Ottawa introduces new fines for bogus, unlicensed immigration and citizenship advice

OTTAWA — The Immigration Department has announced new fines ranging from $5,000 to $1.5 million for people who give false immigration advice or provide advice without proper authorization.

The new fine policy, which takes effect today, sets a minimum fine of $5,000 for giving immigration advice or acting as a representative on an immigration application without being authorized to do so.

People who are authorized to give immigration advice include lawyers and members of the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants.

The new minimum fine for knowingly giving false or misleading immigration advice is $15,000.

The department says these fines will be higher in cases where an application was approved based on false advice, and for repeat offences.

A registry of those fined under this new program is set to be established in 2027.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 28, 2026.

David Baxter, The Canadian Press