Sources checked October 19, 2026.
A verification process, not a certificate of safety
Six checks before you respond to an offer
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Pause the transaction
Set the request aside while you identify the person and purpose. A demanded payment deadline should not replace verification.
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Name the actual service
Write down whether you are paying for government processing, professional advice or something connected with employment. Ask about any mixed description.
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Check independently
Locate the regulator or government page yourself. Use contact details obtained separately from the suspicious message.
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Compare the written records
Read the scope, recipient and payment terms beside the invoice or request. Record a mismatch instead of explaining it away.
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Preserve the evidence
Keep the original messages and receipts. Add a dated note about what you checked, without changing the original records.
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Choose the next action
Proceed only after the material questions are answered, or seek advice and consider the appropriate reporting route. This checklist cannot declare an offer genuine.
What should you do when someone guarantees an approval?
Do not treat a guarantee as evidence about your application. IRCC’s newcomer fraud page says no one can guarantee a visa or permanent residence. Immigration decisions belong to the responsible authorities, not the person selling a service.
Ask for the exact service being offered in writing. There is a difference between preparing an application and selling the result of that application. If the explanation keeps returning to a promised outcome, stop the payment process while you verify the claim.
Save the message and advertisement as they appeared. Do not replace the original with a summary of what you remember. Keeping the wording, dates and payment request together makes it easier to explain what happened if you later seek help.
Can an employer or recruiter charge you for a job or LMIA?
Under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, employers must not recover the Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) processing fee from workers, and must ensure recruitment fees are not charged or recovered by them or someone recruiting on their behalf. Employment and Social Development Canada sets this out in its program requirements, checked on 19 October 2026.
Ask what the payment is for and who receives it. Renaming a payment “support”, “placement” or a refundable deposit does not answer that question. Keep the written explanation with the job offer and any agreement instead of relying on a verbal reassurance.
Paid immigration advice is a separate service, subject to representative rules. It must not be used as a vague label for a charge that is actually about obtaining employment. If several services are bundled together, ask for an itemised explanation before paying.
How do you check a program or form being advertised?
Go to the official program page yourself. Write down the program’s name, current status and the application instructions you found. Compare those with the advertisement, including any claim that access is restricted to a particular seller.
The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre warns about immigration websites that resemble government sites and demands for application-access fees or deposits. A familiar colour scheme or government-looking graphic is not a verification method.
What if a caller says they are from IRCC?
IRCC’s fraud guidance warns that caller identification can be faked. It also describes payment demands and threats that government staff will not make, including demands to pay into a personal bank account or through gift cards.
End the conversation and verify through a contact route you located independently. Do not use the suspicious message’s own reply address as proof of who sent it. Keep personal information out of the verification conversation until you know who you are dealing with.
| What you received | A separate check to make |
|---|---|
| Unexpected payment request | Locate the official fee or your existing written agreement |
| Job offer tied to a deposit | Verify the employer and obtain the purpose of the charge |
| A consultant’s name and number | Check the regulator’s record and contact details |
| A new program advertisement | Find the current official instructions yourself |
How can you verify a representative?
Use IRCC’s authorised-representative guidance to find the appropriate regulator. The College’s public-register guidance is the route for checking an immigration consultant. Verify both the person’s status and that you are actually communicating with that person.
The College’s service-agreement guidance explains what a written agreement should contain. Read who is providing the service, what work is included, the fees, payment terms and complaint process. A licence number on an advertisement does not answer those questions.
The site’s credentials page and guide to working with a consultant provide context for those checks. Use the regulator’s current record to confirm professional status rather than rely only on a firm’s description.
Original preparation worksheet
How can you record what you checked?
Use a short record for each offer instead of one mixed folder for every person who contacted you. This is an editorial organiser, not an official fraud finding or a statement about Progressive’s internal procedures.
| Field | What to record |
|---|---|
| Offer and date | The exact service or job promised, when you received it and where the original message is saved. |
| Person and contact route | The name used, the regulator checked and the independently obtained contact route used to verify identity. |
| Payment request | The amount, recipient and stated purpose, alongside the agreement or fee instruction it is said to follow. |
| Official check | The official page you opened, the date checked and any part of the claim you could not confirm. |
| Next action | A question to ask, a payment paused or a reporting route to consider. Do not write “verified” while a material question remains unanswered. |
Keep private identifiers out of any public version of this worksheet. Bring the relevant records directly to a professional rather than post passports, bank details or immigration account information in a public comment.
What if the invoice uses a familiar name but different details?
Compare the new request with the agreement you already hold. Make a note of the exact difference, such as the named recipient, the service description or the contact address. A familiar logo or a forwarded message should not be used to fill a gap in that comparison.
Use your independently verified contact route to ask a specific question. For example: “Does this invoice belong to the service agreement I signed, and is this the authorised payment recipient?” Keep the reply with the request so the basis for your decision remains visible.
