New College for Immigration Consultants

Summary#

This is the Ministerial Order for Continuance — College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants approving that the Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council (ICCRC) will continue as the new regulator called the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants. The order sets the date of continuance as November 23, 2021, when the ICCRC becomes the College and its new powers take effect.

What it does#

• Approves the ICCRC’s application to continue as the new College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants and sets November 23, 2021 as the official start date.
• On that date the ICCRC will be discontinued in its previous corporate form and replaced by the College under the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants Act.
• Gives the College stronger tools to regulate consultants, including powers to:
  • enter consultant offices and search for or seize documents;
  • compel witnesses to appear at disciplinary hearings;
  • suspend or revoke licences to practise;
  • seek court injunctions against people who provide services without authorization.
• Expands government oversight of the regulator, such as the ability to:
  • appoint a majority of public-interest directors to the College’s board;
  • require a Code of Professional Conduct and make governance regulations;
  • direct the board on by-laws or appoint a temporary administrator if needed.
• Notes that ICCRC members previously voted 84% in favour of continuance; the Act received royal assent in June 2019 and came into force in December 2020.

Who's affected#

• Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council (ICCRC) members and anyone who will be licensed by the new College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants.
• People who use paid immigration or citizenship advice and representation — including newcomers and other applicants — because the College will set and enforce professional standards.
• The regulator itself, and federal officials who will have new oversight responsibilities.
• It’s not fully spelled out in the notice how provincial bodies or unregulated advisers will be affected, beyond the College’s new powers.

Why it matters#

• The change creates a stronger, statutory regulator for paid immigration and citizenship consultants. That aims to reduce fraud and poor advice that have harmed clients in the past.
• For clients, it means clearer standards and a regulator with bigger powers to investigate and discipline consultants.
• For consultants, it means new rules, stronger oversight, and potentially stricter discipline if they break standards.
• The notice is largely administrative — it sets the official start date and describes the new regulator’s authorities rather than changing other laws or programs.