Straight answers, before you commit to anything.
The questions people actually ask us, answered directly and then qualified honestly. Each subject links to the page that carries the fuller explanation.
What a consultation costs, what happens in it, and how the fee is treated if you go on to retain us.
How much does a consultation cost?
A 30-minute consultation is $150 and a 60-minute consultation is $250, in each case plus applicable taxes. If you retain Immigrate Now for a quoted service within seven days of the consultation, the full pre-tax consultation fee is credited toward that service fee. The consultation agreement you sign at booking sets out the applicable terms.
What actually happens in a consultation?
A consultation is a working session with a regulated professional, not a sales call. The RCIC reviews your history and relevant documents, gives a candid assessment, identifies realistic pathways, discusses material risks and timelines, and leaves you with clear next steps. You should finish with greater clarity whether or not you choose to work with us.
Which length should I book?
Book 30 minutes for a focused question or a defined next step, and 60 minutes for a complex history. Refusals, multiple possible pathways, family circumstances and long immigration records usually need the longer session so nothing important is rushed.
If you are unsure which fits, describe the matter briefly in a quick enquiry and we will tell you. Book a private consultation.
Do you quote a fixed fee for the work itself?
Yes, service fees are quoted before any work begins. The quote follows the consultation, because the scope of the work depends on what the consultation reveals about your record and the route being pursued. There is no separate general fees page because no two matters carry the same scope.
Who is authorised to represent you in Canada, and who inside the practice actually does the work.
Who will handle my file?
A Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant handles your file. Immigrate Now is led by Awal Takkar, President and RCIC R531017, and Karan Pratap Singh, CEO and RCIC R532175. Support staff may assist with administration and file preparation, but professional judgment and advice remain with the regulated professional.
Is Immigrate Now a law firm?
No. Immigrate Now is an RCIC-led immigration consulting practice regulated by the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants, and it is the public brand of Sunrise Resettlement Consulting Inc. RCICs are authorised under Canadian law to advise and represent people on immigration matters, and we will tell you plainly if a matter is better suited to counsel.
How do I check that a representative is authorised?
Search the public register maintained by the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants using the person's name or licence number. Paid representation by anyone who is not an authorised representative is a serious risk to your application and to you. Never pay an unregistered agent and never sign forms you have not read.
Can you guarantee my application will be approved?
No. No representative can guarantee an immigration outcome, and any promise of a guaranteed approval is a warning sign. What a regulated professional can do is give you an honest assessment, build the strongest supportable record and tell you where the real risks sit.
Visitors, students and workers, and the status questions that come with them.
What is maintained status?
Maintained status lets you stay in Canada under the conditions of your existing permit while a renewal application filed before that permit expired is still pending. It applies only if the application was submitted before expiry and you remain in Canada. It ends when a decision is made, and travel outside Canada can affect it.
I lost my status. Can I still work?
No. Once your work permit or your authorization to work has expired, you must stop working. A restoration application does not authorize work while it is being processed, and you may resume only after IRCC restores your status and issues the required work authorization.
Working out the exact date your authorization ended, and whether maintained status applied, is case-specific. Book a private consultation.
How long do I have to apply for restoration?
A restoration application normally must be made within 90 days after the loss of temporary resident status. Restoration is an in-Canada process, and you must still meet the requirements of the visitor, student or worker status you are asking to have restored. If you have already left Canada, a fresh application from outside Canada is usually the correct route.
What can quietly disqualify a PGWP?
Field of study rules, language thresholds, the status of the institution and application timing are the usual causes of a PGWP problem. Interruptions in study, a change of institution or an application filed outside the eligibility window can each end eligibility, and the permit is generally available only once in a lifetime.
How much money do I need to show for a study permit?
For applications made on or after September 1, 2025 for study outside Quebec, a single applicant must show $22,895 in living expenses for one year, plus first-year tuition and the cost of travel to and from Canada. The amount rises with each accompanying family member, Quebec sets separate requirements, and planned work in Canada does not count toward the total. Officers also assess where the funds came from and whether they are genuinely available.
Where funds come from several contributors or arrived recently, how they are presented matters as much as the balance. Book a private consultation.
Do I need a provincial attestation letter for my study permit?
Most study permit applicants need a provincial or territorial attestation letter, and the application is usually returned or refused as incomplete without one where it is required. Exemptions include master's and doctoral degree students at public designated learning institutions, kindergarten to grade 12 students, specified priority or vulnerable groups, and certain extensions at the same institution and level. Whether a particular applicant is exempt is fact-specific.
Can my spouse work in Canada while I study or work here?
Sometimes, but the routes are narrower than they were. Since January 21, 2025, a spousal open work permit based on a partner's studies is limited to qualifying programs, including a master's program of 16 months or longer and doctoral programs, along with other programs IRCC specifically lists. Spouses of foreign workers are assessed under separate rules tied to the principal applicant's occupation and permit.
Confirm eligibility against the official list before either partner resigns a job or books travel. Book a private consultation.
Economic routes to permanent residence, and sponsoring the people closest to you.
Is Express Entry the fastest route to permanent residence?
Not always. Express Entry can be quick for candidates whose profile scores well, but a provincial nomination, a category-based invitation or a family route may be more realistic depending on your age, education, language results and work history. The right plan starts from your actual profile rather than from a preferred program.
What is the difference between inland and Family Class spousal sponsorship?
Inland sponsorship, formally the Spouse or Common-Law Partner in Canada Class, is for couples living together in Canada while the application is processed, while the Family Class does not require cohabitation in Canada. Both can lead to permanent residence, and both turn on an eligible sponsor and a genuine relationship supported by credible evidence. Travel, work permit availability and review options differ between them.
