CIMM – Inauthentic Documents – February 8, 2023

Implicated Recommendations: N/A – background only

Key messages

To facilitate the evacuation of vulnerable Afghans in August 2021, the Government of Canada sent facilitation letters directly to Afghan nationals who were eligible to come to Canada. This practice was also employed by the United States and other partners.
The Government of Canada issued these letters until August 28, 2021 with the sole purpose of assisting individuals through checkpoints on the way to and at the airport in Kabul.
These facilitation letters were only issued by Global Affairs Canada and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) using official government email addresses and sent directly to recipients. The Government also contacted recipients about the purpose of the letter and next steps regarding the evacuation and their applications.
When IRCC became aware of the potential use of inauthentic facilitation letters, the Department undertook an internal review of the matter in accordance with IRCC protocols and authorities, and has since referred the matter to the appropriate law enforcement partners.

IRCC did not authorize any third party to issue these facilitation letters on its behalf.
The IRCC facilitation letters did not confer status on their recipients, and could not be used to enter Canada or board a flight bound for Canada.
IRCC only issued facilitation letters during the period when the air bridge was still in operation and evacuation flights were still leaving Hamid Karzai International Airport.
To protect the integrity and privacy of potential investigations, and given the existence of ongoing related litigation subject to a confidentiality order, we are unable to speak to further specific details.

Facilitation letters were issued by IRCC, using official email addresses, to individuals and their families who had applied to come to Canada or who had approved Temporary Resident Permits. The sole purpose of these letters was to facilitate crossing checkpoints en route to and at Hamid Karzai International Airport. The usage of facilitation letters was discontinued once the air bridge had closed.
When IRCC became aware of the potential use of inauthentic facilitation letters, the Department undertook an internal review of the matter in accordance with IRCC protocols and authorities, and made a referral to appropriate law enforcement partners.
While a few inauthentically issued letters have been encountered, none appear to have been used successfully to come to Canada. IRCC also issued alerts to its offices when the letters were encountered.
To protect the integrity of potential investigations, and given the existence of ongoing related litigation subject to a confidentiality order, we are unable to speak to further specific details.