Before you pay anyone — a company, or a person who calls themselves a Canadian immigration consultant — there is a two-minute check almost nobody does: finding out whether that person is allowed to represent you to IRCC at all.
This article is that two minutes.
Only four groups may charge you
The rule is short. If someone advises you on your immigration file for a fee, or represents you before IRCC, they must belong to one of these four groups.
| Who | Must be a member of | Where to check |
|---|---|---|
| Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant (RCIC) | The College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants (CICC) | register.college-ic.ca |
| Lawyer | A Canadian provincial or territorial law society | That society’s own register — IRCC lists every one of them |
| Notary | The Chambre des notaires du Québec | trouverunnotaire.cnq.org |
| Paralegal (Ontario only) | The Law Society of Ontario | lso.ca |
Anyone outside that list who takes money to do this work is breaking the rule. That is not our opinion — it is IRCC’s own page on authorized representatives.
One detail catches people out. Membership has to be in good standing, and IRCC says plainly that if someone is not a member in good standing, you should not use their services. A person can have held a licence once and be suspended today, and only the public register will tell you which.
The check itself
- Ask for the licence number. An RCIC number starts with R and has six digits — R522575, for example.
- Go to register.college-ic.ca.
- Search the number, or the name.
- Confirm it is the same person, that the status reads active, and that the discipline history is clear.
Our own licence is there to be checked the same way: Hadi Imani, RCIC R522575, and the company records are set out on our credentials page.
If someone will not give you the number, the check is already finished. You have your answer.
Does a company name prove anything?
No. A licence is issued to a person, never to a brand. However large or long-established the firm, your file has to be handled by a licensed consultant or lawyer.
So instead of asking about the company, ask one question: who is handling my file? Take that person’s name and licence number and search the register — the same two minutes as above. Then move on to the written contract, the exact fee, and how a complaint would be made. If you are still working out which programme fits you, our guide to Canadian immigration routes covers the options.
“Immigration lawyer” and “regulated consultant” are not the same thing
This gets written wrongly a great deal, and sometimes deliberately. An RCIC is not a lawyer. They are two separate professions, with two separate regulators and two separate qualifying routes.
Neither is inherently better than the other, because both are allowed to work on your file. But when a website calls a consultant a “licensed immigration lawyer”, or the reverse, it is describing itself as something larger than it is. Slow down there.
Warning signs
- A guaranteed visa. Nobody can guarantee the outcome. The decision belongs to an immigration officer, and no consultant or lawyer sits in that chair.
- No written contract. You should get one setting out the person’s name, licence number, the fee, and exactly what is and is not included.
- A licence number that appears nowhere. People who hold one do not hide it.
- No clear legal name, contact details or complaints route. An office address on its own proves nothing; being able to find the firm and complain about it matters more.
- Pressure to pay quickly, or cash with no receipt.
The form that settles it
When someone represents you, form IMM 5476, “Use of a Representative”, has to be completed and signed, with their name and licence number on it. That form is what tells IRCC who is speaking on your behalf. It is free, and it comes from IRCC’s own site.
If someone is taking your money but does not want their name on that form, ask why. The answer is usually the one you are already expecting.
What happens if you use an unauthorized representative?
IRCC can return your application or refuse it, and the money and the months you spent do not come back. Because that person answers to no regulator, there is also nowhere to complain.
The part that hurts most is not the money. If an application is filed with false information, the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act treats that as misrepresentation, and under section 40 you are inadmissible to Canada for five years and cannot apply for permanent residence during that time. The section covers misrepresentation made indirectly as well — so the consequence attaches to you, not to the person who wrote the false statement into your file.
If the person is licensed and handles your file badly, you at least have somewhere to go: the College’s complaints process, which accepts submissions online only, not by email or phone. Without a licence, that route does not exist either.
You can apply without a representative
It is worth saying plainly: nobody has to hire anyone. Many people prepare and submit their own applications and are approved. IRCC does not treat a self-submitted application as weaker or stronger than any other.
A friend or relative helping you for free is allowed too — they simply have to be named on that same IMM 5476.
Four questions, before you pay
- What is your licence number, and which body regulates you?
- Do you provide a written contract? What is included in the fee, and what is not?
- Will your name go on form IMM 5476?
- What happens if the application is refused?
Any genuine consultant or lawyer answers all four without hesitating. The hesitation is itself an answer.
This article is general information, not legal advice, and it describes published official rules rather than any individual case. Hadi Imani is a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant, licence R522575, practising in Toronto; that licence covers Canadian immigration only.
