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Immigration representatives

Issue

Many people believe that the services of an immigration representative, such as a lawyer or consultant, are essential to processing an application quickly and successfully. This is not the case.

Fact

Your application will not receive special attention, faster processing or a more favourable outcome if you decide to use an immigration representative. The Government of Canada treats everyone equally, whether they use the services of an immigration representative or not.

No one is obliged to hire an immigration representative; the decision to do so is a personal one. If you wish to hire an immigration representative, please keep in mind that Citizenship and Immigration Canada only recognizes authorized representatives who belong either to a Canadian provincial or territorial law society, the Canadian Society of Immigration Consultants, or the Chambre de notaires du Québec. If your application is submitted by another representative, it will not be processed and will be returned to you.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada encourages anyone thinking of hiring a paid immigration representative to review the information on our Web site at www.cic.gc.ca/english/department/consultants/index.html.