How much do immigration consultants charge in Canada in 2026? Most licensed Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultants (RCICs) charge between CAD$1,000 and CAD$5,000 for a complete file, with initial consultations running CAD$50 to $250. Specialist work like business immigration, refusal responses, or Federal Court judicial review costs more. The price moves on program, complexity, family size, and whether refusals are already on the record.
This guide breaks down what an RCIC actually charges in 2026, how the fees compare to immigration lawyers, what the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants (CICC) requires in writing before you pay, and the red flags that point to a ghost consultant. Every published price on the live OnTheMoveCanada PR consulting fees page is preserved here verbatim so you can see exactly what we charge against the broader market.
How Much Do Immigration Consultants Charge in Canada? The Short Answer
How much do immigration consultants charge in Canada depends on the file. For a clean Express Entry application from a strong candidate, expect CAD$2,500 to $5,000. For a study or work permit, CAD$1,000 to $3,500. For spousal sponsorship, CAD$2,000 to $4,000. Initial paid consultations sit between CAD$50 and $250. Government IRCC fees are separate and stack on top.
Who Is Allowed to Charge a Fee for Canadian Immigration Advice
Three groups, and only three, can lawfully charge you for advice or representation on an Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) application. Anyone else is breaking the law, and using them puts your file and your future status at risk.
RCICs (CICC-Licensed Consultants)
A Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant is licensed by the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants, the federal regulator created under the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants Act. RCICs handle the bulk of routine economic, family, and temporary residence files. The specialty designation RCIC-IRB authorises representation at Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) hearings such as refugee claims and detention reviews.
Immigration Lawyers (Provincial Bar Members)
Lawyers in good standing with a provincial or territorial law society (Law Society of Ontario, Law Society of British Columbia, and so on) can represent you on any IRCC matter and on Federal Court judicial reviews. Lawyer fees typically run 30 to 50 percent higher than an RCIC for the same routine economic-class file.
Quebec Notaries (Chambre des notaires)
Notaries licensed by the Chambre des notaires du Québec are also authorised representatives. This route is mostly relevant for Quebec-bound applicants working through programmes like the Programme régulier des travailleurs qualifiés or the Programme de l’expérience québécoise.
If your representative is not in one of these three groups, they are a “ghost consultant,” and IRCC treats files prepared by ghost consultants as procedurally compromised at minimum and fraudulent at worst. (Source: Government of Canada, “Find out if your representative is authorized”.)
Check Out What is Immigration Consultant?
RCIC vs. Immigration Lawyer Cost Comparison
For most economic-class files, an experienced RCIC delivers the same outcome as a lawyer at a meaningfully lower price. For complex matters, the lawyer is the right call regardless of fee.
| File type | RCIC typical fee (CAD) | Immigration lawyer typical fee (CAD) |
|---|---|---|
| Initial consultation (45-60 min) | $50 to $250 | $200 to $500 |
| Express Entry profile + management | $1,500 to $2,500 | $2,500 to $4,000 |
| Express Entry full PR after ITA | $2,500 to $5,000 | $4,000 to $7,500 |
| Provincial Nominee Program | $2,500 to $5,500 | $4,000 to $8,000 |
| Spousal sponsorship | $2,000 to $4,000 | $3,500 to $6,000 |
| Study or work permit | $1,000 to $3,500 | $2,000 to $5,000 |
| LMIA application (employer side) | $3,500 to $6,000 | $5,000 to $9,000 |
| Refusal response, reapplication | $2,000 to $4,000 | $3,500 to $6,500 |
| Federal Court judicial review | Cannot represent | $8,000 to $20,000+ |
| IRB hearing (refugee, detention) | RCIC-IRB only | Yes |
Use the lawyer for inadmissibility (criminal, medical, misrepresentation), Federal Court matters, and any file where the litigation pathway is foreseeable. Use the RCIC for everything else. The fee gap is real, and on a clean file the legal coverage is rarely needed.
For a deeper comparison and a vetted shortlist of vetted Canadian immigration consultants, see our review-style guide.
Pricing Models: Flat Fee, Hourly, Retainer, Package
Four pricing models dominate the market. Knowing which one applies to your file tells you whether the quote you are looking at is fair.
Flat Fee
A single price for a defined scope of work, billed in milestones (signing, document collection, submission, decision). This is the most common model for routine files: study permits, work permits, spousal sponsorship, Express Entry profile management, and full PR applications. Flat fees are the easiest to compare across firms because the scope is written into the retainer agreement. If the scope is vague, the “flat fee” is not really flat.
Hourly Billing
Hourly rates of CAD$150 to $400 show up on complex or unpredictable files: refusal work, procedural fairness responses, judicial review preparation, business immigration where the structuring needs ongoing advice, and inadmissibility work. Hourly billing requires monthly invoices with time entries, not lump-sum withdrawals from a retainer.
