I-0.2, r. 0.1 - Regulation respecting immigration consultants

Updated to 1 September 2012

This document has official status.

chapter I-0.2, r. 0.1

Regulation respecting immigration consultants

Act respecting immigration to Québec

(chapter I-0.2, s. 3.3).

The fees prescribed in the Regulation have been indexed as of 1 January 2012 pursuant to the MICC Website (ss. 5, 6).

DIVISION I GENERAL

1. In this Regulation, “immigration consultant” means a natural person who, for remuneration, advises, assists or represents a person who files an application with the Minister under the Act respecting immigration to Québec (chapter I-0.2) and the Regulation respecting the selection of foreign nationals (chapter I-0.2, r. 4).

O.C. 544-2010, s. 1.

2. Every immigration consultant must be recognized in accordance with this Regulation.

O.C. 544-2010, s. 2.

3. This Regulation does not apply to a member in good standing of the Chambre des notaires du Québec, the Barreau du Québec or to a person holding a special authorization issued under section 42.4 of the Professional Code (chapter C-26) by one of those orders and allowing the person to engage in the activities governed by this Regulation.

O.C. 544-2010, s. 3.

DIVISION II RECOGNITION OF IMMIGRATION CONSULTANTS

§ 1 . — Recognition

4. The Minister recognizes as an immigration consultant a person who

(1)  is registered in the enterprise register under the Act respecting the legal publicity of enterprises (chapter P-44.1) or carries on activities for an enterprise registered under that Act or having an establishment in Québec;

(2)  is a member in good standing of a body, other than the bar of a province or the Chambre des notaires du Québec, designated as an authorized representative under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (SOR/02-227);

(3)  has neither communicated or contributed to the communication of information the person knew or should have known to be false or misleading to the Minister, an investigator or an inspector, nor committed an offence against the Act respecting immigration to Québec (chapter I-0.2) or its regulations in the 3 years preceding the application for recognition;

(4)  has passed the Minister’s examination on Québec immigration rules; and

(5)  shows a knowledge of French appropriate to the carrying on of his or her activities.

A person is deemed to have an appropriate knowledge of French if the person has

(1)  passed an examination recognized by the Minister;

(2)  received, on a full-time basis, no less than 3 years of secondary or post-secondary instruction provided in French;

(3)  passed the fourth or fifth year secondary level examinations in French as the first language; or

(4)  obtained a secondary school certificate in Québec from and after the school year 1985-1986.

O.C. 544-2010, s. 4.

5. To be recognized as an immigration consultant, a person must file an application on the form provided by the Minister and pay fees of $1,032.

The person must demonstrate that he or she meets the conditions required.

An application is to contain the following documents:

(1)  a document proving that the person or the enterprise for which the person carries on activities is registered in the enterprise register or that the enterprise has an establishment in Québec;

(2)  a document proving that the person is a member in good standing of a body referred to in subparagraph 2 of the first paragraph of section 4; and

(3)  a document proving that the person meets the condition regarding French knowledge in subparagraph 5 of the first paragraph of section 4.

An immigration consultant’s recognition is valid for 2 years.

O.C. 544-2010, s. 5.

§ 2 . — Renewal, suspension and revocation

6. A consultant who wishes to renew recognition must

(1)  file a renewal application on the form provided by the Minister not later than the 60th day preceding the recognition’s date of expiry and pay fees of $1,032; and

(2)  demonstrate that he or she still meets the conditions provided for in subparagraphs 1 and 2 of the first paragraph of section 4.

The Minister may deny the application of a consultant whose recognition is suspended pursuant to section 7. In such a case, a new application for renewal may be filed only after demonstration is made that the reason for suspension no longer exists.

A recognition renewal is valid for 2 years.

O.C. 544-2010, s. 6.

7. The Minister may suspend an immigration consultant’s recognition if the consultant

(1)  no longer meets the condition in subparagraph 1 of the first paragraph of section 4;

(2)  is suspended from a body referred to in subparagraph 2 of the first paragraph of section 4; or

(3)  has defaulted on an obligation provided for in this Regulation.

The Minister may lift the recognition suspension if the consultant demonstrates that the reason for suspension no longer exists.

O.C. 544-2010, s. 7.

8. The Minister may revoke an immigration consultant’s recognition if the consultant

(1)  ceases to be a member of a body referred to in subparagraph 2 of the first paragraph of section 4;

(2)  has committed an offence against the Act respecting immigration (chapter I-0.2) to Québec or its regulations;

(3)  has defaulted on an obligation provided for in this Regulation; or

(4)  was granted recognition by error.

In the cases provided for in subparagraphs 2 and 3 of the first paragraph, the consultant may not file a new application for recognition before the expiry of a 5-year period following the date of revocation.

O.C. 544-2010, s. 8.

§ 3 . — Register

9. The Minister keeps an up-to-date register of recognized immigration consultants and consultants whose recognition is suspended or revoked.

The register is public.

O.C. 544-2010, s. 9.

DIVISION III OBLIGATIONS OF IMMIGRATION CONSULTANTS

10. Immigration consultants must obtain a mandate in writing from the person who resorts to their services and give that person a copy of the mandate at the time of signing.

The mandate must clearly indicate the object and scope of the services to be provided, the remuneration paid by that person to the consultant, the terms and conditions of payment and the costs or other expenses required for the mandate to be carried out.

O.C. 544-2010, s. 10.

11. Immigration consultants must certify in writing that they took the measures necessary to ensure the authenticity of the documents and the truthfulness of the information communicated to the Minister in support of an application made by a person who resorts to their services.

O.C. 544-2010, s. 11.

12. Immigration consultants must inform the Minister of any change in the address of their establishment in Québec or of the end of consulting activities within 30 days of the change or end of activities.

O.C. 544-2010, s. 12.

13. Immigration consultants may not, by any means whatsoever, make false or misleading representations to a person who resorts to their services, in particular as regards their level of competence or the extent or effectiveness of their services and those generally provided by immigration consultants.

O.C. 544-2010, s. 13.

14. Immigration consultants may not communicate or contribute to the communication of information they know or should have known to be false or misleading to the Minister, an investigator or an inspector.

O.C. 544-2010, s. 14.

DIVISION IV OFFENCE AND MISCELLANEOUS

15. Any violation of section 10, 11, 12, 13 or 14 of this Regulation constitutes an offence.

O.C. 544-2010, s. 15.

16. The fees payable under sections 5 and 6 are adjusted on 1 January of each year based on the percentage change in the general Consumer Price Index for Canada, as determined by Statistics Canada, for the period ending on 30 September of the preceding year.

The amounts are reduced to the nearest dollar if they contain a fraction of a dollar less than $0.50; they are increased to the nearest dollar if they contain a fraction of a dollar equal to or greater than $0.50.

The Minister informs the public of the adjustment by such means as the Minister considers appropriate.

O.C. 544-2010, s. 16.

17. Persons who, on 4 November 2010, act as immigration consultants within the meaning of section 1 of this Regulation may continue to do so until 2 February 2011.

At the expiry of that period, those persons must be recognized to act as immigration consultants.

However, those persons have a 12-month period following the date of their recognition to demonstrate that they meet the condition in subparagraph 4 of the first paragraph of section 4, and a 24-month period following the same date to demonstrate that they meet the condition in subparagraph 5 of the first paragraph of section 4.

O.C. 544-2010, s. 17.

18. (Omitted).

O.C. 544-2010, s. 18.

REFERENCES

O.C. 544-2010, 2010 G.O. 2, 1892

S.Q. 2010, c. 7, s. 282

S.Q. 2010, c 40, s. 92