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Human Resources and Skills Development Canada

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Temporary Foreign Worker Program

Notice to Employers:
New Requirements for Employers Using Third Party Representatives

On June 30, 2011, An Act to Amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA), came into force, along with related amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR). The new IRPA provisions will help regulate the intervention of paid third party representatives in the labour market opinion (LMO) and arranged employment opinion (AEO) application process. These amendments require the paid third party representatives to be authorized before providing services in order to better protect employers and temporary foreign workers from acts of fraud.

Authorized Paid Immigration Representatives

Only the following immigration representatives may charge a fee, or receive any other type of consideration, for representing or providing advice in connection with any Canadian immigration process or application:

  • lawyers and paralegals in good standing with a provincial or territorial law society;
  • notaries in good standing with the Chambre des notaires du Québec; and
  • immigration consultants in good standing with the Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council.

All immigration representatives paid by an employer must now be authorized before getting involved in any of the following actvities:

  • Representing an employer in an LMO or AEO application.
  • Communicating with Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC), the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB) or Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC)/Service Canada on behalf of the client.
  • Explaining and providing advice.
  • Providing guidance on how to select the best immigration stream and completing the appropriate forms.
  • Representing the client in an immigration application or process.
  • Advertising that they can provide immigration advice.

Employers must complete the “Annex to the Appointment of Representative” form and send it with the application to HRSDC/Service Canada. This information will attest that the third party representative paid to assist the employer in the LMO or AEO application process is an authorized immigration representative.

For more information on authorized immigration consultants, please visit CIC’s Web site.

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Date Modified:
2012-03-07