Legal aid for immigration cases

Having little money does not mean facing an immigration procedure without a lawyer. In Quebec, the legal aid system can cover refugee and immigration matters for people whose income qualifies — including refugee claims, appeals, and removal cases. This guide explains how it works and what to do first.

What legal aid is

Legal aid is a public program that pays for a lawyer, in full or in part, for people whose income and family situation fall under set thresholds. In Quebec it is administered by the Commission des services juridiques through regional legal aid offices. Depending on your income, coverage is either free or subject to a contribution — a fixed amount you pay, with the program covering the rest.

Whether your case is covered

Immigration and refugee matters are among the services legal aid can cover in Quebec. In practice, coverage decisions look at both your finances and the nature of the case — matters that affect your fundamental rights, like a refugee claim, an appeal, a detention, or a removal, are the typical territory. Whether a specific procedure in your file is covered is decided by the legal aid office when it issues a mandate — the document that authorizes a lawyer to act for you under the program.

Whether you qualify financially

Eligibility depends on your income, your family size, and certain assets, measured against thresholds that are updated over time. The thresholds are higher than many people assume — qualifying while working is common, especially with children. Refugee claimants often qualify. The only way to know is to ask: the assessment is done by the legal aid office, it is confidential, and being refused costs you nothing.

How to use it

You do not have to go to whichever lawyer is nearest to a legal aid office. In Quebec you can ask for a private-practice lawyer who accepts legal aid mandates — you choose the lawyer, and legal aid pays them under the mandate. The steps are simple: contact a legal aid office (or the lawyer first, who can point you to the right office), bring proof of income and family situation, and if you qualify, the office issues the mandate to the lawyer you named.

If you are outside Quebec

My practice is federal and I represent clients anywhere in Canada — but legal aid is provincial. Each province runs its own plan, with its own thresholds and its own list of covered immigration services. If you are outside Quebec, check the legal aid plan of your province; whether a mandate from it can apply to your situation is something to raise in the first conversation.

What it means for how we work

A legal aid mandate changes who pays — not the work. The file is prepared the same way, the deadlines are the same, and the professional obligations I owe you are identical. When you contact me, tell me early that you may qualify: we check eligibility before talking about private fees, in that order, every time. If it turns out you do not qualify, I explain private fees in writing before any work begins.

If your situation changes

Eligibility is not carved in stone. If you lose income during your procedure — common for people whose work permit lapses — you may qualify even if you did not at the start; the reverse is also true, and must be declared. Mandates are also issued per procedure: a mandate that covered your hearing does not automatically cover the appeal, so when a new stage begins — an appeal, a Federal Court application, a detention review — the coverage question is asked again, quickly, because the deadlines of the new stage do not wait.

What to have ready

For the eligibility assessment, gather: proof of income (pay stubs, benefits statements, or a declaration if you have none), documents on your family composition, and your immigration documents — the decision or notice that brings you, with its date. The same pile serves both purposes: the legal aid office needs the first part, and I need the second.

If money is the reason you have not yet talked to a lawyer, start with this question — it costs nothing to ask. Let's talk about it.