Applications
Immigration work for Scarborough families and workers
Our immigration law page explains every pathway in depth. This page covers what is practical if you live in Scarborough: meeting us here, the IRCC office in the neighbourhood, and local help that sits alongside a lawyer’s work.
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Family sponsorship
Spouses, common-law and conjugal partners and dependent children, plus super visas for parents and grandparents while the parents and grandparents program is paused.
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Work permits & LMIA
New permits, extensions before expiry, changing employers, and Labour Market Impact Assessments for Scarborough businesses hiring from abroad.
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Permanent residence
Express Entry, Ontario’s nominee program and PR card renewals, starting with a profile analysis of your options.
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Humanitarian & compassionate
Applications built on your establishment in Canada, your children’s interests and the hardship of leaving.
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Citizenship
Physical presence counted against your travel history, tax filings and language evidence checked, before you sign.
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Visitor visas, study permits & refusals
Visitor and super visas for relatives, study permits, and a fresh look at a refused file before you apply again.
On Sheppard Ave E
A lawyer you can sit down with, here in Scarborough
Immigration is federal law, so the rules are the same in Scarborough as anywhere in Canada. What a local office changes is how easy it is to get your papers in front of someone who reads them properly.
Many immigration files turn on documents: a marriage certificate in another language, ten years of travel stamps, pay stubs and reference letters that have to match an occupation code. Going through the originals across a table is often faster than scanning and emailing them back and forth. Our office is at 3319 Sheppard Ave E, Suite 103, and you can book an in-person consultation there, or keep everything by phone if that suits you better. Either way you speak with Rosalie Wannes directly, in English or Armenian (service in Arabic is also available).
Sworn documents in the same visit
Immigration applications regularly need papers that are sworn, declared or certified. A couple applying as common-law partners usually completes IRCC’s Statutory Declaration of Common-law Union (IMM 5409), which both partners sign and declare before an authorized person. We can commission that declaration at the office, along with affidavits explaining a gap in your history or a lost document, and certified true copies of passports, degrees and certificates. Bring the originals and government photo ID.
Starting with a short call
If you are not sure yet what you need, book the free 15-minute call first: you pick a time and we phone you. If your options are genuinely unclear, a profile analysis looks at the pathways open to you and is followed by a complimentary 30-minute consultation.
Why Wannes Law
A Toronto law firm that keeps you informed
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A licensed Ontario lawyer
Rosalie Wannes, licensed by the Law Society of Ontario, is responsible for your file from start to finish.
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Fees before you commit
Instant online quotes and published flat fees, so you know the cost before you retain us.
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Every step explained
Plain-language explanations of what happens, what you provide and what we handle, at every stage.
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Direct access
Reach your lawyer and law clerk directly by phone and email while your matter is underway.
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Sign in person or remotely
Meet at our Sheppard Ave E office in Toronto, or review documents by video and courier the originals.
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English, Armenian and Arabic
Talk through your matter in the language you are most comfortable with.
IRCC appointments
The IRCC office on Milner Avenue, biometrics and ceremonies
Scarborough has its own Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada office, but you can’t walk in and ask a question there.
By invitation only
IRCC lists an office at 325 Milner Avenue, Suite 200, in Scarborough among its offices in Canada that open by appointment only; the others in the Toronto area are in Etobicoke and, for citizenship, in Mississauga. Only clients with a scheduled appointment can go in. If IRCC wants to interview you, see original documents or finalise a step in person, it sends an invitation letter saying which office, when, and how to reschedule. Don’t assume the Milner Avenue office is the one you will be sent to; check the letter, and bring exactly what it lists.
Interviews
An interview invitation on a spousal sponsorship or a permanent residence file usually means the officer has questions. We can go through the file with you beforehand: what you and your partner said in the forms, what the evidence shows and where the officer is likely to probe.
Biometrics and ceremonies
Fingerprints and photos for visa, permit and permanent residence applications are given at a designated Service Canada office, and IRCC says you need a booked appointment before you go. Citizenship is different: fingerprints, if requested, are taken by police or an accredited fingerprinting company. Citizenship ceremonies are held in person or virtually, and the invitation tells you the format and place.
Free help nearby
Settlement services in Scarborough, and where a lawyer fits
Free settlement services and a lawyer do different jobs. Settlement workers help you build a life here; a lawyer deals with your status and your applications. You may need both.
