Patrice Brunet Avocats is an immigration law firm based in Montreal since 1993. Our lawyers provide immigration legal services to individuals, families and businesses in Quebec, across Canada and in the United States. The firm also practises sports law. Seven lawyers who are members of the Barreau du Québec, six languages, more than 3,000 immigration files completed. One consultation with an immigration lawyer is enough to know where you stand.
About the firm
Established in 1993, Patrice Brunet Avocats is a leading firm in immigration and sports law. Our firm is based in Montreal and our lawyers are members of the Barreau du Québec.
Me Patrice Brunet is an arbitrator with the Court of Arbitration for Sport and the SDRCC, and a Certified Corporate Director. His practice combines deep knowledge of Canadian and Quebec immigration legislation, experience before the Federal Court of Canada, and a regular presence in the media as an expert. Thirty years of experience have enabled our team to successfully carry through thousands of immigration applications in a constantly changing environment.
Our team of immigration lawyers brings together eleven people, including seven rigorous, bilingual and experienced lawyers. We work in six languages (French, English, Spanish, Arabic, Mandarin and Russian) to offer a truly multilingual service to an international clientele. We regularly publish immigration news articles, a podcast (\u{00AB}\u{00A0}Le Code Brunet\u{00A0}\u{00BB}) and a newsletter to share our expertise and keep our clients informed of regulatory changes.
More than thirty years of expertise in immigration law, sports law and international recruitment, across Quebec, Canada and the United States.
A boutique law firm in immigration law focuses its skills and masters them in depth. Patrice Brunet Avocats chose Canadian immigration law in 1993 and has never diluted that expertise. Rigour guides every immigration file, from the eligibility assessment to the filing.
Patrice Brunet argues cases before the Federal Court of Canada and comments on Canadian immigration news in the media. Our firm’s lawyers are members of the Barreau du Québec and the Canadian Bar Association, and our office is on Laurier Avenue West, in Outremont.
Thirty years of immigration law practice have produced a rare volume: more than 850 clients served and more than 3,000 immigration files handled. The law firm holds about 250 consultations a year, across every temporary and permanent immigration program.
That volume changes the quality of the advice. An experienced immigration lawyer who has seen hundreds of refused applications spots the missing document before it costs six months of delays. They know the thresholds and exceptions of each program, from the work permit to permanent residence.
Experience is measured in files. Not in years.
Our team brings together eleven people, including seven immigration lawyers registered with the Barreau du Québec, Quebec’s law society. Each one is bound by the code of ethics, covered by liability insurance and held to professional secrecy. The confidentiality of your immigration file is a legal obligation, reinforced by the requirements of Quebec’s Law 25.
The firm works in six languages: French, English, Spanish, Arabic, Mandarin and Russian. This matters. A foreign worker can explain their situation without going through a third party, and a lawyer who speaks their language picks up what a translation erases. You can meet our team of immigration lawyers before you book.
Choosing an immigration lawyer over an intermediary means choosing a right of audience and an ethical obligation. The law firm you retain takes professional responsibility for your immigration file. Canadian immigration lawyers can also appear before the Federal Court if the file is refused, which an immigration consultant cannot do.
Anyone who plans to immigrate to Canada starts a long-term project. An immigration lawyer plans it with you.
Businesses get a first meeting free of charge. We use it to define your business immigration needs and a realistic timeline, before any fee commitment. Our business immigration lawyers then map out the permits each hire will need.
Patrice Brunet Avocats is a Canadian reference in sports law in Montreal. The firm provides legal services to athletes, clubs and federations. Sport runs on short deadlines. A selection decision is challenged in days.
The firm drafts and negotiates athlete contracts and protects image rights. Our advice covers four fronts where an athlete’s career is on the line:
A positive test can also be challenged on procedure. The deadlines to act are tight.
Patrice Brunet has been an accredited arbitrator with the Court of Arbitration for Sport since 1995 and with the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada since 2002. This dual accreditation, rare in Canada, gives an insider’s reading of these tribunals. Representation there is built differently.
The firm also advises sports organizations on governance and compliance. On the soccer side: provincial club recognition.
What we handle
Quebec immigration adds a provincial level to the federal process. Economic permanent residence requires a Quebec Selection Certificate (CSQ), which the MIFI issues before Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) reviews the immigration file. Our immigration law firm covers all provincial and federal immigration programs, from temporary residence to permanent immigration.
Our immigration lawyers aim for the pathway that fits your situation. Not the best-known one. Every immigration application starts with an assessment of your eligibility, then the choice of status and the timelines the immigration process imposes.
An open work permit lets you choose your employer; an employer-specific (closed) permit ties you to one position. The Temporary Foreign Worker Program requires a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA), while the International Mobility Program provides LMIA exemptions: A75, C10, C41 and C61.
The firm also handles the Working Holiday program, International Experience Canada and work permit extensions, including for foreign workers already in Quebec whose status is about to expire. See our guide on how to apply for a work permit in Canada.
Studying in Canada requires two authorizations: the Quebec Acceptance Certificate (Certificat d'acceptation du Québec, or CAQ) and the federal study permit. The firm prepares the initial application and the extension, then the transition to a post-graduation work permit (PGWP), which opens the door to permanent immigration for international students. Our CAQ application page details the documents required and processing times.
Express Entry manages the federal streams for skilled workers, including the Canadian Experience Class and the Federal Skilled Worker Program. The Provincial Nominee Program covers the other provinces. In Quebec, the Quebec Skilled Worker Selection Program (PSTQ) replaced the regular Quebec Experience Program (PEQ) and reshuffled the points. Our complete PSTQ guide explains how they are calculated.
