Three kinds of people can represent you at an Immigration and Refugee Board hearing in Edmonton: a lawyer, a consultant licensed at the RCIC-IRB class, or a person you trust who charges you nothing. Imprint Immigration Services is an Edmonton practice led by Shirani Jenita Daniel, RCIC-IRB, CICC licence R705794, who represents clients before all four divisions of the Board.
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Who is allowed to represent you
If your representative charges a fee, the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act limits the choice to a member of a Canadian law society (in Alberta, the Law Society of Alberta), a notary of the Chambre des notaires du Quebec, or a consultant licensed by the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants. For a consultant, the licence alone is not enough. Only the RCIC-IRB class may appear before the Board. An RCIC without it can help with an IRCC application but cannot stand beside you at the hearing.
You can also be represented by someone who is not paid at all: a relative, a friend, a settlement worker. The Board will ask them to confirm they receive nothing for it.
Separately, the Board appoints a designated representative for a claimant under 18, or for an adult who cannot understand the nature of the proceeding. That person protects the claimant’s interests and works alongside counsel. They do not replace counsel.
Which division is your hearing in?
The Board has four divisions and the letter you received names one of them. Shirani’s RCIC-IRB authorisation covers all four.
Refugee Protection Division
Decides refugee claims made in Canada. This is a full hearing with testimony, and preparation of the Basis of Claim form and the evidence decides most of it. See refugee claims.
Refugee Appeal Division
Hears appeals of RPD decisions, usually on the written record. See RAD appeals.
Immigration Appeal Division
Hears appeals of refused family sponsorships, removal orders and residency obligation decisions. See refusals and appeals.
Immigration Division
Holds admissibility hearings and detention reviews. See help inside Canada.
What actually happens at the hearing
A Board member hears the case and decides it. In many matters a lawyer for the Minister takes part and argues the other side. You give evidence, your representative asks you questions and answers the Minister’s, and at the end your representative makes the legal argument for why the decision should go your way.
Many hearings are now held by video, so you may sit at a laptop rather than in a hearing room. If you are more comfortable in another language, the Board provides an interpreter at no cost to you. Refugee hearings are held in private.
Most of the outcome is settled before the hearing starts. The member reads the file first. Inconsistencies between your forms, your interview notes and your testimony are where claims are lost, and finding them early is the main job of a representative.
Deadlines here are counted in days
Board deadlines are short and they run whether or not you have found a representative. A notice of appeal to the Refugee Appeal Division is due 15 days after you receive the written reasons, and the full appeal record 45 days after. A sponsor appealing a refused sponsorship to the Immigration Appeal Division has 30 days from the refusal. A person held in immigration detention gets a review within 48 hours, again within the next 7 days, and then at least once every 30 days.
Call as soon as the letter arrives, not when the hearing date is close. A representative who starts two days before a hearing is mostly reading.
If the cost is what is stopping you
Ask Legal Aid Alberta whether you qualify before you decide to go without representation. Legal aid exists for exactly this, and a person who qualifies should use it. If you do not qualify, or you want to choose who represents you, book a paid consultation and we will tell you plainly what the work involves and what it costs before you commit to anything.
Check anyone before you hire them
Search a consultant on the College register at register.college-ic.ca and look for the IRB class next to the name. Search a lawyer on the Law Society of Alberta’s lawyer directory. Shirani Jenita Daniel is listed under licence R705794 at the RCIC-IRB class. How to read a register entry.
Based in Edmonton, representing clients across Alberta
Imprint Immigration Services represents clients in Edmonton, Calgary and the rest of Alberta before the Immigration and Refugee Board. Consultations are held in person in Edmonton and by video, and hearings held by video can be attended from wherever you live.
Working with an RCIC-IRB in Edmonton
Imprint Immigration Services is led by Shirani Jenita Daniel, a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant authorised to represent clients before Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada and before the Immigration and Refugee Board. Her CICC licence number is R705794 and it can be checked on the CICC public register.
A consultation is a paid appointment where your situation is reviewed and the options that may apply are explained to you. It is a review, not a prediction. No representative can tell you what an officer will decide.
Consultations are held in Edmonton and remotely. Call (825) 435-1101 or book a consultation.
Common questions about IRB representation
- Who can represent me at an Immigration and Refugee Board hearing in Edmonton?
- For a fee, a lawyer who is a member of a Canadian law society, a Quebec notary, or a consultant licensed by the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants at the RCIC-IRB class. Without a fee, a relative, friend or other trusted person. In Edmonton, Imprint Immigration Services represents clients before all four divisions through Shirani Jenita Daniel, RCIC-IRB, licence R705794.
- Can any immigration consultant represent me at the IRB?
- No. Only a consultant who holds the RCIC-IRB class may appear before the Board for a fee. A consultant at the RCIC class can help with IRCC applications but not with a Board hearing. The class is shown on the CICC public register.
- Do I need a lawyer for a refugee hearing?
- You need an authorised representative if you want one who is paid, and that can be either a lawyer or an RCIC-IRB consultant. Both may represent you at the Refugee Protection Division and the Refugee Appeal Division. You may also go without a representative, though preparing the evidence alone is difficult.
- Will I need an interpreter?
- If you are more comfortable in a language other than English or French, tell the Board in advance and it will provide an interpreter at no cost.
- Are IRB hearings held in person or by video?
- Many are now held by video, and the notice to appear tells you which. A video hearing can be attended from anywhere in Alberta, so where you live does not limit who can represent you.
- Can I get free representation?
- Ask Legal Aid Alberta whether you qualify. If you do not, a paid representative is the alternative, and Imprint states the scope and cost of the work before you commit.
This article is general information and is not immigration advice. Advice about your own situation comes from a consultation with Shirani Jenita Daniel, RCIC-IRB, CICC Licence R705794. Representation begins only once a retainer is signed.