A real professional may use staff to organise administrative work, but that does not make every message using the firm’s name genuine. Confirm the responsible professional and the particular request rather than assume that recognising the business name completes the check. Do not share account passwords or verification codes as part of an invoice discussion.
How can you prepare a useful chronology?
Make one entry for each event, starting with the first advertisement or introduction. Put the date, contact method and original file location beside a short account of what happened. If you do not know a date, mark it uncertain instead of choosing one.
Keep observations separate from interpretations. “The invoice named a different recipient” is an observation you can connect to a document. “Everyone involved was part of a fraud” is a conclusion that the record may not establish. A careful chronology allows the person reviewing it to assess what the evidence actually shows.
Where a conversation happened by telephone, prepare your own dated note and identify it as a recollection. Do not rewrite that note as a quotation from a recording you do not have. List follow-up questions separately so an unanswered question does not later appear as a confirmed fact.
Where can you report suspected fraud?
The CAFC reporting page provides the current fraud and cybercrime reporting route and advises victims to contact local police. The College’s complaints process deals with licensed consultants’ professional conduct; it is not a general guarantee of a refund.
Prepare a short chronology and keep it separate from the original evidence. Include the name used, contact details, advertisement, agreement, payment records and messages. Do not alter documents or continue a payment just to obtain more evidence.
Write down what you know directly and what someone told you. For example, a receipt shows a payment; your note should explain what service was promised in exchange and which message records that promise. Keeping those details separate helps avoid turning an assumption into an allegation presented as fact.
If several people contacted you, make separate entries for them rather than treat every name as the same person. Keep the contact method and date beside each entry. A clear chronology is more useful to the person assessing your report than a long collection of screenshots with no explanation of their order.
What do readers ask about immigration fraud?
Does a licence number prove a message is genuine?
No. Check the regulator’s record and contact the professional using details obtained independently. Someone else may be using a real person’s name or number.
Can a real policy announcement appear in a scam?
Yes. Verify the policy and the payment request separately. Quoting an official change does not authenticate the seller or the service offered.
Does reporting a consultant guarantee a refund?
No. The College’s process addresses professional conduct and explains the limits of its role. Preserve your records and use the appropriate reporting route.
What should you gather before seeking advice?
- The original offer, advertisement or payment request.
- Messages, dates and the contact details used.
- Any agreement, invoice and payment receipt.
- The official page you checked and the claim you could not confirm.
Bring those records to a consultation for advice about the immigration issue; further representation requires a written retainer.
General information only. Requirements can change, and no outcome is guaranteed.
Related guide: How to work with an immigration consultant in Canada.
Read the official-source summaries here
These original summaries explain why each source matters to this article. They are not government text or an individual eligibility decision. Expand a reference here; the optional original-source link opens a separate tab.
IRCC: fraud targeting newcomers
IRCC warns about guarantees, impersonation and false caller identification. Its guidance identifies payment demands that its employees will not make, including deposits into personal accounts and gift-card payments. These checks concern a person claiming to be IRCC; they do not make every private service payment fraudulent.
Checked October 19, 2026. Page modified 2025-01-14.
ESDC: LMIA and recruitment fee recovery
The Temporary Foreign Worker Program requirements prohibit recovering the LMIA processing fee from workers. Employers must also ensure that recruitment fees are not charged or recovered from workers by them or recruiters acting for them. A separately described immigration service does not justify relabelling a prohibited recruitment charge.
Checked October 19, 2026. Page modified 2026-09-18.
CAFC: misleading immigration websites
The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre describes immigration websites and advertisements that resemble official government services. It warns about payment requests for application access or deposits before an application begins. Appearance alone does not establish that a site is government-operated or that its advertised service is genuine.
Checked October 19, 2026. Page modified 2026-07-23.
CICC: the consultant public register
The College explains how to use its public register to check whether an immigration consultant is entitled to practise and whether restrictions apply. Checking the record and reaching the professional independently are different tasks: a genuine name or licence number can be used by someone else.
Checked October 19, 2026. No page modification date was visible when checked.
CICC: written service agreements
The College describes written service agreements, including the professional providing the work, the service scope, fees and payment arrangements. It also recommends contacting the consultant through independently obtained register details. Use the full agreement when comparing a payment request; this article is not an agreement template.
Checked October 19, 2026. No page modification date was visible when checked.
CAFC: reporting fraud and cybercrime
CAFC provides a current online reporting route for victims and witnesses and recommends that victims contact local police. Police investigate; CAFC maintains and shares information to support law enforcement. A report is not an assurance that funds will be recovered or an immigration application decided differently.
Checked October 19, 2026. Page modified 2025-11-27.
CICC: professional conduct complaints
The College complaint process concerns the professional conduct and competence of licensees. It does not resolve every disagreement about fees, and only some cases lead to a refund. A professional complaint and a fraud report serve different purposes; choose the route that matches what happened.
Checked October 19, 2026. No page modification date was visible when checked.