ID Made Must In Ontario
When a person comes to an immigration lawyer looking for legal services, they must meet in person before any funds can be exchanged from client to lawyer. The lawyer must verify the client’s photo ID, telephone number, address, business address and occupation before receiving any funds.
If the applicant cannot come to the lawyer’s office in Ontario because they are starting the application process from another country, then the applicant would have to go to a public notary in their own country and have their ID certified. That lawyer has to confirm that they met with the person and confirmed their ID before the Ontario lawyer can proceed.
Although this change presents some problems, it is a good thing, because the Law Society of Upper Canada wants to eliminate situations where someone sends a borrowed photo ID to an Ontario lawyer to get the process started.
Other provinces are likely to adopt this requirement soon as well. A lot of problems develop when people are communicating online with their lawyer in another country. This is a recommendation from the Federation of Canadian Law Associations to tighten up the policy and avoid problems during the immigration process.
If you, or someone you care about, is dealing with immigration law issues in the Kitchener, Ontario Region, contact Jennifer Roggemann Law Office for a consultation.
