Who Can Provide "Canadian Immigration Advice"?

BY SHAZIA UMER ON JUNE 25, 2022

It is critical to ensure that your agent is qualified and regulated while seeking Canadian immigration guidance. Failure to do so might have serious implications.


Before engaging someone, you should conduct some research, but you should also be aware of the qualifications that a representative must possess before providing advice.


It is a criminal offence to offer Canadian immigration advice for a fee or other consideration without being licensed by the College, a Canadian law society, or the Chambre des notaires du Quรฉbec.

๐–๐ก๐จ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฉ๐ž๐ซ๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐ž๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ž ๐ข๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ข๐ ๐ซ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐š๐๐ฏ๐ข๐œ๐ž ๐š๐ง๐ ๐ซ๐ž๐ฉ๐ซ๐ž๐ฌ๐ž๐ง๐ญ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐ข๐ง ๐‚๐š๐ง๐š๐๐š?

Only the representatives listed below can assist you with a Canadian immigration application or appeal. They are as follows:


โœ” Lawyers and paralegals (Ontario only) who are members in good standing of a Canadian law society,

โœ” Quebec notaries, and

โœ” Immigration consultants who are members in good standing of the Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council (ICCRC).


These individuals are known as "authorized" representatives.


IRCC will not do business with representatives who charge for their services and are not affiliated with one of the groups mentioned above.

๐‡๐จ๐ฐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐œ๐จ๐ง๐Ÿ๐ข๐ซ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ก๐ž๐ญ๐ก๐ž๐ซ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ซ๐ž๐ฉ๐ซ๐ž๐ฌ๐ž๐ง๐ญ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ž ๐ข๐ฌ ๐š๐ฎ๐ญ๐ก๐จ๐ซ๐ข๐ณ๐ž๐


1- IRCC 's Website


Using the link below, you may access the Canadian law societies in each province and territory that enable you to verify a person's status as a member in good standing. You may look up the lawyer's license or see if they are involved in any disciplinary actions.


https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigration-citizenship-representative/choose/authorized.html


2- CCIC's Website


Do you know that the only immigration consultants who can provide you with Canadian immigration advice in exchange for a fee are licensed immigration consultants?


You should check the status of an immigration consultant with the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants ("CICC"). CICC maintains a public register of regulated Canadian immigration consultants on their website (RCICs).


Similar to how paddling a canoe with a friend makes it easier, having a representative who has been authorized to act on your behalf makes the immigration application process simple and straightforward.

Shazia Umer is a member of the Law Society of Alberta and if you would like to receive Canadian immigration advice, please contact Umer Law to explore your options.