Who can legally charge you for immigration advice
In Canada, charging someone for immigration advice is against the law unless you're licensed for it. People get badly hurt by this: money gone, applications refused, and in the worst cases a misrepresentation finding that keeps you out of the country for five years. If you are paying someone, they should be one of these three — and you can check all three with a regulator before you hand over anything.
The three you can pay
- RCICA Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant, licensed by the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants (CICC). The same register also lists RISIAs, who may only advise on student matters — check which one you are looking at.
- Lawyer or paralegalA lawyer in good standing with a provincial or territorial law society. Ontario paralegals are licensed too, but only for hearings at the Immigration and Refugee Board — not for IRCC applications.
- Quebec notaryA notary who belongs to the Chambre des notaires du Québec.
Look up their name first
The CICC register is free and takes about a minute to search. If someone wants money to help you and they're not in it — and they're not a lawyer or Quebec notary you can check with their order — walk away. A licence number on a website or in a WhatsApp message proves nothing. Anyone can type one.
Search the CICC public register(opens the official page in a new tab)We don't recommend or rank anyone. The link goes straight to the official register so you can check for yourself.
Free help exists — check whether you qualify
You may not have to pay anyone. IRCC funds settlement agencies that sit down with you, often in your own language, for language classes, job hunting, school enrolment and settlement paperwork. Two things to know: these are mainly for permanent residents and protected persons, so if you're still applying you may not qualify yet, and Quebec runs its own services through MIFI instead. For refugee claims and appeals, legal aid exists in most provinces and is means-tested.
- Find free newcomer services near youSearch by postal code for agencies funded by IRCC.(opens the official page in a new tab)
- Claiming refugee protectionThe official process, the deadlines, and where legal aid comes in.(opens the official page in a new tab)
- 211 — community help lineFree, confidential, many languages, 24 hours a day in most of the country.(opens the official page in a new tab)