Fines for Unauthorized Immigration Advice

Summary#

These are proposed changes to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations that would let Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) fine and publish the names of people who give paid immigration or citizenship advice without authorization or who counsel misrepresentation. This is a proposal (not yet law); people can comment for 45 days after publication on December 21, 2024.

What it does#

• Makes it a violation to give paid immigration or citizenship advice or representation unless you are authorized under the law.
• Makes it a violation to knowingly misrepresent, withhold material facts, or counsel someone to do so in immigration or citizenship matters.
• Lets an IRCC officer require relevant documents during an inspection when there are reasonable grounds to suspect a violation.
• Gives IRCC officers power to issue a:
  • Notice of Preliminary Finding (NOPF), and then
  • Notice of Violation (NOV) after review of responses.
• Sets deadlines and review rights:
  • People have 30 days to respond to a NOPF or to request a review of a NOV instead of paying.
  • Reviews must be decided on the information the officer had; new evidence is not allowed.
• Establishes how fines are calculated with a formula (A + B + C) × D:
  • Baseline amounts (A): $5,000 for unauthorized practice; $15,000 for misrepresentation.
  • Additional impact (B): $15,000 if the misrepresentation caused an application to be wrongly approved.
  • Financial advantage (C): any money received because of the violation.
  • Multiplier for prior violations (D): 0.5 (no prior), 1 (one prior), 1.5 (two or more priors).
• Penalty for failing to comply with an inspection document request: $10,000 × prior-violation multiplier.
• Caps the total penalties on a single notice at $1,500,000.
• Requires publication on IRCC’s website of people found liable (name, business, dates, nature of violation, amount and whether paid), after the applicable response/review period.
• If adopted, the rules would come into force on the day they are registered.

Who's affected#

• People or businesses who provide paid immigration or citizenship advice and representation — both:
  • authorized practitioners (members of the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants, provincial/territorial law societies, or the Chambre des notaires du Québec), and
  • unauthorized individuals (inside or outside Canada) who give paid advice.
• Clients and applicants who use paid advice — especially those who are vulnerable because of language or cultural barriers.
• IRCC (will run the new inspection, review and collection processes).
• Criminal or investigative agencies such as the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) may still be involved in related criminal investigations, but the proposed administrative regime would be an IRCC tool.
• The exact number of people who will be fined is unclear; the department used assumptions (for example, about 20 NOVs per period) to estimate impacts.

Why it matters#

• It gives IRCC a direct, faster way to punish and deter people who sell unauthorized or fraudulent immigration services without always using criminal charges.
• Real consequences for violators include fines (baseline fines start at $5,000 and $15,000), public naming, and potential damage to a business or reputation.
• It aims to protect applicants from fraud and from bad advice that can cost them money, lead to application refusals, or cause loss of legal status.
• The government estimates costs and benefits over 10 years (2025–2034): government costs of $13,766,908 (present value), penalty collections of $7,797,552 (present value), and a net cost of $5,969,356 (present value). These are estimates and depend on assumptions made by IRCC.
• Because this is a proposal, details (and the exact costs, numbers of penalties, and timelines) could change after public comments and before any final rules are registered.