CICC - The Myth
In Canada the government has by Act of Parliament delegated the regulation of immigration consultants to the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants (CICC).
Of course that was entirely predictable since it was the initial membership of the CICC that lobbied parliament. By using exceptional and isolated instances of fraud and illegal activity on the part of a few “uncertified consultants”, they were able to convince the relevant committee members that only with stringent regulation, could the public be “protected”.
Of course while some level of public protection might be an incidental result, make no mistake, the motivation of these people has aways been to create a monopoly whereby people seeking visas in Canada are forced to use the services of CICC members.
What goes hand in glove with that premise is the questionable information disseminated by CICC to the effect that you can ONLY achieve a successful outcome in a visa application if you use a CICC member, complete with the dire warnings of the disaster that will befall you if you to complete the process on your own.
It is the latter stream of information that we at Live in Canada take issue with. It is nonsense!!!
While there are quirks, shortcuts and idiosyncrasies associated with the Canadian visa process, there is nothing about it that should be overwhelming or intimidating.
With a little help, it really is not only possible, but very feasible for you to complete the entire process on your own.
That is why we created the Live in Canada website and the first course in our program, How to Apply for a Study Permit.