If you are paying someone to represent you in your Canadian immigration application you need to ensure that you have chosen someone who is authorized to deal with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). Those people include:
- Lawyers and paralegals who are members in good standing of a Canadian provincial or territorial law society;
- Notaries who are members in good standing of the Chambre des notaires du Québec, and
- Immigration consultants who are members in good standing of the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants (CICC).
If you have paid someone who is not listed above, they are not authorized to deal with IRCC or the CBSA on your behalf, which could cause potential issues with your application (For more on this read our past blog “Immigration Consultants – We’re not all bad”).
What should you do though if you have chosen to pay someone who is authorized to deal with IRCC/CBSA and they do something which is illegal or unethical? You have several options available to you depending on the illegal/unethical actions and where you and them are located. You can:
1) Contact the regulatory board who oversees the representative
2) Contact the consumer protection agency in the country which the representative operates
3) Contact your local law enforcement agency or consumer protection agency
4) Contact the IRCC office which is responsible for processing your application
5) Contact the Canada Border Services Agency
For more information on how to file a complaint and potential consequences to you the consumer, you can visit the following websites:
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/representative/complaints.asp
Furthermore, if you know of someone who is charging a fee for Canadian immigration services illegally (an unauthorized representative), you can report them directly to the CICC at:
https://college-ic.ca/protecting-the-public/complaints-process/make-a-complaint
Lastly, it is important to remember that you do not have to use a paid representative, but if you do make sure you protect yourself.
Complete our free Canadian immigration assessment to see which Canadian immigration options may be available to you, or book a consultation with one of our Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultants!
