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I am a citizen from a South American country. I previously lived with student visas in Canada and a country in the Schengen area. I overstayed in the latter for over a year, due to some bureocratic and legal misunderstandings. I ended up receiving an 'Order to Leave the Territory' letter.

I am filling the visa application to return to Canada (via my home country) to finish my studies. The application ask me 'Have you ever been refused a visa or permit, denied entry, or ordered to leave Canada or any other country or territory?', to which the answer is 'yes'. Do you think I should be truthful? Is there a way for the Canadian authorities to know, automatically and not through me, whether I received an Order to Leave letter in the Schengen?

throwaway
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2 Answers2

47

Do you think I should be truthful?

Yes. Here are the rules:

  1. NEVER LIE TO IMMIGRATION.
  2. In case of doubt, see #1.

Is there a way for the Canadian authorities to know, automatically and not through me, whether I received an Order to Leave letter in the Schengen?

No. That would be an astonishing breach of privacy laws which the EU takes extremely seriously. There is very limited immigration data sharing agreement between Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America but that's for asylum purposes and 3000 cases a year only -- and the EU is not on it.

So why, then? Because if you ever get interviewed by IRCC then you will be caught in the lie. These people have interviewed thousands and thousands of people and will catch you lying without a problem. To use a metaphor: you go boxing, a million dollars if you win, you never boxed before, your opponent is an Olympic boxer: you are going to lose.

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Do you think I should be truthful?

YES

Don't lie. If and when it's found out it will be much worse for you.

Midavalo
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