The difference between Canadian immigration lawyers and immigration consultants

According to the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and the Citizenship Act, registered Canadian immigration consultants and lawyers have the right to handle various legal affairs on behalf of the applicant and provide legal advice to the applicant.

The main differences are:

1. The scope of practice is different. The agency authority of lawyers is not given by the immigration law, so there is no lawyer who can only handle immigration cases. Self-proclaimed immigration lawyers often call themselves immigration lawyers because their main business is immigration affairs. The power of agency and legal consultation of registered immigration consultants is limited to the scope of immigration law and civil law.

2. Different regulatory agencies. Lawyers are registered with the bar associations in all provinces of Canada, and immigration consultants are registered with the Canadian Immigration Consultant Management Committee.

3. Qualification of agent ad litem. Registered immigration consultants can only represent applicants in federal administrative tribunals responsible for immigration and refugee affairs, while lawyers have the right to represent applicants in various courts.

4. Different educational experiences. Lawyers involve various laws in the process of education, and immigration consultants only ask to study immigration-related laws.