The information I’ll be sharing is intended for foreign nationals looking for immigration services to visit, work, study temporarily and settle in Canada permanently. This blog will also be beneficial for Canadians. Those Canadians include employers needing to look abroad for employees to fill labour shortages in our country and Canadians married or in common-law partnership to foreign nationals living abroad or in Canada, whether they are of same or opposite sex. I receive several messages a day with questions on Canadian immigration from individuals around the globe and from Canadians struggling with their immigration process or needing help with their application. That said, I will try to clarify some issues on a general aspect in my future posts.

Before going any further, I must advise when seeking information or services pertaining to Canadian immigration, it is important that the representative be a licensed Canadian Immigration Consultant or lawyer. How do you know if a Canada immigration consultant is legit? You can check if a person is licensed to represent immigrants and give advice on their regulatory body’s website. Citizenship and immigration consultants must be a member of the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultant and can be found on the Public Register of Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultants (RCICs) in good standing https://college-ic.ca/protecting-the-public/find-an-immigration-consultant. They are listed in alphabetical order or you can do an Advanced Search. Example, enter my last name Normandeau in the Advanced Search tool bar and voila it shows that I have active status.  You may also get the list through my website at https://normandeauimmigration.ca/

If the province of Québec is a destination of interest be sure that the consultant is recognized by the Quebec immigration authorities Quebec Minister Immigration, Francisation et Intégration (MIFI) http://www.mifi.gouv.qc.ca/fr/reglementation-consultants/index.html#consultantFiltre. A similar process, enter my name in the “Recherche de consultants reconnus” tool bar. You will find me on their registry and through my website.

If you are asking yourself, should I use an immigration consultant in Canada or do I even need one? The government will say No and that they treat everyone equally, whether they use a representative or not. I say, this is a personal choice. It depends on many factors such as, do you have the time, knowledge and experience to do your own application (s)?  Are your eligible for an immigration program? What does it entail? How and where to send the application? What it the next step? If you are asking yourself these questions you may want to contact a licensed immigration specialist.

Hiring an experienced licensed consultant will give you peace of mind. RCIC’s are all equally required to follow a strict Code of Professional Ethics on a federal level and in Quebec provincially additionally. The written standards and guidelines are developed to assist licensees in ethical and effective practice methods of the profession.  They assist to process the best course of action in the given situation. The Code of Professional Ethics are created and adjusted over time as the college gains experience in matters of professional misconduct or incompetence. Code of Professional Ethic standards benefit clients and serve their best interests.

Paying individuals other than regulated consultants or lawyers will put you at risk with Canadian immigration authorities and possibly issuance of a hefty fine. RCIC’S are educated, some are extremely experienced with many years in the industry with knowledge in the various immigration programs.

On a final note, I want you to know off hand that information in my blogs will not be meant to solve personal immigration issues or answer case specific questions. This is done through one-on-one consultation. Which I will discuss in my next blog post.

Thank you for chiming in. I hope that you will continue to follow me here. Feel free to send me an email via my website https://normandeauimmigration.ca/contact/. Be sure to put in the heading Dianne’s blog so I will know how you found out about me.