How to Verify an Immigration Consultant in Dubai (2026)
Verifying a Dubai immigration consultant takes about fifteen minutes. The decisive step is searching the destination-country regulator's public register by the named practitioner's full legal name — not the firm name, not a licence number on a marketing page. Below is the exact process for Canada (CICC), Australia (MARA), the UK (IAA), and the US (NYSBA), plus five red flags and a pre-engagement checklist.
The five-step verification
Get the named person. Ask the consultancy for the name of the regulator-licensed practitioner who will be on your case. Licences attach to individuals — not firms. If a Dubai firm refuses to name a person before you engage, stop there.
Identify the right regulator. Canada: CICC. Australia: MARA. UK: IAA. US: the relevant state bar (e.g. NYSBA). Each country has one authoritative regulator; the rest are marketing.
Search by name on the regulator's official register.
Verify three facts on the register page. (a) Active status — not suspended, not lapsed. (b) Registration class — e.g. RCIC vs RISIA in Canada; standard MARN vs restricted in Australia. (c) Most recent renewal date within the last 12 months.
Demand a written engagement letter before any payment. It must name the licensed associate, the regulator and registration number, the scope of work, the total fee, the refund policy, the timeline, and the complaint pathway to the regulator. No letter, no payment.
Five red flags to walk away from
Guaranteed visa promises. No regulated practitioner can lawfully guarantee an outcome. The MARA Code, CICC Code, and IAA standards all prohibit it.
Advance payment before an engagement letter. Cash, bank transfer, or crypto requested before any written agreement is the classic scam pattern.
Refusal to name the licensed practitioner. "Don't worry, the firm is registered" is not an answer. The licence belongs to a person.
Use of "ICCRC" in 2026 marketing. ICCRC ceased to exist on 23 November 2021. Outdated branding is either careless or worse.
Licence numbers shown without a verification path. A number on a website is just text. The verification path is the regulator's own register, searched by the licensed person's name.
Pre-engagement checklist
☐ I have the full legal name of the licensed associate who will work on my case.
☐ I have confirmed active registration on the regulator's official register (CICC, MARA, IAA, or NYSBA).
☐ I have a written engagement letter naming the associate, regulator, registration number, scope, fee, refund policy, and timeline.
☐ No money has been paid before the engagement letter is signed.
☐ I know the regulator's complaint pathway in case something goes wrong.
How Cosmos handles this
Cosmos publishes the named licensed associate on every engagement letter — CICC for Canada, MARA for Australia, IAA for the UK, and ABA-NYSBA for US matters where applicable. The /verify-credentials page links directly to each regulator's public register so you can confirm before you engage. We've maintained a 4.9 Google rating across 1,200+ reviews since 2014, and about one in five free 20-minute reviews ends with us declining to take fees because the profile isn't ready — that's our honest-no policy.
Verify before you engage
Use the regulator links above for any Dubai consultant. Or book a free 20-minute review with us — we'll name the licensed associate before any engagement letter and walk you through the verification.
