Engaging with a non-licensed immigration consultant can have serious consequences, impacting both your immigration status and financial well-being. Here are some potential risks:
- Inaccurate or Misleading Advice: Unlicensed consultants may lack up-to-date knowledge of immigration laws, leading to incorrect guidance that can jeopardize your application. They usually enter wrong information they think will be beneficial to your case. Once wrong information enters IRCC about your, it will be difficult to change it and misrepresentation may be placed against you. This can be all the way up to citizenship. IRCC is capable of cancelling any visa at any time once misrepresentation is noticed.
- Fraudulent Practices: There’s a higher risk of being scammed, with consultants charging exorbitant fees for services they can’t legally provide. Watch out for GUARANTEES, these are fraudulent lingo, since the only person who makes the final decision is the officer reviewing your case.
- Legal Repercussions: Using an unlicensed consultant can result in application delays, rejections, or even bans from entering Canada. ONLY Licensed immigration consultants, immigration lawyers and notaries in Quebec are permitted to receive a fee for giving advice and submitting Canadian immigration applications for a client.
- Lack of Accountability: Without a license, these individuals are not regulated by professional bodies, leaving you without recourse if things go wrong.
Always verify a consultant’s credentials and ensure they are registered with the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants (CICC) to protect your immigration interests.https://college-ic.ca/protecting-the-public/find-an-immigration-consultant
