Find Lawyers in Vancouver, British Columbia for Immigration Law
Practice Area Overview
Immigration lawyers work with corporations and other employers to help clients understand the legal steps that must first be followed before bringing key employees to work in Canada. They can assist with the immigration documents required and they can identify how immigration law might affect their business dealings.
Immigration lawyers identify the reasons why a foreign national may not be permitted entry to Canada and advise on eligibility, and where applicable, options to overcome these challenges (e.g. criminal inadmissibility issues). Immigration lawyers assist their clients who require skilled employees to address labour shortages in Canada with the requisite government filings and advise on strategies to assist clients’ employees in maintaining legal status in Canada.
Immigration lawyers also work with individuals to help them understand the steps required to sponsor a loved one, whether they are eligible for permanent residence status in Canada (an area of law that changes frequently), which tests immigration officers use to assess whether an individual may be granted entry to Canada, as well as a variety of other immigration and cross-border related matters. An immigration lawyer can also advise clients on the process of obtaining permanent residence, work permits, study permits, and reuniting family once eligibility has been assessed.
Experienced immigration lawyers have built relationships with applicable government departments in the immigration or cross-border process, including with Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada, Service Canada, Provincial Departments, and the Canada Border Services Agency.
Anita , Associate Counsel at Watson Goepel , has been recognized in the 2025 edition of Best Lawyers for her exemplary work in Immigration Law . Her immigration practice is informed by her extensive background, including her role as Assistant Deputy Chair of the Immigration Appeal Division of the Immigration and Refugee Board, where she skillfully handles a variety of immigration matters, including hearings before the Immigration and Refugee Board and Federal Court. In addition, Anita has ove...
Kenneth Ing is the principal of Kenneth Ing Law Corporation. Fluent in both English and Cantonese, Mr. Ing deals exclusively with business immigration and real estate matters involving international and domestic interests in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom, as well as Hong Kong and throughout the Asia Pacific Region. He has been a guest lecturer for the Continuing Legal Education Society of British Columbia on many occasions and has also lectured for the International Bar Ass...
A Saskatchewan girl, Meika charms us regularly with expressions like "have at 'er!" And believe us, when Meika "has at 'er" there's no stopping her from fighting on behalf of her clients. Her personable but no-nonsense approach, her work ethic and her reputation as a strategic thinker have led her to build a loyal following among Canada's leading companies. It’s no surprise that Meika has been recognized by Lexpert as one of Canada’s leading practitioners in Immigration Law. Meika...
Chi-Young (Chi) Lee hails from Toronto, but we don’t hold that against her. Having two boys under four and running a full immigration practice, she is a multi-tasker extraordinaire. We’re pretty sure her day holds 48 hours, not 24. Chi originally joined the firm in 2011 after having worked at a non-profit serving the needs of foreign live-in caregivers. After a “brief” 8 year detour back to Toronto, she could not resist the call back to McCrea, that, or it could have b...
When Silvia decides to take on a challenge, she really goes for it. After launching a successful career as a civil and employment lawyer in her native Brazil, Silvia decided to immigrate to Canada without having set foot here before. Undaunted by the Canadian licensing process, she worked her way through another law degree, a second career as an immigration paralegal and a third career as a mother to two boys. She’s now returned to where she started, this time tackling the practice of C...
The same qualities that allowed Ryan to excel in his previous career as a fly fishing guide have come in handy as an immigration lawyer: focus, persistence, knowledge and a natural ability to guide his clients with clarity. Ryan joined the partnership at McCrea in 2020 after more than 15 years leading the immigration practice group of a leading regional firm. In addition to his practice in Vancouver, he maintains strong connections to the Kelowna area and advises a number of Okanagan-based co...
Deanna is one of the most respected immigration lawyers in Canada, but as far as we're concerned she's just the nicest person we could ever hope to work with. She joined the firm in 2010 after working for many years as the executive director and staff lawyer of a non-profit serving the needs of foreign live-in caregivers. Deanna is a crack immigration litigator, winning all the cases she should and a few she probably shouldn't, and frankly we're glad we never have to face off against her in c...
In his immigration practice, Darren works with both businesses and individuals to facilitate the entry of people into Canada as temporary and permanent residents. He also assists clients who are already in Canada with permanent residence applications, citizenship applications, and the renewal of their temporary status as workers, students, or visitors. His background in corporate and commercial law helps Darren to understand and anticipate his clients’ business needs when formulating an...
Catherine Sas, K.C. is a Partner in the Immigration group. With over 20 years of experience, she provides a full range of immigration services and has been recognized as a leading immigration practitioner by Lexpert, Who's Who Legal, and Best Lawyers in Canada. An active member of the Canadian Bar Association (CBA), Catherine is a past chair of both the B.C. Immigration Law Section and the National Immigration Law Section of the Canadian Bar Association. She has participated in continuing leg...
Katie is a Partner in our Vancouver office. She has a broad range of experience helping clients navigate the intricacies of business immigration law and related human resources issues. Katie represents business clients in their endeavors to obtain Canadian legal work authorization for international talent while providing advice on both short and long term immigration goals. She routinely assists clients with immigration audits and inspections, and advises on compliance obligations. Long term,...
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Recognition by Best Lawyers is based entirely on peer review. Our methodology is designed to capture, as accurately as possible, the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area.
The Process
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