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 arm’s-length institution.

Only a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant (RCIC), a lawyer registered in one of Canada’s 13 Law Societies, a notaire registered with the Chambre des notaires du Québec, 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.

​Find out if your representative is authorized​

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 Québec.

• Paralegals (Ontario only) must be members of the Law Society of Upper Canada​

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.

Law societies in each province and territory

• ​Law Society of British Columbia​

• ​Law Society of Alberta​

• ​Law Society of Saskatchewan​

• ​Law Society of Manitoba​

• ​Law Society of Upper Canada (Ontario)​

• ​Barreau du Québec​

• ​Law Society of New Brunswick​

• ​Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society​

• ​Law Society of Prince Edward Island​

• ​Law Society of Newfoundland and Labrador​

• ​Law Society of Yukon​

• ​Law Society of the Northwest Territories​

• ​Law 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.)

​The Canadian Bar Association​

​Chambre des notaires du Québec: Membership validation service (French only)

Other contacts

• ​Canada Border Services Agency​

• ​Canadian Council of Better Business Bureaus​

• ​Canadian Consumer Information Gateway​

• ​Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada​

• ​Royal Canadian Mounted Police​

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.

​Make a Complaint about a Lawyer​

​Discipline-related decisions issued since 2000​