Don’t be the victim of a disappearing act

If you use an unauthorized representative, they could take your money and your application may be refused.

Go to www.cic.gc.ca to confirm if your representative is authorized to work with Citizenship and Immigration Canada.

Use an authorized representative

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) approves hundreds of thousands of immigration and citizenship applications every year.

Although it is not mandatory, many applicants choose to use a representative to assist them with their application.

Representatives give immigration or citizenship advice and help to visa or citizenship applicants, usually for a fee. They can be:

• citizenship or immigration consultants,
• lawyers,
• Quebec notaries, or
• paralegals regulated by a law society.

If you choose to use a representative, you’ll need to remember a few things:

• Make sure your representative is “authorized” to represent you.
• All the forms and information that you need are available, free of charge, at www.cic.gc.ca
• The Government of Canada will never ask you to deposit money into a personal bank account or ask you to transfer money through a private money transfer company.
• Authorized representatives are members in good standing of the Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council (ICCRC), immigration lawyers or paralegals belonging to a Canadian provincial or territorial law society, or notaries belonging to the Chambre des notaires du Québec.
  

The ICCRC is the national regulatory authority designated by the Government of Canada to safeguard individuals who seek and retain the services of Canadian citizenship or immigration consultants.

Useful tips, information, and forms to help you choose a representative can be found online at www.cic.gc.ca.

Remember, using a representative will not get your application special attention and no one can guarantee it will be approved. If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

You are responsible for the contents of your immigration or citizenship application at all times. It is up to you to make sure all the information in your application is true and correct. It is against the law to give false or misleading information to CIC.

If you have a complaint about your representative, there are ways to get help. Visit www.cic.gc.ca for options and advice.

CIC will not deal with unauthorized representatives.