Admissions

Exam eligibility

CCIC’s federal mandate stems from the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and the Citizenship Act, which require anyone providing Canadian immigration or citizenship advice or representation for a fee or other consideration to be a member in good standing of CCIC.

Exceptions are members in good standing of a law society in Canada or the Chambre des notaires du Québec. To qualify to write the CCIC’s EPE Exam, and subsequently become a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant, you must have:

• reached at least 18 years of age;
• successfully completed the Queen’s University Graduate Diploma in Immigration and Citizenship Law (GDipICL) program with no course below a B- grade.

For more information, see: How Do I Become an RCIC

In their applications, applicants must list all previous post-secondary studies.  This includes completed, in-process, and incomplete academic studies at the post-secondary level.  Up-to-date, complete transcripts from all post-secondary studies must be provided for the admission review process.  Applicants may provide English PDF copies of their documents via their application, or, if this is unavailable, can have their previous post-secondary institutions deliver transcripts to the School of Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs (SGSPA) office on their behalf by email, fax, physical mail, or third-party transcript submission.  You can find transcript delivery information on the SGSPA’s “How to Apply” page here.

You can read “Tips for Successful Transcript Upload”, which provides more information on the application and documentation process, here. 

GDipICL applicants must demonstrate their English language proficiency by either meeting one of our exemption criteria or providing an approved English language proficiency test (ELPT) score for the admission review process.

There are three available exemptions: 

1. You self-identify as a native English speaker,
2. Any applicant whose native languages do not include English, but who has completed four or more years of consecutive full-time academic study at a university where English is the official language of instruction, may submit with their application a request to be exempted from the English language proficiency test requirement. Proof will be required that English is the language of instruction there.  Acceptable proof of this is the original, official transcript, received from the issuing university or uploaded as part of the application for admission. If it is not stated on or evident from the transcript that English is the language of instruction, arrangements must be made for a separate, official letter that confirms this to be sent to the School of Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs from the issuing post-secondary institution.  
3. Any applicant who has successfully completed ESLA 850 (University Preparation Level) with the Queen's School of English, English for Academic Purposes program with an "A" grade within the 24-month period prior to the month of application, may also submit a request to be exempted from the English language proficiency test requirement. Equivalent programs at another university will be assessed on a case-by-case basis for exemption eligibility.   

Exemptions are requested via the official application and are only determined after you have submitted your application and all relevant supporting documents, including all transcripts, Medium of Instruction letters, and all other required documents.   

Those applicants who do not meet one of the two requirements listed above, will be required to obtain satisfactory standing in an English Language Proficiency Test as part of the application process.  

Exemption decisions are final and may not be appealed.  No additional exemptions are offered outside of the exemptions listed above.  Citizenship, where you completed your studies, or daily interaction in English are not factors for exemption requests. 

The Admission Committee reserves the right to request an English language proficiency test score from any applicant at any point in the admission process, no matter their exemption eligibility.  Should you be required to provide an ELPT score, you will be contacted and provided information on this matter.    

Minimum requirements for the three English language proficiency tests which are accepted for applications to this program are as follows: 

Please note: English language proficiency test scores must be no older than two (2) years from the month of application.  Tests older than two (2) years will not be accepted for the admission review process.  Required scores must be achieved on a single ELPT.  Combination scores/superscoring is not acceptable for admission process.  The GDipICL program accepts both online/home-based and test centre-based versions of approved ELPTs. 

Learn more about IELTS (Academic), Pearson PTE Academic, and CAEL. 

More information regarding the ESLA 850 program with the Queen’s School of English can be found here: English for Immigration and Citizenship Law Pathway | Queen's School of English (queensu.ca). Conditional offers of admission are required to enroll in the ESLA 850 program, and this must be identified on your GDipICL application. The Queen’s School of English does not accept direct applications for acceptance into this program.  Applicants who wish to take this program must identify their interest on the GDipICL September (Fall) application and provide all admissions-related documents for a full application assessment.  Conditional Offers of Admission will be sent to successful candidates, who will then enter the ESLA 850 program in the September (Fall) term.  The ESLA 850 program is not available to January (Winter) applicants. 
 

Applicants to the Graduate Diploma are required to identify two referees who will submit online reference forms on their behalf.   

All applicants must provide one professional reference and one other reference.  The second reference must meet one of the following requirements: 

• One academic reference is required for applicants who have attended post-secondary degree studies less than two years prior to the month of their application. The second reference must be a professional reference.  Academic references must be received from the applicant's most recent studies.
• Applicants who have graduated more than two years prior to application are not required to submit an academic reference and must provide a second professional references.  

A professional reference must be provided by a current or former manager/supervisor from a professional workplace, or volunteer experience, who has managed/supervised you in a professional capacity.  Both domestic and international professional references are accepted. Reference forms must be submitted in English. 

An academic reference should be provided by a current or former professor, instructor, or teaching assistant from your most recent academic study, who has overseen your work in an academic capacity.  Both domestic and international academic references are accepted.  Reference forms must be submitted in English. 

References are not accepted from friends, family members, colleagues, coworkers, peers, fellow students, or anyone with no direct managerial/supervisory responsibilities over you in a professional or academic setting. 

All reference forms are verified for authenticity and must be completed by the referees themselves with no additional assistance from others or the applicant.   

Contact information, including email addresses, phone numbers and names for your two references, is provided via the School of Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs application system.  Your referees will be contacted via email once your application is paid for and submitted.  They will be required to complete an online reference form in English. Referees have the option of uploading letters of recommendation with their completed online reference form. 

References are an important part of your application to the Graduate Diploma. It is highly advisable to select referees who know your skills and experience, and who can communicate your ability to succeed in an academic program. It is recommend that you contact your referees with a minimum of four weeks’ notice before the application deadline. Ensure that your referees are available and have ample time to complete the reference form before the document deadline. 
 

Applicants must submit a 400-word response to our Personal Statement of Interest question explaining your motivation in applying for the GDipICL program and the training/experience that will support your application for the Graduate Diploma in Immigration and Citizenship Law. 

Your statement may only be submitted through the online application system. Specific instructions are included in the online application.

Please note that the maximum characters count in the online application system does apply. You must edit your statement to be no more than either 400 words or 2,000 characters; otherwise, the online system will not accept the statement.

The GDipICL program will not accept any element of the application prepared, in whole or in part, by means of generative artificial-intelligence (AI) tools, including and without limitation to chatbots, such as Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer (Chat GPT), or other language generating tools. The Admission Committee reserves the right to screen applications to identify the use of such tools. All applications prepared, in whole or in part, by means of such generative or creative AI applications may be rejected without further consideration at the Admission Committee's sole discretion. Admission decisions are not appealable.