Retainer (Trust Account Deposit)
A retainer is a deposit held in the firm’s trust account, billed against as work is done. CICC-licensed RCICs are required to maintain trust accounts separate from operating accounts. Trust account deposits remain your money until the firm earns the fee through documented work. If you walk away mid-file, the unearned balance is refundable.
Package or Bundled Fees
Some firms bundle services (consultation + eligibility memo + Express Entry profile, or PR application + spousal add-on + child add-on). Bundles can save money on multi-step files, but they only work if the scope is itemised. A “full immigration package” with no scope language is a flag.
Whichever model the consultant uses, the CICC Code of Professional Conduct (SOR-2022-128) requires the fees and the scope to be set out in a written service agreement signed by both parties before work begins.
Cost by Service Type (2026 RCIC Fee Ranges)
The ranges below reflect what RCICs in good standing were charging in early 2026, cross-referenced against the published fee schedules at Doherty Fultz Immigration, Canada Abroad, RightWay, Cerise Immigration Consulting, and the consulting market data we maintain at On The Move Canada. Government IRCC fees are not included; see “Government Fees vs. Consultant Fees” below.
| Service | Typical RCIC fee range (CAD) |
|---|---|
| Initial paid consultation (45-60 min) | $50 to $250 |
| Eligibility assessment + program memo | $150 to $500 |
| Express Entry profile creation + management | $1,500 to $2,500 |
| Express Entry full PR application after ITA | $2,500 to $5,000 |
| Provincial Nominee Program (enhanced or base stream) | $2,500 to $5,500 |
| PNP entrepreneur or business stream | $10,000 to $45,000 |
| Family class / spousal sponsorship | $2,000 to $4,000 |
| Parent and grandparent sponsorship | $2,500 to $4,500 |
| Study permit application | $1,000 to $2,500 |
| Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) | $800 to $1,800 |
| Work permit (LMIA-based) | $1,500 to $3,500 |
| LMIA application (employer side) | $3,500 to $6,000 |
| LMIA-exempt work permit (CUSMA, intra-company) | $2,000 to $4,500 |
| Refusal response or reapplication | $2,000 to $4,000 |
| Procedural fairness letter response | $1,500 to $3,500 |
| Citizenship application | $800 to $1,500 |
| Refugee claim | $5,000 to $7,500 |
| Federal Court judicial review (lawyer-only) | $8,000 to $20,000+ |
| Business / Start-Up Visa application | $5,000 to $15,000 |
These are professional fees only. They sit on top of IRCC government fees, language tests, Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) charges, biometrics, medical exams, and police certificates. For the full government-side breakdown, read our full Canada immigration cost guide.
How OnTheMoveCanada Prices Its Immigration Services
Our published consulting fees are flat by service type, payable in milestones. The figures below are the live prices on this page and the only ones we charge.
| Service | OnTheMoveCanada price (CAD) |
|---|---|
| Immigration consultation | $250 |
| Visa consultation | $125 |
| Work permit (full representation) | $1,000 to $2,500+ |
| Study permit (full representation) | $1,000 to $2,500+ |
| Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) | $3,500 to $6,000 |
| Express Entry skilled worker (PR) | $4,000 to $4,500 |
| Family class sponsorship | $4,000 |
| Provincial entrepreneur stream | $45,000 |
| Refugee application | $5,500 |
| Federal Court judicial review | $8,000+ |
A few notes on how we structure these prices. The CAD$250 immigration consultation is a working session, not a sales call: by the end of it you have a written eligibility read against every program you might qualify for, not just the one we want to sell you. The CAD$125 visa consultation covers single-purpose questions (a study permit refusal you want a second look at, a specific work permit category you want confirmed). Full-representation prices include the entire file from intake through IRCC decision: forms, supporting documents, letters of explanation, portal management, and correspondence with IRCC officers. Government IRCC fees and third-party costs (language tests, ECAs, biometrics, medicals) are billed at cost on top.
For complex files that fall outside the standard scope (multi-program strategy, business immigration with extensive structuring, post-refusal reapplication on a difficult fact pattern), we quote on file review and can structure the engagement as flat-fee, hourly, or hybrid depending on what makes sense.
What Drives the Price Up
Two clean Express Entry applicants with the same CRS score can pay very different fees. The price drivers below explain the gap.
- Family size. Adding a spouse and dependent children means more forms, more supporting documents, more police certificates, and more per-applicant correspondence. Most firms charge CAD$1,000 to $1,500 per accompanying family member on a PR file.
- Multiple programs in parallel. Running an Express Entry profile and a Provincial Nominee Program application at the same time roughly doubles the file work.