Permanent residence in Quebec goes through the CSQ before any federal review. The firm also handles the Global Talent stream and applications on humanitarian and compassionate (H&C) grounds. Once you have your status, we take care of the PR travel document (PRTD) and the permanent resident (PR) card, including when you need to renew your permanent resident card.
A permanent resident becomes eligible for Canadian citizenship after the number of days of physical presence required by law. Citizenship applications start with that calculation, which the firm checks before preparing the file, accompanying the client to the interview and obtaining the citizenship certificate.
For people born abroad to a Canadian parent, the firm prepares the application for proof of Canadian citizenship. An immigration and citizenship lawyer follows this whole continuum. In immigration and citizenship law, the final decision depends on the first one.
Two of the firm's lawyers specialize in asylum. They prepare refugee claims for the Refugee Protection Division, protected person files and refugee proceedings. A Pre-Removal Risk Assessment (PRRA) becomes available once a removal order is enforceable. The deadline is short. Our lawyers also represent detained clients at detention review hearings before the Immigration Division.
Spousal sponsorship follows its own rules, whether you sponsor a spouse or other family members, and so does family reunification. The firm also handles visitor visas, business visas, the super visa for parents and grandparents, and the Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA). Families separated by a refused application deserve a prompt review of their remedies.
A U.S. counsel, a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), handles the American side, from U.S. work visas to green cards. Entrepreneurs, investors and self-employed workers moving a team between Montreal and the United States get advice on both systems. Options are best compared early.
Business immigration makes up a large share of our practice: most of our clients are businesses. The firm supports Canadian employers hiring abroad, through to filing the work permit for the selected candidate. The international mobility of foreign workers follows rules the company needs to know before hiring.
Employer compliance is the most expensive blind spot. Inspections by IRCC or Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) check the wage, the promised working conditions and whether the job matches the offer. A rigorously prepared file stands up to that review.
Full 45-minute consultation, at a published rate, with a satisfaction guarantee. You leave with a clear reading of your immigration file.
Book My ConsultationA lawyer never promises an outcome. They tell you what is possible, and what it costs.
A refused application is not the end of the road. In contentious immigration matters, the difference between an immigration lawyer and a consultant becomes concrete. Only a lawyer registered with the Barreau can argue before the Federal Court and the Immigration Appeal Division. Regulated Canadian immigration consultants (RCICs) do not have that right of audience.
Deadlines for remedies are short. They are counted in days.
The Federal Court does not retry your file. On judicial review, it checks two things. Was the decision reasonable, and was procedural fairness respected? The Immigration Appeal Division hears certain sponsorship appeals on the merits, where the debate turns on the facts.
Four steps structure an immigration remedy:
The firm also argues judicial reviews before the Federal Court. It challenges removal orders enforced by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), including deportation after a finding of inadmissibility or misrepresentation. An immigration lawyer reads an officer’s notes differently than an applicant does.
A refusal can be challenged, but only within the prescribed deadline. Once that passes, the door closes.
IRCC and the MIFI inspect employers who hire temporary foreign workers. Inspections focus on wages and the genuineness of the job offer. Penalties can go as far as a ban on hiring.
The firm prepares businesses before an inspection and represents them during it. Compliance is documented upstream, and a complex file is easier to defend when that documentation exists early. That is what is at stake.
Videoconferencing has removed distance as a barrier for your immigration applications. An immigration project can be managed from Rimouski, Abidjan or São Paulo. The support remains personalized: two immigration files that look alike on paper often call for two different strategies and two different timelines.
The law firm publishes dedicated pages for the regions it serves:
An immigration story is best told in your own language. The firm meets clients in French, English, Spanish, Mandarin and Russian, which avoids the need for an interpreter. Families save time, and nothing gets lost between two languages.
The law firm’s office is in Outremont. Our clients are not. Our Montreal immigration lawyers handle files throughout Quebec, elsewhere in Canada and in the United States. Support is provided by videoconference and secure email, and your immigration file receives the same full handling.
Whether your case is simple or complex, a first immigration project, an urgent procedure or a strategic move for your business, we will advise you with rigour, clarity and care.
Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Every enquiry gets an answer.
FAQ
No. A consultant can file an immigration application, but cannot argue before the Federal Court or the Immigration Appeal Division. An immigration lawyer is a member of the Barreau du Québec and is therefore bound by a code of ethics and backed by a compensation fund. The integrity of the process rests on these protections.
A full consultation costs $250 plus taxes for 45 minutes, and a document review costs $360 plus taxes for one hour. Our fees are published, for immigration law and sports law alike, and the consultation is covered by a satisfaction guarantee. Mandates are then billed hourly, according to the complexity of the file. Our article explains how much an immigration lawyer costs in Canada.
The firm covers Express Entry, the PSTQ and the Regular Skilled Worker Program (PRTQ) for immigration to Quebec, as well as provincial nominee programs outside Quebec. For temporary immigration, we handle temporary resident visas and temporary resident permits. Our advice starts with the right program: permanent residency and a few years of work in Canada are not prepared the same way.
An immigration lawyer assesses a profile, chooses a program, builds the file, submits the forms and defends the application if it is refused. A large part of the immigration process is prevention. An immigration and citizenship lawyer applies this expertise both upstream and in litigation.
Yes. We advise Canadian employers on the required status, exemptions, LMIA preparation and their compliance obligations. An international student already in Canada, a self-employed worker and a candidate abroad each call for a different strategy. Businesses get their first meeting free of charge.
