“Ms. Biao agreed to the price at the time of signing, so I don’t think the price should be a point of contention now,” he said.
Su alleged that Biao and her husband had damaged her professional and personal reputation.
‘Wild West’
Kurland reviewed Biao’s documents and said his experience reveals a larger problem: a major lack of oversight in the regulation of immigration agents.
“It’s an open wild west when it comes to consultants. People can charge whatever they want,” Kurland said. “These people have to be protected. They are vulnerable. They clearly don’t know how our system works or how much things really cost.”
Kurland said Biao’s case is an example showing that the CICC lacks the resources and authority to adequately protect the public.
“What worries me most is the amount of money at stake for a simple permanent residency application, as well as the information and advice that is provided to these people,” Kurland said.
Solutions waiting on the shelf
Kurland said it’s clear there are solutions to prevent problems like Biao’s.
“It’s a known problem and it will be up to the feds to fix it if they want to,” he said.
Their recommendations are:
- Parliament already passed legislation in 2019 to strengthen supervision of consultants, but has not been fully implemented. Kurland said implementing the changes would provide stricter regulation and an insurance fund to compensate victims.
- Publish typical fee ranges for services such as work permits and permanent residency applications, so newcomers know what is reasonable.
- Give the CICC more resources and authority, including the power to impose fines.
- Conduct random inspections of consultants, rather than relying solely on complaints.
Persistent trauma
Now back in China, Biao said the ordeal continues to haunt her family. After losing all of his life savings, he tries to rebuild them. She said she is still sad and angry, and feels cheated by another person of Chinese origin.
Biao said he is sharing his story in hopes of warning other foreigners and newcomers against similar schemes.
She said she is still haunted by nightmares from the experience.
“In the dream, I’m crying,” he said.
“My husband shakes me awake… and I’m still crying. It’s true.”
