Who can give immigration advice when I am buying a business in Canada?

Section 91(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act says that, subject to the section, no person shall knowingly, directly or indirectly, represent or advise a person for consideration, or offer to, in connection with an expression of interest or a proceeding or application under the Act. Section 91(2) names who is outside that rule. Subsection 91(3) adds a student-at-law acting under the supervision of a lawyer or Quebec notary who is representing or advising the person, and subsection 91(4) an entity acting in accordance with an agreement or arrangement with the federal Crown. Deavo is not an immigration adviser, and only licensed consultants (RCICs), lawyers or Quebec notaries, and the other law society members below, may give immigration advice for pay. This page is general information. It covers who may be paid for immigration advice, not whether you qualify for anything.

The categories IRCC lists

IRCC’s page on representatives, read 25 October 2026, lists three groups of authorized paid representatives. They are lawyers and paralegals who are members in good standing of a Canadian provincial or territorial law society, notaries who are members in good standing of the Chambre des notaires du Québec, and consultants who are members in good standing of the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants. Section 91(2) of the Act names lawyers and Quebec notaries, any other member in good standing of a law society of a province or the Chambre des notaires du Québec, including a paralegal, and members in good standing of the College.

Paid, unpaid and optional

IRCC says that if you pay a representative or compensate them in any way, it considers the help paid and the person must be authorized. It also says it will not deal with representatives who charge a fee but are not authorized, and that using one may lead it to return or refuse your application. Family and friends who help without being paid are a separate category. IRCC says you do not need to hire a representative at all.

How to check a consultant

The College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants, whose home page was read 25 October 2026, says it licenses Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultants (RCICs) and that you can verify that a consultant is authorized, meaning licensed and “active”, on its public search register. For the licence itself, see immigration consultant licence. For a lawyer, paralegal or Quebec notary, ask which law society or Chambre they belong to and check with that body.

These rules cover advice on the immigration side. None of the sources read says who may advise on the business itself, such as its price or contracts, so ask each adviser what they cover.