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GuidesLast checked October 22, 2026

How do I check if an immigration agent or consultant is licensed?

Short answer

Search the official register of the country you're applying to, before you pay or sign anything. Check that the name, licence number and status match. If they don't, don't use them.

Country by country

Use the rules of the country you're applying to.

  • Canada

    Who may help

    Only CICC-licensed consultants, lawyers (and Ontario paralegals) in good standing with a law society, and Quebec notaries may charge you. Anyone else may help only for free. You don't need a representative to apply.

    How to check

    Search the CICC register by name or College ID: the status must be active. Check lawyers with their provincial law society and notaries with the Chambre des notaires.

  • United States

    Who may help

    Only an attorney in good standing with a U.S. state bar, or a DOJ-accredited representative of a recognized organization, may advise or represent you. A notario is not a lawyer.

    How to check

    For an attorney, confirm the licence with the state bar, then check DOJ's disciplined list. For an accredited representative, find them on DOJ's roster.

  • United Kingdom

    Who may help

    Advisers must be registered with the Immigration Advice Authority (IAA, formerly OISC) or regulated by a legal professional body, as solicitors and barristers are. GOV.UK warns that you can't get your money back if an adviser isn't regulated.

    How to check

    Search the IAA register by organisation, IAA number or adviser name. For a solicitor in England and Wales, search the SRA register. Check GOV.UK's banned list too.

  • Australia

    Who may help

    Only registered migration agents, Australian lawyers and exempt people, such as close family or a sponsor, may give immigration assistance. Exempt people may not charge.

    How to check

    Search the OMARA register by name or MARN (registration number). Not listed means not registered. Check lawyers with their state or territory legal body.

  • New Zealand

    Who may help

    Anyone giving New Zealand immigration advice needs a licence from the Immigration Advisers Authority (IAA), unless exempt, such as a New Zealand lawyer with a current practising certificate.

    How to check

    Search the IAA register by name or licence number, and check the licence isn't suspended or cancelled. Check lawyers on the Law Society register.

  • Germany

    Who may help

    Help with your own legal case is allowed only where the Legal Services Act (RDG) or another law permits it. For a fee, that mainly means a lawyer (Rechtsanwalt). Family and friends may help for free, and welfare organisations give free migration counselling funded by BAMF.

    How to check

    Search the official lawyers' directory (BRAK) by name to confirm they're admitted in Germany. BAMF lists the free counselling centres.

Warning signs

Regulators name these. Any one is a reason to stop and check.

  • Promises a visa, a job or faster processing. Only government officers decide.
  • Claims a contact inside the immigration department.
  • Won't show you your application, or asks you to sign blank forms.
  • Fees keep growing, or there's no written agreement or receipt.
  • Pushes you to pay now, in cash or to a personal account.
  • Tells you to leave something out or give false information. You're responsible for your application.

Check an agent in the app

Subscribers pick the country, type the agent's name or number and go straight to the register, pre-filled where it allows.

Open the licence check

Or work with a verified advisor

We check every advisor's licence with the regulator.

Find a verified advisor

Official sources

The figures here come from official government pages like these, checked on the date above. Each route's page lists its own sources.

See which of these fit you

Build one profile and e-Passage checks it against every route, showing what you meet and what's missing.

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More guides

General information from official government sources, not legal advice. Rules change: check the official page, or ask a licensed advisor, before you apply.