A woman seeking to travel to Canada on a visitor visa has recounted her experience of being deceived twice by travel agents.
The Kenyan national, identified as Sarah Nduku, revealed that she initially paid a travel agent in Nairobi Ksh 100,000 for visa application and processing in December 2023.
The agent had assured her that this payment would secure a visa within a few weeks; however, this promise was not fulfilled.
Instead, Nduku was subjected to a prolonged back-and-forth with the agent, who ultimately confessed, after several months, that her visa application had been rejected in February 2024.
Undeterred, Nduku subsequently sought the services of another agent in the city.
“I saw TikTok videos of people claiming that they ha gotten visas through this agent. I also read positive reviews about them on Facebook groups. I thought I had a chance,” she said.
Ndiku secured Ksh 150,000 and paid the agent in April 2024.
“They were very confident that they would get me the visa. In fact, they jokingly asked me to start shopping for suitcases,” she said.
The assurance of receiving a visa within three weeks has transformed into an extended period of waiting.
“In July, I visited their offices and demanded for answers. They had promised me it would not take longer than three weeks. It was now three months,” she says.
Nduku was later informed that there had been an increase in the volume of visitor visa applications, which had led to a backlog.
“I was told it was out of their hands; there was a backlog and all I needed to do was wait,” she says.
Unbeknownst to her, this was not the reality, as she would later discover that the IRCC had addressed her application in mid-June, expressing concerns regarding her use of an unauthorized representative to submit her application and the submission of a fraudulent bank statement.
Subsequently, Nduku received a procedural fairness letter (PFL) from the IRCC.
“I never saw any of these because I didn’t have the logins,” she says.
Nduku reports that, rather than receiving updates regarding her application, her agent proceeded to submit a response to the PFL to the IRCC.
Several weeks following the submission of the PFL, the IRCC imposed a five-year ban on Nduku.
“I only learned about the developments in September after literally camping at the agent’s offices for a whole week demanding for either outcome or a refund. The agent messed me up. I have lost money, time, and future opportunities,” she stated.
