Common questions

The Team of Sean G. McKinsley and Kimberly J. White is two Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultants (RCICs) who work together as professional co-counsel. Sean G. McKinsley, RCIC, CICC R529731, is the Founder of Canada Immigration and Visa Services. Kimberly J. White, RCIC, CICC R712483, is the Founder of Kimberly White Immigration Consultants. Neither works for, or is subordinate to, the other. Sean focuses on Economic Class immigration, business and entrepreneur routes, provincial nominee programs and family sponsorship. Kimberly’s practice covers citizenship, permanent residence, work and study permits, and temporary residence. You can read more about each of them on our About us page.

Sean and Kimberly are two regulated professionals who collaborate on matters. Working as co-counsel lets them discuss a file, review each other’s analysis and share strategic insight, while keeping clear responsibility for your engagement. Neither works under, or is subordinate to, the other. Each keeps their own College ID, practice and professional obligations. Your written agreement states who is responsible for your matter, and if you later sign a Retainer/Service Agreement, it states who is your representative of record.

Not necessarily. There is a single booking path, and Sean G. McKinsley, RCIC, our senior practitioner, conducts your first video consultation. Because Sean and Kimberly work as co-counsel, both of them may review your matter before or after the call, so you get the benefit of two regulated professionals without paying for two meetings. If your matter goes further, your Retainer/Service Agreement will say who works on it and who is your representative of record.

The Team of Sean G. McKinsley and Kimberly J. White advises on Express Entry and the Canadian Experience Class, provincial nominee programs, business and entrepreneur routes, employer work permits and LMIA matters, LMIA-exempt work permits, study permits, visitor and temporary resident matters, family and spousal sponsorship, and citizenship. We work Canada-wide. Our practice covers federal programs and many provincial programs across the country, not only Alberta. We do not practise in Quebec. We do not offer refugee or asylum representation. Start with a consultation and we will tell you which routes are realistic for you.

No. Sean McKinsley and Kimberly White do not offer refugee protection, asylum or refugee-claim representation, and our consultation agreement does not cover these matters. If you need help with a refugee or asylum claim, please look for an authorized representative who practises in that area, and do so as early as possible. You can check whether a consultant is authorized on the CICC public register (register.college-ic.ca).

Yes. Sean McKinsley and Kimberly White advise employers and workers on employer work permits, Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) matters and LMIA-exempt work permits. We look at whether a role and a candidate fit a work permit route, what the employer must do, and what the worker must show. We do not recruit workers or sell job offers; the job offer must be genuine. See Work permits.

Yes. Family sponsorship is a core part of our practice, including spousal and common-law partner sponsorship, sponsorship of dependent children, and parents and grandparents. We help many same-gender couples with spousal sponsorship. We look at the sponsor’s eligibility, the evidence of the relationship and the right application route, and we tell you the risks before you apply. See Family sponsorship and Spousal sponsorship.

Yes. We advise on visitor visas, visitor records and extensions, super visas for parents and grandparents, and study permits, including what a study permit applicant must show and how temporary status can lead to other options. We look at the purpose of your stay, your ties and your evidence before you apply, so you know the risks first. See Visitor visas and Study permits.

Yes. Citizenship is part of Kimberly J. White’s practice, and the team advises permanent residents on citizenship applications. We look at your situation, the documents you will need and any issues that could delay or complicate your application before you apply. Where something in your history needs a closer look, such as time spent outside Canada or past applications, we tell you before you file, so there are no surprises. See Citizenship.

A consultation is CAD $250 plus applicable GST. The fee covers your RCIC’s preparation before the call and a video consultation of about 30 minutes with Sean G. McKinsley, RCIC, our senior practitioner. Booking is free. Government fees and any later professional services are not included. See Fees and consultations for what the consultation covers, and Book a consultation to pick a time.

Before your call, your RCIC does the substantive work: reviewing the information you give us when booking, and the documents and questionnaire we request through our secure client process, identifying the issues, analysing the programs that may apply to you and preparing for the call. The video consultation, about 30 minutes, is included with no separate fee. On the call we go through which routes are realistic for you, the likely weak points in your case, what you would need to gather or change, and roughly what it would cost. A consultation is professional advice, not an application.

No. The video call is about 30 minutes, but it is the follow-up to work done beforehand. The fee covers your RCIC’s review of your information, issue identification, program analysis and preparation, and then the video consultation, which is included with no separate fee. Because the analysis is done before the call, the 30 minutes is spent on your answers and next steps rather than on collecting basic facts.

Nothing is charged when you book. Once your RCIC has completed the preparation for your consultation, we invoice the completed services. The invoice must be paid by credit card through Stripe’s secure payment page before your video call; payment is required before the call goes ahead. Your card details go to Stripe and are not stored on our website. The Initial Consultation Agreement you accept when booking sets out these terms.

