How to check that an immigration consultant is actually licensed
Only certain people may legally represent you for a fee. Here is how to verify someone before you pay them anything.
By The Blift Team
The single most expensive mistake in Canadian immigration is paying someone who was never permitted to advise you. It happens constantly, and it is almost entirely preventable.
Who is allowed to charge you
In Canada, paid immigration representation is restricted. Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultants licensed by the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants (CICC) may do it. So may Canadian lawyers and paralegals in good standing with their provincial law society, and notaries in Quebec.
Anyone else who takes money to advise or represent you is operating outside the rules — regardless of how professional their website looks.
What to ask for
Ask for their full legal name as it appears on their licence, and their RCIC number. A licensed consultant will give you both without hesitation, because they are already public information.
Hesitation, deflection, or an explanation of why they cannot share it is the answer to your question.
Warning signs
Guaranteed outcomes. Nobody can guarantee a visa. Pressure to pay immediately or in cash. Requests to send money to a personal account. Advice to misstate anything on an application — which puts you at risk, not them.
A consultant who will not put the scope of work and the fees in a written agreement is telling you something important.
Why Blift works this way
Every consultant on Blift is checked against the official CICC registry before they can take a single client, and their licence class is shown on their profile. That verification is not a feature of the platform — it is the condition of being on it.
Work with a verified consultant
Every consultant on Blift is checked against the official CICC registry before they can take a client.
Find an RCIC