A larger-than-life-size photo of Raghbir Singh Bharowal is plastered on the windows of his Surrey, B.C., immigration consultancy firm. He advertises services to hundreds of thousands of his followers on social media and has even announced plans to expand his business.
Signage beside his portrait on the exterior of his firm reads “Visa and Immigration Consultant.”
But Bharowal doesn’t have a licence to practise immigration consulting in Canada. It was revoked permanently by the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants (CICC) last year for misconduct, and he was handed over $110,000 in fines, including restitution payments to past clients.
Just a handful of Canada’s 13,000 registered immigration consultants have ever been hit with such a penalty.
“He was found to have engaged in misconduct that was pretty serious, including threatening clients for deportation, reporting them to police, being dishonest, overcharging fees,” said Eoin Logan, an immigration negligence lawyer whose office, KSW Lawyers, is just blocks away from Bharowal Immigration Solution.
The CICC has since filed its disciplinary decision against Bharowal in federal court, citing non-compliance.
CBC News has made repeated attempts to contact Bharowal for comment to ask whether or not he is continuing to practise. Bharowal still lists himself publicly as the owner of Bharowal Immigration Solution.
Critics like Logan say Bharowal’s ability to own an immigration consulting firm without being a licensed consultant shines a light on a glaring gap within the regulations.
“Immigration consulting companies don’t have to be owned by immigration consultants; they can be owned by anybody,” said Logan. “He’s benefiting, profiting off [immigration consulting] even though the college has deemed he’s somebody who should not be engaging in immigration services.”
The college declined to comment on the case due to the ongoing legal proceedings but said in a statement that it issues cease and desist letters when it has reason to believe that a person is operating as an unauthorized practitioner.
It also has the legal option to file a contempt of court order in cases where an unlicensed consultant continues to practice.
Licence revoked
Bharowal’s licence was revoked by the college on Sept. 27, 2024. According to the discipline committee report, three of his past clients came forward alleging they were each charged as much as $40,000 in fees for services. The alleged misconduct happened between 2019 and 2020.
In two cases, complainants alleged Bharowal helped them get visas and employment at a Manitoba-based trucking company called John White Trucking. According to the report, when one of the complainants expressed concerns to Bharowal over poor working conditions, he was told “he should keep his mouth shut” and that he could be deported if he complained or questioned the employer.
A second complainant, also working at John White Trucking after paying Bharowal for services, said he contacted a temporary foreign worker adviser over concerns he was being exploited by the employer. According to the discipline report, the worker alleged Bharowal told him to withdraw his complaint with the adviser, or Bharowal would cancel his visa and withdraw the worker’s permanent residency application.
The third complainant alleged Bharowal charged him $39,000 for services and held onto his passport until the full payment was made.
According to the disciplinary decision, Bharowal has “largely denied” the allegations against him.
The college’s disciplinary committee said it found enough breaches of its code of conduct to warrant a permanent revocation of Bharowal’s licence and fines, including $68,875 in restitution to clients and $50,000 to the college, on top of the regulator’s legal fees.
In January, the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants filed its disciplinary decision in federal court as an injunction against Bharowal.
Gaps in the system
Bharowal still lists himself as a licensed immigration consultant on his LinkedIn profile. Bharowal Immigration Solutions has more than 300,000 TikTok followers, where Bharowal is featured in advertisements for the firm’s services. The firm has announced plans to open an office in Kamloops.
Under current CICC regulations, there are no laws that prevent unlicensed people from owning an immigration consultancy firm, meaning Bharowal, despite being unlicensed, can still own and operate a firm as long as he’s not the one offering immigration advice.
“The company is in his own name, and he advertises the company, not his own services anymore,” said Logan. “On the face of it, on social media, he’s advertising, he’s expanding his business, without the shackles of being tied to the regulator.”
Logan calls it a gap in the system that doesn’t exist within many other professions bound by ethical and regulatory standards. For example, non-lawyers are not allowed to own or be a majority shareholder in law firms in B.C.
“[Unlicensed owners] are not subject to codes of conduct like immigration consultants, or ethical codes,” he said. “That creates a lot of regulatory issues. If it’s a regulated profession, there needs to be control over how those services are provided, in order to protect the public who might be taken advantage of.”
A former Surrey immigration consultant continues to run his firm months after his licence was revoked for misconduct. Last year, Raghbir Singh Bharowal lost his licence amid allegations he overcharged clients, and when they complained, threatened them with deportation. The former consultant continues to advertise services to hundreds of thousands of followers on social media. As Jon Hernandez reports, critics say the case highlights a major regulatory gap.
Ottawa is in the midst of developing a new set of regulations for the CICC. CBC News has learned that a bylaw that would prevent unlicensed practitioners from owning and operating firms is being seriously considered.
In a statement, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada said it “intends to introduce new rules to penalize paid representatives who break the law when offering representation or advising on immigration or citizenship applications. The proposed regulations aim to strengthen enforcement, protect applicants from exploitation, and maintain the integrity of Canada’s immigration system.”
Hugo Velazquez, the director of family settlement at MOSAIC newcomer services in Vancouver, says the change needs to happen to curb mounting exploitation of vulnerable newcomers. He’s calling on the college to audit more firms for misconduct.
“We have people who probably spent their whole life savings to come to Canada, and then they are fraudulently mistreated,” said Velazquez.
