Canada has made regulations to create a compensation fund for people who lost money to licensed immigration consultants. The regulations were registered on April 16, and will come into force on July 15, 2026. The compensation fund, once created, will be administered by College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants (CICC).
If a licensed consultant defrauded you, botched your application, or submitted paperwork you never authorized, this article explains whether you may be eligible for compensation once the fund is created and how the process will work.
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Key Takeaways
- Canada has made regulations to create a compensation fund for people who suffered financial losses due to dishonest acts by licensed immigration consultants.
- The regulations will take effect on July 15, 2026.
- The fund will be administered by the CICC and will cover incidents going back to November 23, 2021.
- In some cases, you will not need to apply. The CICC will notify you if you may be eligible based on a Discipline Committee finding.
Why Canada Needs a Compensation Fund for Immigration Consultant Fraud
Complaints about fraud and mishandling of cases by consultants have been a major issue in Canadian immigration for years. From submitting fake documents and giving clients false or incorrect information about their chances of success to charging more than what was discussed or advising clients to claim asylum to avoid deportation, immigration scams come in all forms.
The College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants (CICC), also called the College, has regulated and licensed immigration consultants in Canada and abroad since 2021. Anyone providing Canadian immigration or citizenship advice for a fee must be a licensed CICC member (a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant or Regulated International Student Immigration Advisor), a lawyer or paralegal in good standing with a Canadian law society, or a notary with the Chambre des notaires du Québec.
When a client complains about a licensed consultant, the CICC can investigate, impose fines, and suspend or revoke a licence. What it could not do, until now, was financially compensate a client who suffered financial loss.
The new compensation fund aims to solve this problem.
Licensed Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultants (RCICs) are required to have professional liability insurance to pay for damages arising from errors, omissions, or negligence by consultants during the course of their work. However, this insurance only pays when a client sues a consultant and wins the case.
Dishonest Acts by Immigration Consultants
In order to be eligible for compensation by the fund, a client must have suffered financial loss due to a “dishonest act” by an immigration consultant. What is a “dishonest act?” According to the draft regulations, a dishonest act by a licensed immigration consultant can include:
- Theft, fraud, or unauthorized or improper use of funds
- Knowingly misrepresenting or providing false or misleading immigration information, or advising a client to do the same, or
- Failing to report a claim to a professional liability insurer, or not cooperating with that insurer
Documented complaints in recent years have included consultants selling fake job offers, charging money for employment positions that did not exist, submitting false paperwork that cost clients their right to work or remain in Canada, and advising clients to lie on their paperwork.
As an applicant, you are responsible for ensuring that all the information and documents you provide IRCC are accurate and complete, even while working with an immigration consultant. Misrepresentation, knowingly or unknowingly, can have severe consequences beyond financial losses, including a five-year bar on entering Canada and loss of status.
Who Will Be Eligible for Compensation?
To be eligible, you must have suffered a financial loss due to a dishonest act committed by a licensed consultant on or after November 23, 2021. You must also have had a formal consultation or service agreement with the consultant at the time, or have reasonably concluded they had agreed to provide you with immigration services.
You are not eligible if you voluntarily participated in or contributed to the dishonest act.
The regulations extend coverage to former licensees. If your consultant’s licence was later revoked, you can still submit a claim.
It is important to note that this fund only applies to licensed CICC members, that is RCICs and RISIAs. If you were scammed by an unlicensed practitioner or ghost consultant, you will not be entitled to compensation.
It is your responsibility to ensure that any consultant you work with is licensed by the College. CICC maintains a public register of licensed professionals, and you should always verify that any consultant you plan to hire is in good standing with the College.
How the Compensation Process Will Work
If the CICC’s Discipline Committee has already heard a case and assessed the financial loss you suffered, the college will contact you directly to let you know you may be eligible. You do not need to apply for compensation separately.
You will only need to apply for compensation in two situations:
- If the Discipline Committee found a dishonest act but could not determine your financial loss because the consultant failed to cooperate, or
- If the matter was not referred to the Discipline Committee as the consultant’s licence had already been revoked.
Compensation will be determined by the Compensation Fund Committee on a case-by-case basis. Based on recent disciplinary data, the government’s regulatory impact analysis had estimated that, on average, payments will be around $4,652. However, individual outcomes will vary.
In determining the amount, the Compensation Fund Committee will consider the financial loss assessed by the Discipline Committee, any additional losses or expenses connected to the dishonest act, and any compensation you have already received from other sources, such as a court settlement or insurance payout.
What Will Happen to Consultants Who Act Dishonestly
The Discipline Committee can order consultants to repay client fees, pay fines of up to CAD $30,000, and cover committee costs. It can also stop them from accessing client funds held in trust. In serious cases, the committee can suspend a consultant’s licence for up to two years or permanently revoke it.
Besides that, the CICC’s Registrar also has the authority to
- Impose conditions or restrictions on a licence
- Issue a formal caution or reprimand
- Require the consultant to complete professional development courses or participate in a mentorship program
- Impose monetary penalties
What to Do If You Have Already Had Issues With an RCIC
If you have been defrauded or misled by a licensed consultant, you can file a complaint with the CICC now. The Complaints Committee and Discipline Committee already exist to hear complaints from clients. The compensation fund is expected to be operational when the regulations come into force on July 15, 2026.
Moreover, all licensed Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultants (RCICs) are required to carry professional liability insurance. If a consultant’s errors, omissions, or negligence caused you harm, you may have grounds to sue them. You may want to speak with a lawyer about your options.
If you are currently working with a consultant and want to confirm their status, the CICC’s public register includes each licensee’s current status and their history with the College.
About the author
Sugandha Mahajan
She/Her
Content Marketer
Born and raised in New Delhi, India, Sugandha moved to Canada as a permanent resident in early 2020, just weeks before the pandemic shut everything down. She has first-hand experience with many common newcomer challenges, including navigating the Express Entry system, finding a job without Canadian experience, and figuring out small talk. To deepen her understanding of the field, she is currently pursuing a Graduate Diploma in Immigration & Citizenship Law at Queen’s University.
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Citation
Mahajan, Sugandha.
"Scammed By a Canadian Immigration Consultant? You May Be Entitled to Compensation Starting July 2026."
Moving2Canada.
Last modified May 6, 2026.
https://moving2canada.com/news/scammed-by-immigration-consultant-canada-compensation-fund-2026-05/.
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