PROTECTED B Regulating Immigration Consultants

Provide an update on CIC’s efforts to combat “Ghost Consultants” PROTECTED B Overview An overview of Bill C-35, An Act to Amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) Provide an update on CIC’s efforts to combat “Ghost Consultants” Explore areas for cooperation and collaboration

Bill C-35 Related Provisions PROTECTED B Bill C-35 Related Provisions 30 June 2011 - Bill C-35: An Act to Amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA), came into force To protect immigrants and the integrity of Canada’s immigration program Offence for anyone other than an authorized representative to advise or represent a person: for a fee or other consideration in connection with an application or proceeding under the IRPA Contains information sharing provisions Establishes of a new regulatory body – Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council (ICCRC)

Authorized Representatives PROTECTED B Bill C-35 Requirements Authorized Representatives Applicants Must be members in good standing with: Must submit information for verification purposes: a Canadian provincial/territorial law society the name of their authorized representative, the Chambre des notaires du Quebec the organization they are a member of, the Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council (ICCRC) their identification or membership number, their telephone number and address

ICCRC – New Regulatory Body PROTECTED B ICCRC – New Regulatory Body 30 June 2011 - New regulatory body: The Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council (ICCRC) The ICCRC was chosen as the governing body to regulate immigration consultants because it demonstrated it has the necessary competence, integrity, accountability, good governance and viability to effectively regulate the immigration consultant profession in the public interest. The ICCRC currently has over 2200 members and maintains an up-to-date membership list on its website which can be searched by name, business name, or ICCRC membership number.

Bill C-35: Information Sharing Provision PROTECTED B Bill C-35: Information Sharing Provision 10 April 2012 - Information sharing provision of Bill C-35, came into force Requires the ICCRC to provide information to the government to ensure it is governing its members in the public interest Authorizes the Governor in Council to make regulations requiring the designated body to provide the Minister with information regarding its activities Permits the disclosure of information relating to the unprofessional or unethical conduct of individuals to the bodies responsible for investigating that conduct

Uncompensated and Allowed Services PROTECTED B Uncompensated and Allowed Services Bill C-35: allows uncompensated representatives to represent and/or provide immigration advice at any stage of an application or proceeding Uncompensated Allowed Services Must not charge a fee or consideration: Paid services for administrative services such as: Family or friends Translation Non-governmental and religious organizations Courier International organizations which have agreements with the Government of Canada Travel arrangements

Stakeholders Do’s and Don’ts PROTECTED B Stakeholders Do’s and Don’ts Bill C-35: many stakeholders are now required to be “authorized representatives” if they wish to provide immigration services to clients, including certain types of immigration advice Stakeholders affected include: Travel agents Employment agents and recruiters Human resources professionals Educational agents abroad Adoption agencies Live-in caregivers’ agents

Stakeholder Do’s and Don’ts Cont. PROTECTED B Stakeholder Do’s and Don’ts Cont. Do’s Don’ts Direct someone to the CIC website to find information on: Immigration programs Application forms, or Authorized immigration representatives Provide services such as: Translation Travel arrangements Couriers Advise international students on how to select their courses or register Conduct job interviews Explain and/or advise on someone’s immigration options Guide a client on how to select the best immigration stream Complete and submit immigration forms on a client’s behalf Communicate with CIC and the CBSA on a client’s behalf (except for direct translation of a client’s written or spoken submissions) Represent a client in an immigration application or proceeding Represent a client in an arranged employment opinion or labour market opinion application Advertise that they can provide immigration advice for consideration

PROTECTED B Ghost Consultants “Ghost Consultants” are unregulated third party representatives who provide assistance and/or advice to prospective immigrants Domestically, CBSA and RCMP continue to investigate complaints regarding “ghost consultants” They may be subject to prosecution by law enforcement agencies for IRPA offences: Conviction by indictment: a fine of up to $100,000 and/or to imprisonment for up to two years Summary conviction: a fine of up to $20,000 and/or to imprisonment for up to six months Canada has no extra juridical power to regulate and/or control immigration consultants overseas therefore relies on close cooperation with other countries

Additional Measures Adopted by CIC PROTECTED B DRAFT PROTECTED B Additional Measures Adopted by CIC CIC Anti-fraud Media Campaign To raise public awareness with fraud warning notices on our website: www.cic.gc.ca Video & text messages translated into 17 languages March 2009 – online survey conducted by CIC’s Communications Branch Additional details are available on the CIC website: CIC’s International Strategy January 2009 - CIC Minister launches the international strategy on bilateral visit to India These Bilateral engagements continued during trips to India, China, the Philippines, Australia and Europe (2010) and Pakistan (2011) March 2011 – CIC launched a coordinated media campaign with members of the Five Country Conference (United States, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada) November 2011 – CIC delivers presentation on efforts to regulate immigration consultants at the Regional Conference on Migration’s Technical Meeting in Santo Domingo.

Areas to consider for cooperation and collaboration: PROTECTED B Moving Forward Areas to consider for cooperation and collaboration: Information exchange regarding regulatory approaches, complaints, and prosecutions Anti-fraud communications to raise public awareness about potential risks associated with problematic immigration consultants/agents/brokers Joint lobbying of internet search engine providers (i.e. Google) to remove unscrupulous consultants or immigration scam websites from top pages of search results The exchange of empirical or anecdotal information to better assess the economic/social costs associated with immigration fraud issues and the effectiveness of anti-fraud measures and advertising