Study Work Live Retire in Canada: Using an Immigration and Citizenship Representative

Tuesday, July 17, 2018

Using an Immigration and Citizenship Representative

Immigration and citizenship representatives:

explain and give advice on your immigration or citizenship options
help you choose the best immigration program for you
fill out and submit your immigration or citizenship application
communicate with the Government of Canada on your behalf
represent you in an immigration or citizenship application or hearing
advertise that they can give immigration or citizenship advice

Representatives could be:

citizenship or immigration consultants
lawyers
friends
family members or
other third parties

You may choose to use a representative to act on your behalf for immigration or citizenship applications with:

You don't need to hire a representative!

It's your choice. Using one will not draw special attention to your application and does not mean that the CIC will approve it.

You can get all the forms and instructions you need to apply for a visa, a permit or citizenship for free on the Government of Canada website. If you follow the instructions, you should be able to fill out the forms and submit them yourself.

Beware of fraudulent representatives. Learn more about how to protect yourself from fraud.

Beware of fraud

You are responsible for all the information in your application, even if your representative completes it for you.

Beware of representatives who:

advertise their services as free and later ask you to pay a fee
advise you to lie on your application. It is against the law to give false or misleading information in your application

Learn more about:

Types of representatives

There are two types of representatives: paid (and authorized) and unpaid.

Authorized paid representatives

Only some people can charge you a fee or receive any other type of payment. These people are called “authorized” representatives. They are:

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
citizenship or immigration consultants who are members in good standing of the Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council

The Government of Canada will not deal with representatives who charge a fee but are not authorized. If you use an unauthorized representative, in Canada or abroad, the Government of Canada may return your application or refuse it.

Remember: if you pay a representative or compensate them in any way in exchange for their services, the Government of Canada may consider that paid and they must be authorized.

Find out how to check if your representative is authorized.