the CanadaVisa Team - 01 February, 2017
A widespread rumour that Canada is due to begin a new immigration lottery, similar to the DV visa lottery in the United States, is untrue. The story stems from an article published online that citizens from 16 countries could apply as of March 1, 2017.
The government of Canada has not made any public announcement that such a lottery will open, and there is no reason to believe that such a program will be launched. The story being circulated appears to be fraudulent.
The false story lists a range of eligibility requirements for interested citizens of Oman, Ethiopia, Philippines, Ghana, Guyana, Jamaica, Nigeria, Gambia, Cameroon, Kenya, Pakistan, Zambia, Thailand, Uganda, Fiji, and Lesotho.
The story does not cite a government source. Indeed, it incorrectly names the department overseeing immigration to Canada as 'Canadian Immigration and Citizenship' (the correct name is Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada).
The eligibility requirements, the list of eligible countries, the dates, and process guidelines all appear to be completely made up.
Readers are encouraged to treat news of a general visa lottery in Canada for citizens of the aforementioned countries as untrue. Moreover, do not engage the services of any individual, entity, or group that tells individuals that they can assist with an application to this fake program.
For more information about how you can protect yourself from immigration fraud, please see the Canadian government's website.
