Become an Immigration Consultant in Canada in 4 Steps

If you dream of becoming an immigration consultant in Canada, you must meet certain academic and educational requirements. The qualifications will help you to become good in your profession. In addition, it will also make you familiar with specific terms in immigration. This will, in turn, help you to serve your clients better. Above all, you will also learn the laws guiding immigration in Canada.

So, you must know the proper education before pursuing a career in Canada as an immigration consultant. This article will help you to understand, first, who an immigration consultant is, his duties, why it is a promising career in Canada, and how to become one in Canada.

Who is an immigration consultant?

An immigration consultant is a professional who works for law firms, government agencies, and private firms dealing with immigration issues. As an immigration officer, your primary duty is to help immigrants outside Canada to process their immigration and naturalization. Therefore, you must be at home with the Canadian immigration process and policies.

Responsibilities of an immigration consultant in Canada

As an immigration consultant in Canada, you will perform the duties listed below. They include:

• Providing advice to clients on immigration issues
• Assisting people outside Canada in to process of immigration
• Representing clients in immigration matters
• Assessing individual circumstances for immigration
• Helping clients prepare and submit applications and supporting documentation
• Communicating with government agencies, such as Service Canada and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, during the application process

Skills needed to become an immigration consultant in Canada

Working as an immigration consultant entails many things. You will handle sensitive matters as well as help people determine their success. So, you must develop certain skills and qualities to help you achieve professionalism in your job. Therefore, the following skills will help you become the best in your career. They include:

• Great attention to details
• Ability to communicate with others
• Proficiency in English
• Time-management skills
• Ability to juggle multiple projects at one time
• Compassion
• Listening skills
• Analytical skills
• Ability to research
• Interview skills
• Professionalism with a human element
• A constant thirst for learning

Requirements to become an immigration consultant in Canada

If you dream of pursuing a career as an immigration consultant in Canada, you must meet the following requirements:

Citizenship: As an immigration consultant in Canada, you must be a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident.

Age: You must be at least 18 years of age.

Language proficiency: you must as well demonstrate proof of proficiency in English or French.

Physical fitness: your work as an immigration consultant requires excellent physical fitness. Therefore, you must be able to show that you are physically fit for the job.

Clean Criminal record: You must pass through a thorough check to determine if you are a criminal. If you have a negative record, you can not qualify to work as an immigration consultant in Canada.

Why immigration consultant is a promising career in Canada

Good job prospects

There are different jobs available for you as an immigration consultant. However, the availability of jobs for you depends on your location. So, you can always research to know if immigration officers are needed in your province.

In many provinces, there is an excellent prospect for these professionals, while in some, it is relatively good. Therefore, you have excellent employment opportunities as an immigration consultant in most Canadian provinces.

The provinces with excellent job prospects include Alberta, British Columbia, Quebec, and Yukon Territory. Except for the Northwest Territories, other provinces still offer you some decent job opportunities.

Meet new people

Working as an immigration consultant also means meeting new people every day. Since your job deals with assisting people outside Canada to immigrate to Canada, you will always meet new people every day. But, of course, you are not limited in the type of people you meet.

Therefore, you will meet people of different cultures and languages. You will also meet people of different classes. So, you must develop the skills needed to interact with these people daily.

Great salary

The median salary of immigration consultants in Canada is CAD 84,000 annually. This is only your average salary. So, you can earn more than this with many years of experience and expertise in your job. Expert immigration consultants earn as much as CAD 120,000 every year.

Steps to becoming an immigration consultant in Canada

Becoming an immigration officer in Canada requires a lot of steps to complete. First, you must gain some educational qualifications and work experience to be certified. Also, you may still enroll in some professional programs to advance your career as an immigration consultant. Therefore, the steps below will help to become a good immigration consultant.

Step 1. Earn a university degree

You will need a bachelor’s degree to start your journey as an immigration consultant. The field of study is not relevant. However, you may try to major in disciplines like law, public policy, criminal justice, criminology, international law, political science, communications, or foreign language. These programs can give you a background for your future career.

Step 2. Gain experience

In addition to your university degree, you will still need work experience as an immigration officer. However, this is an entry-level position, and you don’t need much education and experience to get that. So, you can start by working as an assistant at the government or military branches.

Step 3. Enroll in a graduate diploma

You can enroll in a graduate diploma even without getting any experience. Only two schools in Canada offer the required graduate diploma program you need to become an immigration officer in Canada. They are Queen’s University which offers programs in English, and Montreal University which offers programs in French. So, you can enroll in any program, depending on your language.

The Queen’s University Graduate Diploma in Immigration and Citizenship Law is a one-year program divided into three semesters. It is an online program designed to help students become immigration consultants in Canada.

During the program, you will engage in tutorials and coursework for 40 to 48 hours weekly. The program does not prepare you to practice law in Canada. It only prepares you to write the ICCRC Entry to Practice Exam and become a certified immigration consultant in Canada.

Step 4. Write the ICCRC Entry-to-Practice Exam

This is the final and most crucial step to becoming an immigration consultant in Canada. If you don’t pass the exam, you won’t be a certified consultant in Canada. Thus, you will be limited in your employment opportunities. The Entry-to-Practice Exam(EPE) is organized by the Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council. To write the exam, you must complete the Graduate Diploma in Immigration and Citizenship law from Queen’s University.

Meanwhile, only Canadian citizens and permanent residents qualify to write this exam. So, as an international student, make sure you plan well before pursuing a career as an immigration consultant in Canada. Otherwise, you may fail.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What certification do I need to become an immigration officer in Canada?

There is no provincial license or certification to become an immigration officer in Canada. The only certification is from the ICCRC, the body responsible for regulating the activities of the Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant.

What is RCIC?

A Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant (RCIC) is an authorized immigration and citizenship representative. They are hired to evaluate your Visa application and submit it on your behalf. An authorized RCIC is also a member of the Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council (ICCRC).

Who qualifies to become an immigration officer in Canada?

To become an immigration consultant, you must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident. You must also be at least 18 years with a clean criminal record. In addition, you must be physically fit.

How much does an immigration consultant earn in Canada?

The median salary of immigration consultants in Canada is CAD 84,000 annually. This is only your average salary. So, you can earn more than this with many years of experience and expertise in your job. Expert immigration consultants earn as much as CAD 120,000 every year.

What is the educational requirement to become an immigration consultant in Canada?

There is no specific educational requirement to become an immigration consultant. However, you can take classes in the following courses to get some necessary knowledge about the profession. They include:

• Data mining
• Criminal intelligence
• Intelligence analysis
• Emergency management
• Foreign language
• Communication

Conclusion

Becoming an immigration officer won’t ever be the best thing for all. However, if you have the necessary skills and education for the job. Then, the steps above are for you. To be successful in this profession. You must be able to adhere to the rules and standards of the possession. Above all, you must be ready to help your clients to achieve their aims of moving to Canada. Otherwise, you can consider other career options in Canada. You can consult workstudyvisa for other careers suitable for you in Canada.

You may wish to immigrate to Canada as an oil and gas drill servicing labourer.