Choosing between the two is a case-by-case decision that depends on status, travel plans and evidence. Book a private consultation.
Can I sponsor my parents or grandparents right now?
The Parents and Grandparents Program is paused for new applications, so the Super Visa is often the most reliable near-term route for parents and grandparents. A Super Visa is a long-stay visitor route with its own requirements, including qualifying Canadian medical insurance and a minimum income test for the host. Intake rules change, so confirm the current position before planning.
What insurance does a Super Visa applicant need?
A Super Visa applicant needs emergency medical insurance valid for at least one year from the date of entry, with at least $100,000 in coverage for health care, hospitalization and repatriation. The policy must be paid for rather than only quoted, must be valid for each entry to Canada, and must be available for an officer to review at the port of entry.
How does the BC Provincial Nominee Program fit into a permanent residence plan?
BC PNP runs two main pathways, Skills Immigration and Entrepreneur Immigration, and a nomination supports a federal permanent residence application rather than granting status on its own. Selection is strategic and invitations can be targeted, and the program guides in force on the date of application govern.
What is the Canadian citizenship test?
The citizenship test is a 20 question knowledge test with a 45 minute limit and a pass mark of 15 correct answers, taken in English or French. Most applicants who are 18 to 54 years of age when they sign the application must take it unless the requirement is waived, and Discover Canada is the official study guide.
What evidence matters most in a spousal application?
Third-party evidence usually carries the most weight, because it was not created for the application. Joint financial records, shared address history, travel records, communication over time and recognition of the relationship by family and institutions tend to persuade more than photographs alone. Consistency across documents matters as much as volume.
What to do after a refusal, a procedural fairness letter or an allegation you did not expect.
My application was refused. Should I reapply, ask for reconsideration or go to court?
It depends on why the application was refused, which is why the officer's notes usually come first. Reapplication suits a curable evidentiary gap, a reconsideration request suits a clear error the officer can fix, and judicial review at the Federal Court addresses a legal error and runs on strict deadlines. Choosing the wrong route can waste both time and the limited window for the right one.
Because the deadlines are short and unforgiving, an early case-specific review is usually worthwhile. Book a private consultation.
What are GCMS or ATIP notes and do I need them?
GCMS notes are the officer's record of your file, obtained through an access to information or personal information request. They are usually the most reliable way to learn what actually drove a decision, rather than the general wording of a refusal letter. In most refusal matters they are worth obtaining before any next step is chosen.
I received a procedural fairness letter. What does it mean?
A procedural fairness letter means an officer has a concern and is giving you a chance to answer before a decision is made. It is an opportunity, not a refusal, and the deadline stated in the letter is real. A focused, evidence-led response that answers the specific concern is far more effective than a general explanation.
Fairness letters that raise misrepresentation carry serious consequences and deserve professional attention quickly. Book a private consultation.
What happens if misrepresentation is found?
A misrepresentation finding under section 40 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act carries a five-year bar on entering Canada, and the finding sits on your immigration record. Because the consequences are severe, the response to the fairness letter is usually the most important document in the file. Honest, complete and well-evidenced explanations matter more than legal argument alone.
Hiring foreign workers, staying compliant, and advising international students at scale.
Does every foreign hire need an LMIA?
No. Many work permits are LMIA-exempt, including several treaty categories, intra-company transfers and permits issued under the International Mobility Program. Whether an exemption applies depends on the role, the relationship between the parties and the specific category being relied on, and an exemption still requires the employer to meet its own obligations.
What are an employer's obligations after the worker arrives?
Employers must continue to meet the conditions they agreed to, and they can be inspected. Wages, occupation, working conditions and record keeping are all reviewable, and inspections can occur years after the permit was issued. Preparing records before an inspection is far easier than reconstructing them during one.
Do you work with designated learning institutions?
Yes. Immigrate Now advises designated learning institutions on internationalization, international student recruitment strategy and immigration-related student pathways. Immigrate Now is also the sole immigration representation provider for refused study-permit applicants referred through the University of British Columbia's Concierge Program.
How representation works when you are in another country and another time zone.
Can you represent me if I am not in Canada?
Yes. Immigrate Now represents clients on Canadian immigration matters wherever they live, and clients have been served from more than 150 countries. Consultations are held online, documents are exchanged securely, and Canadian representation does not require you to be in Canada.
How are meetings scheduled across time zones?
Consultations are booked online and scheduled to suit your time zone wherever practical. If you prefer to meet in person, appointments are available at our New Westminster and downtown Vancouver offices, both by appointment only.
How do you handle my documents and personal information?
Documents are exchanged through secure channels and handled under our published privacy practices. Please do not send identity documents or sensitive details through a general enquiry form, and wait until a secure channel has been set up for your matter.
Do you offer advice in languages other than English?
Written advice and formal documents are provided in English. If you are more comfortable discussing your matter in another language, tell us when you enquire and we will let you know what we can accommodate.
Where to go from here.
- Canadian immigration glossary. Plain-language definitions for the terms and acronyms used across these answers.
- Insights. Longer articles, each reviewed by an RCIC and linked to official sources.
- Services. How we work on temporary residence, permanent residence, citizenship, employers and refusals.
These answers are general information about Canadian immigration and are not advice about your matter. Program rules and intake can change without notice. Reviewed July 31, 2026 | Canadian immigration.
Still holding the question that matters most?
A consultation is the point where general answers become advice about your own record. Sessions are $150 for 30 minutes or $250 for 60 minutes, plus applicable taxes.