Tools & Guides / Public awareness · Reviewed October 31, 2026
Avoid Canadian immigration scams: verify before you pay
Protect your money, identity and application. Whether you are in Canada or applying from abroad, take time to verify the person, school, employer and promises before you commit.
1. Verify the professional and the person contacting you
RCIC means Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant. The College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants (CICC) maintains the official Public Register.
- Ask for the responsible professional’s full name and registration number. Verify the individual who will advise or represent you, not just a business name.
- Search the official register yourself. Review licence status, entitlement to practise, restrictions and disciplinary information. Confirm their authorization covers the service you need.
- Contact the consultant using the register’s contact details. Ask whether the person messaging you, the business, the payment instructions and the proposed agreement are theirs. Scammers may copy a real consultant’s name and number.
- Resolve discrepancies before paying. If the details do not match or you remain unsure, contact the College through its official website.
Open the official CICC Public Register
Canadian lawyers and Quebec notaries are verified through their own regulatory bodies. Ontario paralegals also have a regulated scope of practice. Absence from the RCIC register alone does not establish fraud: check the appropriate regulator and permitted scope. See IRCC’s authorized representative directories.
You may apply yourself using IRCC’s free forms and instructions. Hiring a representative is optional and does not give an application special treatment.
2. Recognize common immigration scam warning signs
Ghost or unauthorized consultants
Be cautious when someone charges for immigration advice but will not identify the authorized professional responsible, asks you to conceal their involvement or tells you to pretend you completed an application yourself. Paid immigration advice requires authorization, including when provided from outside Canada. Properly declare your representative where required.
Guaranteed results or “inside contacts”
Promises of guaranteed PR, a visa, approval despite ineligibility, or special paid access to immigration officers are warning signs. Ask for the actual program requirements and an honest explanation of risks. A paid service does not buy a favourable decision.
Jobs and LMIA sales
Do not pay to buy a job or fabricated work experience. Verify an employer independently. Under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, employers cannot charge or recover recruitment fees or LMIA processing fees from workers. A worker’s legitimate immigration-advice fees are different from purchasing employment or paying an employer’s prohibited costs.
Fake documents and hidden facts
Never accept invented employment, altered bank statements, false admission letters or advice to conceal refusals or other material facts. Review your application carefully: you remain responsible for its information even when someone else prepares it.
Copied identities and AI videos
A real licence number, familiar face, cloned voice, social-media badge or large following does not prove who sent a message. Verify independently through official contact details. Do not rely on an unsolicited message’s phone number or link.
Pressure, threats and suspicious payments
Pause when someone demands immediate payment, threatens arrest or deportation unless you pay them, refuses a written agreement or cannot explain what you are paying for. Independently verify unexpected changes to payment instructions before sending funds.
Read the official IRCC online, telephone and AI scam warnings and ESDC rules on LMIA and recruitment fees.
3. Check a school, program and study documents separately
- Verify the school and campus. Check the official Designated Learning Institution (DLI) list. For post-secondary study, confirm the exact institution, campus and DLI number. If provincial registration or program approval is relevant, verify it with the province’s education regulator too.
- Check the exact program’s PGWP eligibility. Not every program at a DLI is eligible. Verify current program and applicant requirements, including field-of-study and language requirements where applicable. A DLI number alone is not a PGWP guarantee.
- Confirm whether you need a PAL or TAL. Use IRCC’s official PAL/TAL guidance. If required, obtain it through the institution’s official process. Quebec has separate CAQ requirements.
- Contact admissions directly. Confirm your letter of acceptance, intake, tuition, payment instructions, refund policy and document process through the school’s official contact channels. Pay tuition directly to the school through its verified payment process.
See IRCC’s international student fraud guidance. Admission, a DLI listing or a PAL does not guarantee a study permit, PGWP or permanent residence.
4. Your checklist before you pay or sign
- I independently verified the professional’s identity, authorization and scope.
- I understand the proposed program, eligibility concerns and realistic risks.
- I have a written agreement identifying the responsible professional, services, fees and relevant refund or termination terms.
- I understand which amounts are professional fees, government fees, taxes and third-party costs.
- I confirmed who receives my payment and will keep invoices and receipts.
- I will not sign blank forms or accept false information.
- I will review completed forms and retain copies of submissions and correspondence.
- I will protect passwords and verification codes and use the proper representative process.
5. If you suspect a scam, preserve evidence and act promptly
Pause further payments. Save messages, profile links, contracts, receipts, payment details and application copies. If money or banking information was compromised, contact your financial institution promptly. If an immigration deadline or application is affected, seek independent advice from an appropriately authorized professional; making a report does not extend a deadline or correct an application automatically.
Use IRCC’s official fraud reporting guide to choose the right route:
- Consultant conduct or suspected unauthorized practice: follow the College complaint/reporting process linked in the official guidance.
- Lawyer or paralegal conduct: contact the relevant law society.
- Suspected immigration fraud: follow the IRCC/CBSA reporting instructions appropriate to your situation.
- Online, phone or payment scams: follow the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre and police reporting guidance.
A warning sign calls for verification; it is not by itself proof that a named individual or business committed fraud.
Quick questions
Is a licence screenshot enough?
No. Search the live official register, check authorization and contact the professional through the listed contact details to confirm the person and offer are genuine.
Can someone guarantee my approval?
No representative can guarantee an immigration decision or obtain special treatment by charging a fee.
Does every student need a PAL?
No. Exemptions exist. Check IRCC’s current PAL/TAL guidance for your own situation. Do not confuse a PAL with a school’s DLI designation.
Does a DLI number guarantee a PGWP?
No. Check the exact program and all applicable applicant requirements. Not every program at a DLI is PGWP eligible.
Do I have to hire a consultant?
No. You may apply yourself using the free forms and instructions on Canada.ca. If you hire paid help, verify authorization first.
Verify Future Dreams Immigration Inc.
We have no office in Dubai. Our office is at 6475 Mayfield Road, Unit 208, Brampton, Ontario L6P 4N2, Canada. We do not sell jobs or LMIAs, or arrange jobs in exchange for payment.
Our consultants are Gurinder Singh (R710095) and Onkar Singh (R709870). Verify current individual records in the official College register before engaging services.
Official website: futuredreamsimmigration.ca
Office / WhatsApp enquiries: +1 672-822-2406
Email: clients@futuredreamsimmigration.ca
If someone claims to represent us, independently confirm that claim before sharing documents or paying.
Optional consultation: phone or in person30-minute consultation: CAD 50 + HST. Verification and reporting links on this page are freely available; no consultation booking is required to use them.
General public-awareness information, not an assessment of a specific person, school or application. Based on official IRCC, ESDC and College resources reviewed October 31, 2026. Requirements can change; check the linked official sources before acting. Future Dreams Immigration Inc. is an independent business, not a government agency.