Canada announces July launch for regulatory overhaul of immigration consultants
Canada has announced the date of July 15, 2026 for the implementation of a major overhaul for the regulatory framework governing the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants (CICC).
Under Canadian law, anyone who accepts payment in exchange for preparing an immigration application or providing immigration advice must be licensed by a government authorized body: ether a provincial or territorial law society, or the CICC.
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The updated regulations allow the College to impose stiffer penalties in cases of consultant misconduct, while providing the federal government with greater oversight along with the ability to intervene with the College board.
They also provide for the creation of a compensation fund to provide remedy to ill-advised or defrauded clients of CICC members.
The government announced the July launch in a news release published May 6, 2026.
These regulations were first distributed via publication as draft regulations in the Canada Gazette on December 21, 2024.
Compensation fund
The compensation fund will is intended for victims of CICC-licensed bad actors who have suffered as a result of a licensee's having engaged in
- Theft, fraud, or misappropriation of funds;
- Misrepresentation or the counselling of misrepresentation; and/or
- Knowingly failing to report a claim or cooperate with professional liability insurance.
To be eligible, a victim must have filed a formal complaint through the CICC's complaints process, and the CICC discipline committee must have found that the victim's financial loss occurred due to their consultant's dishonest act committed on or after November 23, 2021. The victim cannot have been complicit in the dishonest act.
The committee's final decision must have been issued on or after July 15, 2026.
Complaints closed before July 15, 2026, and duplicate complaints will not be eligible.
The CICC is set to provide more details on eligibility, timing, payments, and the process of making a claim when the fund is fully operational.
Other regulations to be implemented July 15
The new regulations also require more details entered into the CICC’s public register of licensed consultants. The Public Register is the official record of Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultants (RCICs) and Regulated International Student Immigration Advisors (RISIAs) maintained by the CICC.
It can be used to verify if someone is a CICC licensee, if they are in good standing, if they have been subject to disciplinary actions and any associated disciplinary details.
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