Difference between Immigration Consultants and Lawyers

Licensed lawyers and certified immigration consultants are the experts permitted to represent persons in front of immigration authorities.

Immigration Lawyers:

Provincial law societies, which are private organizations required by the government to oversee the legal profession, provide licenses to lawyers. Each province has its regulatory organization for lawyers.

Immigration Consultants:

The Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council is a national body that regulates immigration consultants (ICCRC). This is a government-mandated private organization that regulates immigration consultants.

As a result, both lawyers and consultants are licensed and regulated by government-approved regulating organizations, either provincially or nationally.

First major Difference:

The main difference between lawyers and consultants is education. Before obtaining a license, lawyers must finish a three-year law degree as well as a term of articling with a legal firm. Lawyers often get an undergraduate university degree before acquiring a law degree and as a condition to entering law school. As a result, becoming a lawyer normally necessitates at least a seven-year education. While on the other hand. Immigration consultants must finish a one-year college program with no qualifications and no necessity for articling. As a result, immigration attorneys will typically be better educated and knowledgeable about the law than immigration advisors.

Second major difference:

Another major difference between lawyers and consultants is that only lawyers can appear in Federal Court. On the other hand, Lawyers are barristers and have the power to appear in court, whereas consultants do not. In general, lawyers are significantly more suited to defend clients in any form of immigration appeal or hearing, whether before the Federal Court or the Immigration and Refugee Board, due to their more in-depth legal expertise.

This isn’t to argue that immigration consultants aren’t qualified to represent clients in immigration proceedings. Consultants are typically quite effective for regular immigration cases like visa applications, which do not need to appear in court or deliver comprehensive written statements. Much relies on the consultant’s degree of expertise and whether they were taught and overseen by an experienced lawyer or senior consultant. Clients may expect great immigration legal services from consultants who work alongside attorneys and benefit from their knowledge and skills.

Key points for Seekers:

Those looking for an immigration specialist to help them with their case should ensure that the person they choose is fully licensed and in good standing with their regulating body. This may be found by going to the relevant licensing body’s website or calling them.

As a word of caution, anyone seeking legal assistance should be aware that many fake immigration consultants and lawyers out their prey on the unsuspecting. Often referred to as “ghost consultants,” these persons purport to be immigration experts but aren’t. They will make elaborate promises of victory in any form of application but do little or nothing to further their client’s case once paid and frequently disappear with the money. Due diligence should be conducted before acquiring any professional services – make careful to discover if the individual you wish to engage is licensed before you hire them. These ghost consultants may appear to be professionals, offices, websites, etc.