College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants (CICC)
To better protect newcomers and applicants to Canada from unscrupulous and fraudulent consultants, the Government of Canada announced in 2019 its intention to strengthen the regime governing immigration and citizenship consultants by implementing a new statutory College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants (CICC). The College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants Act came into force on November 20 and the College is expected to open in 2021.
The mandate of the CICC is to regulate the practice of immigration and citizenship consulting in the public interest, and it will operate as an armβs-length institution.
Only a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant (RCIC), a lawyer registered in one of Canadaβs 13 Law Societies, a notaire registered with the Chambre des notaires du QuΓ©bec, or someone working directly under the supervision of someone belonging to one of those 3 previous professions, can legally offer Canadian immigration advice in exchange for money.
You can check if a person is licensed to represent immigrants or to give advice.
Citizenship or immigration consultants must be a member of the Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council.
Lawyers or notaries must be a member of a Canadian provincial or territorial law society, or the Chambre des notaires du QuΓ©bec.
Paralegals (Ontario only) must be members of the Law Society of Upper Canadaβ
If they are not members in good standing, you should not use their services.
Most law societies let you check online to see if a person is a member in good standing.
βLaw Society of Albertaβ
βLaw Society of Manitobaβ
βBarreau du QuΓ©becβ
βLaw Society of Yukonβ
βLaw Society of Nunavut (The Nunavut law society does not have an online search function. To find out whether a person is a member of this group, contact them directly.)
βThe Canadian Bar Associationβ
βChambre des notaires du QuΓ©bec: Membership validation service (French only)
Law Society Tribunal
The Law Society Tribunal is an independent adjudicative tribunal within the Law Society of Ontario. The Tribunal processes, hears and decides regulatory cases about Ontario lawyers and paralegals in a manner that is fair, just and in the public interest.
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