Free settlement help
- Toronto Public Library runs settlement services in branches across the city, with settlement workers who meet you in person, by phone or online
- The City of Toronto’s Newcomer Services Kiosks, including one at Scarborough Village Employment & Social Services, open to all residents regardless of immigration status
- Help with health cards, school registration, housing, job searches and English classes
Where a lawyer comes in
- Choosing between pathways, and between inland and outland sponsorship
- Status about to expire, or already expired
- A refusal, a procedural fairness letter or an interview invitation
- Past criminal charges, earlier refusals or anything that could look like misrepresentation
Worth doing once you are settled
- An Ontario will naming a guardian for your children: see our Scarborough wills page
- Checking your status before buying a home, since non-resident taxes depend on it: our Scarborough real estate page explains
- Keeping a travel log from the day you land, for the PR card and citizenship
In the 2021 Census, 46.6% of City of Toronto residents in private households were immigrants (Statistics Canada, Census Profile).
Your first meeting
What to bring to a Scarborough consultation
Whether you come to Sheppard Ave E or speak with us by phone, the same material makes the first conversation useful. Photos or scans are fine for a phone consultation; bring originals if you come in.
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Step 1: Your current status
Passport, current permit or visa, and the exact expiry date. If an expiry is weeks away, say so when you book: extensions and restoration have firm deadlines.
You provide
- Passport and current permit, visa or PR card
- Any letters from IRCC, including refusals
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Step 2: Your history
Previous applications to Canada or any other country, travel dates, and any charge or conviction anywhere, even an old or minor one. Officers can see earlier Canadian applications, so what you file now has to be consistent with them.
You provide
- Copies of earlier applications, if you kept them
- A rough list of trips out of Canada
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Step 3: What you want to achieve
Bring the people involved into the conversation: a spouse you want to sponsor, an employer who wants to hire you. You leave knowing which pathway fits, what it needs and what the next step is.
We handle
- A pathway recommendation
- A document list for your program
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Step 4: Preparation and submission
If you retain us, we prepare the application, review each document for consistency, submit it and tell you what follows: biometrics, medicals, requests for more information and any interview.
Fees
Quoted for your application
Immigration fees depend on the program and how much preparation your file needs, so they are quoted individually once we understand your case. Use the quote form to choose the application type and your timeline. Government fees are separate and set by IRCC.
Questions
Scarborough immigration questions
Can I meet an immigration lawyer in person in Scarborough?
Yes. Our office is at 3319 Sheppard Ave E, Suite 103, Scarborough (Toronto), ON M1T 3K2. Consultations can be held there or by phone, in English, Armenian or Arabic.
Can I go to the IRCC office on Milner Avenue with a question about my file?
No. IRCC’s Scarborough office at 325 Milner Avenue sees only clients who have a scheduled appointment. Questions about a file go through your IRCC account or IRCC’s online channels, or to your representative.
Can you commission our common-law declaration?
Yes. Both partners can declare the Statutory Declaration of Common-law Union (IMM 5409) at our office. Bring government photo ID and don’t sign it beforehand.
Do I need a lawyer, or can a settlement worker help?
Settlement workers help with housing, health cards, school and jobs, for free. They don’t prepare or represent immigration applications. Only authorized representatives, such as lawyers, licensed paralegals and licensed immigration consultants, can charge a fee to do that.
My work permit expires next month. What should I do?
Apply to extend before it expires. If IRCC receives the application in time and you stay in Canada, you can generally keep working on the same conditions while it is decided. Call us as soon as possible so the right application is filed.
Where do I give my biometrics?
At a designated Service Canada office, with an appointment booked in advance. Not every Service Canada office collects biometrics, and you need the biometric instruction letter from IRCC.
Do you work with people outside Scarborough?
Yes. Consultations by phone work anywhere; see our pages for North York, Markham and Pickering, among others.
Related
Related pages
Areas We Serve
Immigration advice beyond Scarborough
Consultations are by phone, so the location of the office matters less than it seems. These pages cover what is local elsewhere in the GTA.
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Scarborough
Immigration lawyer for Scarborough clients. Our office is on Sheppard Ave E.
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North York
Immigration lawyer for North York clients.
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Markham
Immigration lawyer for Markham clients.
Here to help
Talk it through on Sheppard Ave E, or by phone.
Book a free 15-minute call, or tell us about your application in the quote form.
Prefer to talk now? Call (647) 707-7718 · Service in English, Armenian and Arabic