IS YOUR IMMIGRATION CONSULTANT LICENSED ?

The College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants (CICC) licenses and regulates Canadian immigration and citizenship consultants in the public interest.

There are 2 types of immigration and citizenship consultants they regulate:

• Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultants (RCICs), and

• Regulated International Student Immigration Advisors (RISIAs).

A Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant (RCIC) is a licensed immigration consultant who can provide all immigration services to clients, such as:

• Explaining immigration and citizenship options

• Choosing the best program for you

• Filling out and submitting your immigration or citizenship application

• Communicating with the Government of Canada on your behalf

• Representing you in an immigration or citizenship application or hearing

A Regulated International Student Immigration Advisor (RISIA) is an employee of a Canadian Designated Learning Institution (DLI) who may provide immigration advice to international students.

Anyone who wants to provide Canadian immigration or citizenship advice or representation for a fee (or for any other benefit) must be one of the following:

• A licensee in good standing with the College

• A member of a Canadian law society, or

• A member of the Chambre des notaires du Québec.

In other words, if someone is not already a lawyer or a notaire, they must have a licence from the College to work as a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant or a Regulated International Student Immigration Advisor.

How to check if your consultant is licensed ?

The College has an online Public Register of Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultants (RCICs) and Regulated International Student Immigration Advisors (RISIAs).

Anyone can use this Public Register to help verify a Canadian immigration consultant’s status as a licensee of the College.

Also note that to act as an immigration consultant in the province of Québec, a person must be licensed by the College, recognized by the Ministère de l’Immigration, de la Francisation et de l’Intégration (MIFI), and registered on the Registre québécois des consultants en immigration (French only).

If your immigration consultant does not appear in our Public Register, you may also check the Government of Canada website to determine if they are authorized by another organization.

Go to https://college-ic.ca/protecting-the-public/find-an-immigration-consultant

You can either get an Alphabetic list of RCICs by last name by clicking on a letter from the list available.

Or

You can do an advanced RCIC Search using the following filters:

• Last Name

• First Name

• RCIC #

• Status

• Company Name

• Agent's last name

• Country

• Province/Region

• Postal Code

• City

• Street

Only RCICs and RISIAs with an “Active” status on the Public Register can provide immigration advice or services:

• Active: A licensee in good standing with the College authorized to provide immigration services to clients.

• Active – Practice Restricted: A licensee who has had their practice restricted as part of an interim order or disciplinary finding made by the Discipline Committee. The specific restriction will be listed beside the status.

• Licensees with the statuses listed below CANNOT provide services:

• Leave of Absence: A licensee who has taken leave from the profession for a specific period and has agreed not to provide immigration services until they return.

• Resigned: A licensee who has notified the College that they no longer wish to practise and has officially resigned their licence.

• Resigned – Called to the Bar: An RCIC who has resigned from the College while in good standing after becoming a licensed member of a Canadian provincial law society (a lawyer).

• Resigned – While Under Investigation: An RCIC who has resigned their licence with the College while under disciplinary investigation.

• Administrative Suspension: A licensee who has had their licence suspended because they failed to pay fees, complete CPD hours as required, or failed to meet another administrative obligation* required to maintain their licence.

• Administrative Revocation: A licensee who had their licence revoked for failing to complete a required action within 90 days of an administrative suspension. *

• Disciplinary Suspension: A licensee who has had their licence suspended as part of an interim order or disciplinary finding* made by the Discipline Committee.

• Disciplinary Revocation: A licensee who has had their licence revoked as part of an interim order or disciplinary finding* made by the Discipline Committee.

• Deceased: A licensee whose death has been reported to the Registrar.

Suspension or Revocation may happen because of a failure to:

• Pay fees.

• Complete the PME course.

• Fulfil licensee admissions condition.

• Meet CPD requirements.

• Pay fines or penalties.

• Complete Quality Management Program requirements.

• Respond to the College.

• Comply with a discipline order.

Source: https://college-ic.ca/