Canada revokes status of 3,000 immigrants

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OTTAWA, Sept. 10 (UPI) -- Canada is revoking the citizenship or residency status of more than 3,000 people following a fraud investigation, the immigration minister said Monday.

Speaking at a news conference in Ottawa Monday, Immigration Minister Jason Kenney said a year-long examination by the Canadian Border Services Agency and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police indicated as many as 11,000 people may have improperly obtained citizenship or permanent resident status in Canada by hiring representatives to affirm they were living in Canada to conform to residency rules when the candidates were, if fact, living abroad.

The 3,000 will have their status revoked quickly, the Toronto newspaper The Globe and Mail reported Monday. Five-thousand more have been flagged for additional scrutiny and suspected residence fraud, and 2,500 others have attracted government attention for unspecified reasons, an Immigration Department statement said.