A Nigerian student, Lola Akinlade, has been left reeling after being ordered to leave Canada by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) due to a fake acceptance letter she used to obtain a study visa and work permit. Akinlade, who graduated with a diploma in Social Services from Nova Scotia Community College in 2019, has been fighting to clear her name and rectify her situation.
According to Akinlade, she was unaware that the acceptance letter provided by an agent for the University of Regina in 2016 was fake until she was contacted by the IRCC just weeks before her graduation from her new institution. She had received the letter from an agent who claimed to be an immigration consultant and offered to guide her through the process of becoming an international student.
Akinlade’s move to Canada
Akinlade’s journey to Canada began in 2015 when she was working as a medical sales representative at a pharmaceutical company in Lagos. She met a man at her office who claimed to be an immigration consultant and offered to help her apply for a master’s degree in business administration. She provided the agent with documents such as her passport and university transcripts, along with payment, and was later supplied with a study permit for Canada, plane tickets, and an acceptance letter from the University of Regina.
However, when she arrived in Canada in late December 2016, she was stopped in Winnipeg and told that there were no spaces available at the university and that she would have to go on a waitlist. Akinlade began searching independently for a new school and program and eventually enrolled at Nova Scotia Community College for social services, starting in September 2017.
It wasn’t until two years later, when she received a letter from the IRCC informing her that the acceptance letter was fake, that she discovered the truth. She had already lost her study permit and was denied when she attempted to apply for a postgraduate work permit and a temporary resident permit.
Akinlade’s husband and their two sons, who had joined her in Nova Scotia in 2018, have also lost their temporary resident status. Their younger son, born in Canada in 2021, has Canadian citizenship but lacks medical coverage due to his parents’ status.
Akinlade has been fighting to clear her name and rectify her situation, but so far, she has been unsuccessful. In March 2023, an IRCC officer wrote to her stating that the department believed she knew the document was fake “on the balance of probabilities.” Her case has become a rallying cry for many Nigerians who have faced similar challenges in their attempts to seek education and better lives in Canada.
Akinlade’s story is a testament to the importance of vigilance and due diligence in the process of seeking education abroad. It also highlights the need for greater transparency and accountability from immigration agents and consultants who claim to be acting on behalf of international students.
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