The Canadian Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship (IRCC) implemented a penalty system for illegal acts by paid immigration agents starting October 28, 2026.
• For unqualified paid immigration consulting or agency services, the basic penalty is $5,000, and for intentionally providing false or misleading information, it starts at $15,000. The final amount is determined by considering the impact of the violation, undue gains, and past violations. • This system applies to both officially qualified agents and unqualified paid counselors, and it operates alongside existing disciplinary or criminal procedures rather than replacing them. • Procedures are in place to respond to a prior notice upon receiving a notice of violation, and to request a review after the notice of violation. • The public list of violating agents is scheduled to be released in 2027 and is not yet a publicly available list. • Above all, the most important thing is to first verify that the agent is officially qualified before making any payments. Do not entrust your documents and fees to places where qualifications have not been verified.
Source: The Northern Current https://thenortherncurrent.com/ircc-paid-immigration-representative-penalties-october-2026 | 
