One of the cornerstones of RIC's Rules of Professional Conduct is that members should strive to continually upgrade and develop their knowledge and skills in the areas in which they practice as immigration consultants.

What qualifies as Continuing Education ie Mandatory Professional Development

(a) Continuing professional education is broadly defined to encompass subjects relevant to a member's employment or career and subjects that will increase the general skills or expertise of a registered immigration consultant.

(b) English lanaguage.

(d) Activities such as attendance at courses, seminars and technical sessions qualify as continuing professional education. Other activities such as participation in special interest groups and self-study may also qualify as continuing professional education. If the member participates in an activity that satisfies the spirit of continuing professional education but it is not listed, the member should forward a detailed description of the activity to the Association for consideration.

Members are encouraged to carefully review the credit granting policy, thus ensuring that all appropriate activities are being recorded.

Continuing Professional Development requirements and guidelines

1. Each member shall earn a minimum of 100 credits on a three-year moving total basis. The member must report at least 20 credits every year.

2. An annual reporting period runs from January 1st to December 31st. All credits earned within that period are to be filed with the Association, no later than March 31st of the following year.

3. Mandatory continuing education credits are to be reported each year.

4. If the Association does not receive a report from the member, it is treated as a "nil" report and zero credits are assigned for that reporting period.

5. Documentation may be subject to audit; members should retain the appropriate documentation to support credits claimed for the most recent three-year reporting period. Examples of appropriate documentation could include a syllabus, receipt, confirmation of seminar attendance, or written description of the professional development activity.

6. A member wishing to appeal the number of credits granted may appeal in writing within 90 days of the date of notification of the current status of accumulated credits.

Compliance Exceptions

Parental leave status members (as defined in Article 3 of the By-Law) may elect to be exempted from the requirements for a (lifetime) total of two years. The election must be made in the first and/or second year of a parental leave period.

A serious illness may prevent a member from meeting the requirements of mandatory continuing education. In this case, the member should submit the reporting form, together with a covering letter of explanation (and appropriate medical documentation).

All applications for exemptions must be made in writing and must be approved.

When a member's status changes (from any of the above exceptions), such that he or she no longer qualifies for exemption, the member must begin a new reporting period immediately, in order to comply with the program.

Reporting and non-compliance

Reporting forms are distributed to members on an annual basis (and no later than January 31st of the following year). The form should be returned by March 31st to the Association's office, by mail or fax or e-mail.

Each moving three-year cycle comprises the calendar year just ended, and the immediately preceding two calendar years.

If a non-exempt member fails to achieve the required minimum of 100 credits in a three-year reporting period, the following course of action is taken:

1. The member is given a notice of the apparent shortfall, no later than July 31st of the year following the reporting cycle.

2. A written response to the notice of (apparent) non-compliance is required from the member within 30 days of the date of the notice. This response must either dispute or confirm the credit shortfall. If a shortfall is confirmed, the member must submit an action plan to cover the shortfall with their response. The response should be directed to the Association. If the member has not submitted a written response to the notice of apparent non-compliance within 30 days of the date of the notice, the member will be deemed to have confirmed the credit shortfall.

3. Based on receipt and approval of an appropriate action plan to remedy the shortfall, The Association may allow an extension period of up to one year. The extension will not be granted if such a plan is not received from the member within the required time. The member will then not be in compliance with the Rules of Professional Conduct and will be reported to The Association's discipline committee.

4. If, subsequent to the extension period, a member is still found to have accumulated fewer than the required number of credits, the member will not be in compliance with the Code of Ethical Principles and Rules of Conduct and will be reported to The Association's discipline committee.

Credit Granting Policy

1 Attendance at seminars; in-house training; courses at university/college/night school, special interest study groups; breakfast, lunch or dinner presentations.

Full-day (six and more than six hours per day): 20 credits

Half-day (more than three hours, less than six hours) 10 credits

One to three hours (must be a minimum of one hour) 5 credits

2. Self- study courses 1 credit for every 2 hours of study

(a maximum of 15 credits per year, for all self-study courses)

3. Active service with a not-for-profit organization (including RIC).

For each hour of participation 1 credit

(a maximum of 30 credits in a three-year period)

4. Publication of an article or a book of a professional nature (minimum 1,000 words)

For each hour of work done 1 credit.

(a maximum of 20 credits per year, for all publications)

Please submit a copy of the applicable publication for review.

5. Requests for credits not specified in these guidelines may be granted by the Association

Please provide a concise description of the individual situation.

For list of professional development opportunities offered by the Association and its chapters please visit the event section