An RCIC conflict of interest exists when there is a substantial risk that you may improperly further your own or someone else’s interests, or cannot serve one client without materially compromising your duties to another client or a former client (CICC Code s. 1(2)). Under section 15, you may act only after disclosing the nature and extent of the conflict in writing and getting the client’s free and informed consent in writing, and only if you can still act objectively and keep confidences. Some conflicts, such as lending money to a client, cannot be consented to at all.
- A conflict exists when there is a substantial risk to your loyalty to a client or to another or former client (Code s. 1(2)).
- Consent must follow written disclosure of the nature and extent of the conflict and be free, informed and in writing (s. 15(1)).
- Even with consent, act only if you can stay objective and keep every client’s confidences (s. 15(2)).
- Lending to or borrowing from a client can never be consented to; side business deals need independent advice (s. 16).
- Recruiting a client for an employer or school while acting on their immigration file has its own six conditions (ss. 17–18).
Conflicts are easy to miss in a busy immigration practice: a returning client whose spouse is now a separate file, an employer who pays for a worker’s application, a recruitment arrangement that pays you on the side. This guide sets out what the CICC Code actually says, which conflicts consent can cure and which it cannot, and a conflict check your intake team can run before every new file.
Source, checked 6 November 2026: the CICC Code of Professional Conduct (SOR/2022-128), current to 19 October 2026, sections 1(2), 5, 13 and 15 to 18, 24(3)(o) and 35. The conflict check and the worked situations below are our practical reading, not College guidance. Lawyers follow their law society’s rules instead.
What counts as a conflict of interest under the CICC Code?
Section 5 makes loyalty a core duty: you must be loyal to your clients, “including by avoiding conflicts of interest.” Section 1(2) defines the test. A conflict exists if there is a substantial risk that you:
- may improperly further your private interests or another person’s interests, materially compromising your ability to meet your professional obligations to a client; or
- cannot meet your obligations to one client without materially compromising your obligations to another client or a former client.
The test is a substantial risk, not a certainty. You do not have to wait for harm. If the risk is real, the consent rules below apply.
When can a client consent to a conflict?
Section 15 sets two conditions, and both must be met.
| Condition | What it requires | Code |
|---|---|---|
| Written disclosure and written consent | Disclose the nature and extent of the conflict to the client in writing, and get the client’s free and informed consent in writing, before you provide services | s. 15(1) |
| You can still act properly | Even with consent, act only if you have reasonable grounds to believe you can advise and represent the client without compromising your objectivity, the relationship of trust with any client, or your duty of confidentiality to any client or former client | s. 15(2) |
| Recorded in the agreement | The service agreement must describe any conflict or potential conflict of interest relating to the client, if applicable | s. 24(3)(o) |
A signature alone is not enough. The client must understand what the conflict is and how far it goes, so describe it in plain words, for example which other person you act for and what you would do if their interests split. Put the clause in your template; see manage retainer agreements.
Which conflicts can a client not consent to?
Section 16(1) lists behaviours that are a conflict no consent can cure:
| Behaviour | Exception | Code |
|---|---|---|
| Lending money to, or borrowing money from, a client, directly or indirectly | None | s. 16(1)(a) |
| Any transaction with a client that is not about immigration or citizenship consulting services | Allowed if the transaction is fair and reasonable and the client confirms in writing that they received independent advice on it | s. 16(1)(b), 16(2) |
| An intimate personal relationship with a client, or a former client within one year after the service agreement ends | Does not apply if the client is your spouse when the services are provided, or has cohabited with you in a conjugal relationship for at least one year before | s. 16(1)(c) |
On our reading, the business-transaction rule catches more than it seems: selling a client a car, renting them a room or taking a stake in their business all count, unless the s. 16(2) conditions are met and recorded.
Employment and student recruitment conflicts
Sections 17 and 18 deal with a common arrangement: an RCIC who also recruits workers or students. Providing both immigration services and employment recruitment services to a client who is a foreign national is a conflict (s. 17(2)). The same applies to student recruitment services (s. 18(2)), unless you provide them as a salaried employee of an institution that educates or trains international students.
You may still do both, but only if you meet every condition in sections 17(3) and 18(3):
- tell the client before you start that they are not obliged to get both services from the same person, and get their free and informed consent in writing;
- keep the two services clearly separate in the service agreement;
- charge the client no fee or disbursement, directly or indirectly, for the recruitment services;
- disclose the fees you receive from the employer or institution for recruiting the client;
- comply with the laws that apply; and
- give accurate information: for workers, a copy of the employment contract and the work, wages, benefits and conditions before they start work in Canada; for students, the institution, program, tuition, refund policy and services.
Fees you disclose under these sections are not prohibited inducements (s. 13(3)). Other referral payments are covered in RCIC advertising rules.
Situations the Code does not name
The Code has no specific rule for family members, joint applicants or employers who pay for a worker’s file. For these, apply the general test in sections 1(2) and 15(2). Our practical reading, for your reviewer to confirm:
- Spouses or family members on one application. Interests are usually aligned, but they can split, for example on separation or when one person’s history affects the other’s admissibility. Ask whether you could keep each person’s confidences from the other; if not, s. 15(2) may stop you acting for both.
- Employer and worker. If both are your clients, decide and write down who you represent in each application. If the employer pays and only the worker is your client, say so in writing to both.
- A former client on the other side. Section 1(2)(b) expressly covers former clients. Check what you learned in the earlier file before you take the new one.
A conflict check before you open a file
- Search every name. Before the consultation, search the client, spouse, dependants, employer and any other party across leads, cases and closed files.
- Ask about money and relationships. Does anyone at the firm lend to, borrow from, do business with or have a personal relationship with this person?
- Ask about recruitment. Is the firm, or anyone it works with, being paid by an employer or school connected to this client?
- Decide. No conflict, a conflict the client can consent to (and you can still act properly), or a conflict you must decline.
- Record it. Note the result and who checked it on the lead. If consent is needed, send the written disclosure and get written consent before any services, and describe the conflict in the service agreement.
Fit this into your immigration client intake process so it happens on every file, not only the obvious ones.
What if a conflict appears in the middle of a file?
Section 35(1)(c) requires you to end the service agreement if continuing would put you in a conflict of interest, unless you get the client’s consent under section 15. If you end it for that reason, section 35(3) requires you, if possible, to refer the client to another authorized representative who is competent to provide the services. Then the closing duties in section 36 apply; follow the RCIC client file transfer checklist.
General information about running an immigration practice — not legal advice. Rules change; confirm current requirements with official sources and your regulator.