- Refusals already on record. A previous refusal in any visa category triggers extra disclosure obligations and a more careful letter of explanation. Add CAD$500 to $1,500 to the base fee.
- Document gaps. Missing transcripts, foreign police certificates that take six months to issue, employer letters that need to be redrafted from scratch, and certified translations all add billable hours or trigger document procurement fees.
- Inadmissibility flags. Past arrests, deemed rehabilitation files, medical inadmissibility risk, or prior misrepresentation findings move the file from RCIC scope toward lawyer scope and increase the fee accordingly.
- Urgency. Expedited intake, weekend work, or applications timed against an Invitation to Apply (ITA) deadline cost more. Most firms add 15 to 30 percent for genuine rush work.
- Language assessment status. If your IELTS, CELPIP, TEF, or TCF score does not yet meet the Canadian Language Benchmark for your program, the consultant has to manage a retake strategy alongside the file, which adds advisory time.
- Post-landing add-ons. Some firms bundle settlement support (SIN, banking, OHIP/MSP, school enrolment guidance). Useful, but priced separately.
A clean, single-applicant Express Entry file from a strong candidate is the floor. Everything above moves the price toward the top of the range, and into hourly territory if the complexity is genuinely unpredictable.
Government Fees vs. Consultant Fees
Consultant fees and IRCC fees are two separate buckets. The consultant gets paid for advice and representation. IRCC gets paid to process and decide the application. Most disputes between clients and consultants come from blurring this line.
The IRCC schedule that took effect April 30, 2026 sets the principal applicant economic-class processing fee at CAD$990, the spouse fee at CAD$990, the dependent child fee at CAD$270, and the Right of Permanent Residence Fee (RPRF) at CAD$600 per adult. Biometrics run CAD$85 per person or CAD$170 for a family of two or more. Citizenship applications cost CAD$653 per adult after the March 31, 2026 fee change. (Source: IRCC fee schedule.)
A reputable RCIC bills these government fees through to you at cost, with receipts. They do not mark them up, and they do not bundle them into the professional fee. If you cannot tell from your retainer agreement which line items are professional fees and which are IRCC charges, ask for the breakdown in writing before you pay anything.
For the complete government-side fee stack across every program, see our full Canada immigration cost guide.
Red Flags, Ghost Consultants, and How CICC Protects You
Fraud in this industry is concentrated, not theoretical. The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre and CICC publish disciplinary findings every quarter, and CBC News continues to document Canadians who have lost five-figure sums to unlicensed advisers. Knowing the red flags is the cheapest insurance you can buy.
Ghost Consultants and the 5-Year Misrepresentation Ban
A ghost consultant is anyone who advises or represents you on an immigration file for a fee without holding an active CICC licence, a provincial bar membership, or Quebec notary credentials. Working with one is risky on two fronts. First, the application can be returned or refused on procedural grounds. Second, if the ghost consultant submits false information on your behalf, the misrepresentation finding lands on you. Section 40 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) imposes a five-year inadmissibility ban on anyone found to have misrepresented a material fact, regardless of who actually filled in the form. The Federal Court has confirmed repeatedly that you are responsible for what your representative submits.
If you have already paid an unlicensed consultant, file a complaint with the CICC and report the conduct to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. You will not always recover the money, but you will help shut down the operation.
Verifying Your Consultant on the CICC Public Register
Verification takes about ninety seconds.
- Open the CICC Public Register. It is the official, federally recognised database of every licensed Canada immigration consultant.
- Search by full legal name or licence number. RCIC numbers start with the letter R followed by six digits (for example, R412319). The number should appear on the consultant’s website, business card, and retainer agreement.
- Confirm “Active” status and class of licence. RCIC covers most immigration matters. RCIC-IRB is required for IRB hearings.
- Cross-check the firm name. A consultant may be licensed personally but operating under a brand. Both should match.
The Government of Canada also publishes a verification page that links to the CICC register, the provincial law society registers, and the Chambre des notaires du Québec. Use it as a backup check.
What Your Retainer Agreement Must Include
The CICC Code of Professional Conduct (SOR-2022-128) requires every retainer agreement to set out the named licensee, the licence number, the scope of work, the fee structure, and the conditions for refund. A retainer that says “the firm” without naming an individual licensee is non-compliant and is grounds for a complaint to the CICC. A retainer that bundles “all immigration matters” into one open-ended fee with no scope language is the second most common pattern in fee disputes.
The other documentation requirement people miss: the Use of a Representative form (IMM 5476) must be filed with IRCC for any paid representative. If your consultant has not asked you to sign IMM 5476, they are not formally on your file, and IRCC will not communicate with them about it. That is a ghost-consultant signature.
How to Get the Most Out of Your Consultant Fee
The applicants who get the best return on a consultant fee tend to do the same five things before they sign a retainer.
