Jonathan Nicola tells refugee board he doesn't know how old he is

A native of South Sudan who is accused of lying about his age to come to Canada told immigration officials he doesn't know how old he actually is, though an Immigration and Refugee Board adjudicator ruled she did not believe that to be true.  

According to Jonathan Nicola's testimony at an immigration and refugee board hearing on April 19 in Windsor, Ont., his mother never told him his birthday, leading him to believe he's 17, and not 29, as the Canada Border Services Agency alleges.

• Jonathan Nicola to remain in custody, review board determines
• 'Suspicions' arose over age of Jonathan Nicola, Catholic Central coach says
• South Sudanese man, 29, allegedly posed as high school student in Windsor, Ont.

"I do not know, I really do not know what is my real age, I cannot tell you what my real age is," Nicola said at the hearing, according to transcripts provided to CBC News by the Immigration Refugee Board. "My mom always [kept] telling us different [ages]. I do not remember what specific age."

Nicola has been detained by the CBSA for allegedly using false information on a passport and student visa application to come to Canada from the South Sudan.

He remains in detention after the Immigration and Refugee Board ruled he remains a flight risk at a second detention review hearing Tuesday. That ruling means he will stay in custody until May 24, but he could have an admissibility hearing as early as this week, which would determine whether he can stay in Canada.  

Attended high school

Nicola has attended Catholic Central high school in Windsor since November 2015 and was detained by CBSA officials April 15.

According to the CBSA, when Nicola entered Canada, his passport and visa application listed his birth date as November 1998. But when he applied for a U.S. visitor visa in April, his fingerprints matched an individual who had already applied for a U.S. visa in 2007 with a birth date of November 1986, the CBSA alleges.

U.S. officials flagged the discrepancy and refused his entry.

According to Nicola's testimony, the age on his documents changed shortly after South Sudan separated from Sudan in 2011.

He told the immigration board his documents from Sudan listed his year of birth as 1986, but when South Sudan separated, those documents were considered fraudulent. When he applied for South Sudanese documents, his year of birth was changed from 1986 to 1998.

Refugee board rejects account 

But the review board disputes that account.

In the April 19 decision, adjudicator Valerie Currie ruled Nicola did not make an honest mistake but was deliberately trying to get into Canada to play basketball under false pretences.

Since Nicola's father is a mechanical engineer in Saudi Arabia, the board ruled his parents — and Nicola himself — would have known when his birthday is.

"Today you have indicated that it is your desire to help your mother who is in the Sudan, and the rest of your family and that you hope to do that by getting an education," Currie said.

"I understand that, I understand your desire to do that, but the way you have gone about doing that is frankly, quite illegal."