Canada’s new rules for paid immigration and citizenship advisers took effect Oct. 28, covering unauthorized representation and knowingly providing or helping provide false or misleading information, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) said.
IRCC lists baseline amounts of C$5,000 for unauthorized paid advice or representation and C$15,000 when a representative knowingly supplies or helps supply false or misleading information. The agency says its calculation considers the violation’s impact, any financial advantage and the representative’s previous findings.
The penalties also reach licensed immigration consultants, lawyers and other authorized representatives, plus anyone charging for immigration or citizenship advice or representation without authorization, IRCC says. They apply even when a representative is based outside Canada. IRCC also lists a C$10,000 base penalty for withholding documents needed for an inspection.
Recipients have 30 days from receiving a violation notice to pay or request a review. IRCC plans to publish the names of people penalized and details of their violations. It expects to launch a public registry in 2027, after administering its first penalties; the department says disclosure is intended to help applicants identify representatives who have broken the rules.
The new system addresses a gap identified in a 2024 government regulatory analysis: the previous framework did not give IRCC a way to penalize people for unauthorized paid advice or counseling misrepresentation. The analysis cited an average of 282 annual leads to the Canada Border Services Agency about suspected consultant offenses from 2018 through 2022. An average of 50, or 17%, involved allegations against unauthorized individuals. A House of Commons committee had earlier called for changes, issuing 21 recommendations in 2017 after reviewing consultant oversight.
Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Lena Metlege Diab said the measures aim to protect applicants from fraud and misconduct. “Those who do not will face consequences,” she said.
IRCC says Part II of the Canada Gazette is due to publish the final regulations Wednesday, Nov. 4.