No. Booking is free, and booking or opening a file alone does not earn the fee. The fee is earned only after your RCIC has performed the substantive review, issue identification, program analysis and preparation for your call. If you cancel before preparation has begun, no fee is earned or invoiced. Once the preparation has been completed and invoiced, the fee is earned. Details are in the Initial Consultation Agreement and our Refund policy.

No. A consultation is professional advice on your situation. It is not an application, and it does not make us your representative. If you want us to prepare or submit an application or represent you, that needs a separate signed Retainer/Service Agreement, which sets out the scope of work, fees and who is your representative of record. Until then, you are free to use the advice yourself or to go elsewhere.

No. If you are coming to Canada to work, it is against the law for an employer, or anyone recruiting for an employer, to charge you to get a job. Employers must not charge or recover recruitment fees from a foreign worker, directly or indirectly, and must make sure their recruiters don’t either (Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/SOR-2002-227/FullText.html), ss. 209.2(1)(a)(ix)–(x) and 209.3(1)(a)(xv)–(xvi)). The Government of Canada tells workers that an employer can’t make you pay to get or keep your job; you only pay for your own work permit, medical exam and biometrics, if required (Temporary foreign workers: Your rights are protected: canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/services/foreign-workers/protected-rights.html). In Alberta, an employment agency cannot charge you a fee for finding or trying to find you a job (Employment Agency Business Licensing Regulation (kings-printer.alberta.ca/1266.cfm), s. 12).

A Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant must not charge you any fee for finding you a job (CICC Code of Professional Conduct (laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/SOR-2022-128/section-17.html), s. 17(3)(c)). We do not sell jobs or job offers, and we will never ask you to pay for a job or a job offer. We advise individuals and employers on the immigration side of a genuine job offer.

If anyone asks you to pay for a Canadian job or job offer, treat it as a scam: do not pay, and report it to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca) and to IRCC (How to report scams, fraud or abuse: canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/protect-fraud/report-fraud.html).

No. Nobody can honestly guarantee an immigration outcome. Decisions are made by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada and by provincial and territorial governments, not by consultants. Using a representative does not mean an application will be approved. What we can do is give you a straight answer about your options, tell you the risks and costs before you go too far down a pathway, and prepare your matter carefully. Be wary of anyone who promises approval.

Yes. Sean G. McKinsley and Kimberly J. White are bound by the confidentiality obligations of the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants Code of Professional Conduct. Information obtained through the professional relationship is kept confidential indefinitely. It is disclosed only where you authorize it, where the law, a court, a tribunal or the College requires or authorizes it, or where professional rules otherwise permit it, and then only as far as reasonably necessary. How we handle personal information on this website is set out in our Privacy Policy.

No. Please do not send passports, identity documents, medical, police or financial records, or other files through this website. Our booking form asks only for your name, email, phone number and mailing address, which the consultation agreement needs, and it does not accept uploads. After you accept the agreement, we request the documents and questionnaire we need through our secure client process, never through the website.

You can read reviews from our clients on Google. Some of those reviews also appear on our site, quoted word for word. The reviews are written by real clients about their own experience of working with Sean and Kimberly. They describe individual experiences, and every case is different, so a review is not a promise about your own result. To discuss your situation, book a consultation.

No. Reviews reflect other clients’ experiences of working with us. They are not a prediction or a promise about your case. Results depend on each case and are not guaranteed, because every application turns on its own facts and on decisions made by government officers. A consultation is the way to get an honest assessment of your own situation, including the risks and costs.

Do not pay them and do not send personal documents. It is a scam. Sean G. McKinsley and Kimberly J. White do not sell jobs or job offers and will never ask you to pay for a job. We only ask for payment by invoice under a written agreement with you. If you are coming to Canada to work, an employer, or anyone recruiting for one, cannot charge you to get a job (Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/SOR-2002-227/FullText.html), ss. 209.2(1)(a)(ix)–(x) and 209.3(1)(a)(xv)–(xvi)), and a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant must not charge you for finding you a job (CICC Code of Professional Conduct (laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/SOR-2022-128/section-17.html), s. 17(3)(c)).

Report it to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca) and to IRCC (How to report scams, fraud or abuse: canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/protect-fraud/report-fraud.html). Then write to us at info@civs.ca so we know our names are being misused. You can check any immigration consultant on the CICC public register (register.college-ic.ca).

No. The Team of Sean G. McKinsley and Kimberly J. White is based in Calgary, but we work Canada-wide. Our practice covers federal programs and many provincial programs across the country, not only Alberta. We do not practise in Quebec. For people moving from the United Kingdom, we look at where your work, skills and family plans fit best, and then at the federal and provincial routes that suit that choice. See Moving from the UK and Destinations.