- Run the IRCC Come to Canada tool first. The free federal eligibility tool gives you a baseline read of which programs you might qualify for. Walking into a consultation with that result already in hand changes the conversation from “what am I eligible for” to “which of these is my best route.”
- Buy the consultation, not the pitch. A paid initial consultation (CAD$50 to $250) gets you written advice. A “free intake call” usually gets you a sales pitch with no documentation. Pay for the advice.
- Ask for the licence number in writing. Before you sign anything, ask for the named consultant’s RCIC number and verify it on the CICC register. A real licensee will not flinch.
- Itemise the scope in the retainer. Every service the consultant will perform should be listed. Every service the consultant will not perform (citizenship downstream, future spousal sponsorship, work permit extensions) should also be listed so you know what is excluded.
- Confirm the trust account terms. Your deposit should sit in a CICC-compliant trust account and be billed against on documented work. Lump-sum withdrawals on day one are non-compliant.
If you are still researching the system before you hire anyone, our guide on how to immigrate to Canada covers the federal and provincial pathways an RCIC will work on.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does an immigration consultant charge in Canada?
A CICC-licensed Canadian immigration consultant typically charges CAD$50 to $250 for an initial paid consultation, CAD$1,500 to $2,500 for Express Entry profile management, and CAD$2,500 to $5,000 for a full Express Entry permanent residence application. Specialised work like business immigration, refusal responses, or refugee claims runs higher. Government IRCC fees are billed separately at cost.
Is it worth hiring an immigration consultant in Canada?
It depends on your file. Applicants with strong language scores, a clean record, and a clear pathway often complete Express Entry without paid help. Applicants with refusals, complex work histories, multi-program strategy, or inadmissibility concerns almost always benefit from an RCIC. The break-even point is honest self-assessment about how messy the file is.
How much do RCICs charge for an Express Entry application?
Most RCICs charge CAD$1,500 to $2,500 to create and manage your Express Entry profile up to an Invitation to Apply, then CAD$2,500 to $5,000 for the full permanent residence application after the ITA lands. Many firms (including On The Move Canada at $4,000 to $4,500) offer a single combined fee covering both stages. Family members add CAD$1,000 to $1,500 each.
What is the difference between an immigration lawyer and a consultant?
An RCIC is licensed by the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants and can represent you on most IRCC matters. An immigration lawyer is licensed by a provincial law society and can also represent you on Federal Court judicial reviews and complex inadmissibility files. Lawyers typically charge 30 to 50 percent more than RCICs for the same routine economic-class file.
Do immigration consultants charge for the first consultation?
Most reputable Canadian immigration consultants charge CAD$50 to $250 for an initial paid consultation, which delivers a written eligibility assessment. Some firms offer a free 15-minute discovery call to confirm fit before booking the paid consultation. A “free unlimited consultation” is usually a sales channel, not advice. At On The Move Canada the immigration consultation is CAD$250 and the visa consultation is CAD$125.
Can I get a refund from an immigration consultant?
Yes, on the unearned portion. The CICC Code of Professional Conduct requires retainer deposits to sit in a trust account and be billed against documented work. Funds the consultant has not yet earned remain refundable if you withdraw from the engagement. Government IRCC fees, third-party costs (language tests, ECAs, biometrics), and earned professional fees are not refundable.
How do I verify a Canadian immigration consultant?
Search the CICC Public Register at register.college-ic.ca by full name or RCIC licence number (format: R followed by six digits). Confirm the consultant is listed as “Active” and check the class of licence. The Government of Canada also publishes a verification page that links to the CICC register, the provincial law society registers, and the Chambre des notaires du Québec.
What is a ghost consultant?
A ghost consultant is anyone who charges a fee for Canadian immigration advice or representation without holding an active CICC licence, a provincial bar membership, or Quebec notary credentials. Working with one risks application refusal and exposes you to a five-year misrepresentation ban under section 40 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act if false information ends up on your file.
Final Word: Spend Smart, Verify First
How much do immigration consultants charge in Canada in 2026 is not the only question that matters. The other one is who you are paying. A CAD$5,000 fee paid to a verified RCIC with a documented scope and a trust account is a sound investment if your file is complex enough to warrant representation. The same CAD$5,000 paid to an unlicensed adviser on a personal Interac transfer is the start of a much more expensive problem.
When you are ready, book the CAD$250 immigration consultation for full-program eligibility advice or the CAD$125 visa consultation for a single-issue review. We will tell you what the file looks like, what the fees stack up to, and whether you actually need paid representation at all.
If you are still mapping the bigger picture, our guides on how to immigrate to Canada, the permanent residence pathway, and is Canada a good place to live cover the rest of the decision.