Imposter page falsely claims Canada giving free work opportunities to Ethiopians and Eritreans

Hoax posts promising “free” work opportunities in Canada have recently increased on Ethiopian social media. A Facebook page claiming to represent the Ethiopian embassy in Canada claims 10,000 such opportunities are on offer for Ethiopians and Eritreans, implying their visa and travel costs would be covered. However, this is false: Canadian immigration authorities confirmed the purported programme does not exist. AFP Fact Check also found that the Facebook account does not belong to the embassy.  

The post, shared more than 70 times since it was published on March 4, 2024, contains a letter purportedly stamped by both the Ethiopian embassy in Canada and the Ethiopian ambassador to the United States.

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Screenshot of the false post, taken on March 6, 2024

There is no official letterhead, only the flags of Ethiopia and Canada, and a headline in Amharic that translates to “Job vacancy”. 

“Congratulations! Good news for Ethiopians and Eritreans. For the second round of 2016 E.C. (2024 G.C.), the Canadian government has made a new declaration offering free work opportunities to 10,000 Ethiopians and Canadians. Citizens of Ethiopia and Eritrea who meet the following requirements are eligible to apply,” the letter states. 

In the Ethiopian calendar, 2016 is equivalent to 2024. 

The letter lists eligibility requirements: “Age 20 years and above; national ID; graduated from 10th grade and renewed passport.” 

Then it explains: “Those who meet these requirements can reserve a place by calling the numbers below.” Two Ethiopian mobile phone numbers are listed. 

Despite mentioning “free” opportunities, the letter then goes on to state: “You can travel to Canada if you pay 25% of the processing fee”, adding that “the application will be online”.

The stamps read: “Embassy of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia - Canada” and “Seleshi Bekele Awulachew: Embassy of Ethiopian Ambassador”.

Seleshi Bekele Awulachew (archived here) is the current ambassador of Ethiopia to the United States. 

Similar claims were published on Facebook here and here. 

However, the purported offer does not exist. 

Impostor page

AFP Fact Check found that the “Ethio Canadian Embassy” Facebook page is a sham. 

Its Facebook transparency information reveals that it was created less than a month ago, on February 19, 2024. It has fewer than 200 followers. 

Meanwhile, the official Facebook page (archived here) of the Ethiopian Embassy in Canada was created on June 19, 2018, and has more than 58,000 followers. 

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Screenshots of the Facebook transparency information of the official account of the Ethiopian embassy in Canada (left) and the imposter page, taken on March 6, 2024

AFP Fact Check also compared the stamp on the fake letter with the official embassy stamp, found on its website. 

The official stamp reads “Embassy of the Federal Republic of Ethiopia Ottawa”, not “Embassy of the Federal Republic of Ethiopia Canada”. 

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Screenshots of the official stamp of Ethiopian embassy in Canada (above) and the stamp in the fake letter

Moreover, the name of the current Ethiopian ambassador to Canada is Fitsum Arega, not Seleshi Bekele Awulachew, the ambassador to the United States. 

Non-existent programme 

The Ethiopian embassy in Canada has not made any announcements regarding free work opportunities in Canada on any of its platforms. 

It told AFP Fact Check: "This form has nothing to do with our embassy and is far from the truth; it is a fabricated form designed to mislead people, and we strongly urge Ethiopians living in the country or abroad to take care not to use the form."

AFP Fact Check also contacted the Canadian government’s immigration ministry, which confirmed that the claim was unfounded. 

“The claim is incorrect; no such programme exists,” the ministry’s spokesman Erin Kerbel told AFP Fact Check. 

“Our ‘Protect yourself from immigration fraud’ webpage raises awareness about common types of scams and fraudulent activities,” she added. 

AFP Fact Check has previously debunked similar posts promising free travel and job opportunities in Canada and the US here, here and here.