Indian man won’t get $15K back for ‘illegal contract’ with Alberta immigration fixer
An Indian man who paid a fixer $15,000 in a failed attempt to extend his work permit in Canada entered into an “illegal contract” and is not entitled to get his money back, according to a recent decision from Alberta’s Court of Justice.
Ritik Sibbal sued Rajiv Chourhary Nathyal because the letter of endorsement from the City of Grande Prairie that Nathyal had agreed to help him obtain never materialized.
“Sibbal understood that a letter of endorsement would allow him to continue to work in Canada after his (post-graduate work permit) expired and potentially obtain permanent residency. Sibbal told the court that Nathyal agreed that the $15,000 he provided would be returned if a letter of endorsement was not obtained. The application for Sibbal’s letter of endorsement was refused; however, Nathyal never returned the money to Sibbal,” Justice Susanne Stushnoff wrote in a recent decision out of Edmonton.
“Sibbal was very poised before the court and presented as a smart and articulate individual. He was motivated to enter into an illegal contract due to his authentic desire to become a permanent resident of Canada. However, one of the elements that makes Canada such a desirable place to live is its legal system,” the judge wrote in her decision, dated Nov. 7.
Nathyal was served with notice of the lawsuit, but failed to defend himself.
Sibbal testified that he “came to Canada in April 2019 to attend business college in Vancouver.”
After graduating, he obtained a work permit that was good for three years.
His goal was to obtain a work permit before that expired that would allow him to stay in Canada and obtain permanent residency here.
Sibbal moved to Grande Prairie in August 2023 under the understanding that the city in northwestern Alberta “was considered ‘rural,’” and that he might only need a letter of endorsement to work past the expiration of his post-graduate work permit.
Letters of endorsement support “a foreign national’s job offer and their application for permanent residence under a specific immigration program,” said the decision.
Sibbal got several jobs in Grande Prairie, believing his employers would help him obtain the proper documentation, said the decision.
When those fell through, Sibbal only had six months left on his post-graduate work permit, which was set to expire in August 2024, said the decision. “He became anxious about his path forward.”
Sibbal called several immigration lawyers in Edmonton, one of whom pointed him to Nathyal in Grande Prairie.
The two met in early 2024 and Nathyal offered to help Sibbal obtain a letter of endorsement so he could stay in Canada, said the decision.
The price: $35,000.
“Sibbal offered Nathyal $15,000 in advance with the remainder to be paid in installments over the next few months.”
Sibbal testified that he had “no choice” but to agree to the offer as his work permit “was soon to expire and it was his father’s dream for him to obtain permanent residency in Canada.”
Nathyal told Sibbal he was going to get him a letter of endorsement from “the relevant authorities at the City of Grande Prairie,” said the decision.
“According to Sibbal, Nathyal was to obtain the letter of endorsement by telling the authorities that he was going to employ Sibbal. This was not the truth. Nathyal was never going to be Sibbal’s employer.”
Sibbal testified that he didn’t get anything in writing about their contract. “He explained that Nathyal would not allow anything in writing as both of them knew that the contract they were entering into was ‘illegal.’”
Sibbal paid Nathyal $15,000 in cash in February 2024, said the decision, which notes Nathyal refused to provide a receipt.
Sibbal “heard nothing” from Nathyal for several months, despite repeated attempts to reach him. After he managed to get through, Nathyal told him to “wait for a few more weeks.”
Nathyal called Sibbal at the end of July 2024, saying Grande Prairie had refused the letter of endorsement.
When he met with Nathyal in August 2024, “Nathyal advised that he proceed with a ‘fake refugee case,’” said the decision.
Sibbal “consulted with his parents who wisely advised him not to go down this path,” it said.
He called Nathyal to say he wouldn’t pursue a refugee claim, then asked him for help obtaining a labour market impact assessment. That’s a “document that a Canadian employer may need to get before hiring a foreign worker,” according to the decision.
When Nathyal told him that would cost an extra $35,000 to $40,000, “Sibbal indicated that this was ‘outside of (his) budget for now,’” said the decision.
When he asked about getting his $15,000 back, Nathyal told him to give him a month and a half.
“Over the following two weeks Sibbal followed up with Nathyal on multiple occasions,” said the decision. “Nathyal would respond periodically but never returned the money.”
The last time Sibbal heard from Nathyal was on Sept. 12, 2024.
“Nathyal texted Sibbal stating that he did not receive the payment he had purportedly been waiting on,” said the decision, which notes Sibbal told the court he was returning to India.
The judge found “that the contract between Sibbal and Nathyal was breached,” but she refused to enforce it.
The two men “were equally at fault in these circumstances,” Stushnoff said.
“Although Sibbal framed his pleadings and testimony in a way that cast a sympathetic light upon him, I find that Sibbal was a willing buyer and Nathyal was a willing seller.”
Sibbal “did not come before this court with ‘clean hands,’ and I exercise my discretion and refuse to grant the equitable relief he has sought,” said the judge.
The court “has a responsibility to preserve the integrity of the legal system, and this involves ensuring that claims seeking to enforce illegal contracts or unjust enrichment claims based on illegal contracts do not result in an inconsistency in the law,” the judge said.
“Submitting fake job offers or employment contracts, providing advice to do so, and charging fees beyond those expressly permitted by the legislation are all illegal under Canada’s immigration legislation and undermine the integrity of the Canadian immigration system. The monetization of Canada’s immigration system is against Canada’s public policy.”
Grande Prairie paused its Rural Renewal Stream Immigration program this past February, citing “federal and provincial immigration policy changes that have lowered immigration allocation spaces throughout the province.”
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