Bellissimo Immigration Law Group PC
Automatically compiled listing. Details may contain errors.7 lawyers · City of Toronto
One of 2,276 law firms listed in Toronto, and one of 331 handling Immigration Law.
Virtual appointments
Virtual appointmentsAbout Bellissimo Immigration Law Group PC
Clients rate this firm highly on Google.
Bellissimo Immigration Law Group is a Toronto firm that practises Canadian citizenship, immigration and refugee law and nothing else. Its team has helped thousands of people sort out their status in Canada, and team members' experience goes back more than 45 years. The work leans toward the difficult files, in particular appeals and inadmissibility cases for people seeking temporary or permanent residence. It acts for individuals and businesses alike, and many of its clients are themselves lawyers, consultants and others who work in the immigration system.
Founder Mario D. Bellissimo graduated from Osgoode Hall Law School and is certified by the Law Society of Ontario as a Specialist in Citizenship and Immigration Law and Refugee Protection. Mario Bellissimo is a past Chair of the Canadian Bar Association National Immigration Law Section and holds an appointed seat on the Federal Court Rules Committee. When Canada reviewed its medical inadmissibility system, the founder led the advocacy, speaking for the CBA before Parliament, and helped bring in the national Medical Public Policy issued on June 1, 2020. Committees of both the House and the Senate have heard the founder's testimony on a number of proposed changes to immigration law.
J. Norris Ormston, a long-time associate, started out in immigration more than 40 years ago at Citizenship and Immigration Canada, working as an appeals officer and an adjudicator before going to law school.
Bellissimo caps the number of cases it accepts so it can hold to its service standards, and it commits to confidentiality, ongoing consultation and file storage for every client, along with a real say in how each case is directed and presented. The office is open weekdays from 9 to 6, with a toll-free line at 1-877-787-8850.
Practice areas
Appeals, removals and Federal Court
Bellissimo takes on deportation cases and visa appeals of every type, along with Federal Court immigration and citizenship litigation, mandamus applications included. Its work also reaches the Immigration Appeal Division, the Immigration Division and IRCC and CBSA interviews.
Our guide: How to Hire an Immigration Lawyer in Toronto
Medical and other inadmissibility
The firm has taken medical immigration cases all the way to the Supreme Court, and a member of its team contributed to the Federal Court of Appeal decisions in Colaco (2007 FCA 282) and Sapru (2011 FCA 35). Alexandra Goncharova sits on its Immigration Inadmissibility Team, and the founder wrote Canadian Citizenship and Immigration Inadmissibility Law, a text on where immigration and criminal law meet.
Citizenship and passports
On the citizenship side, Bellissimo handles applications and refusals, passport applications and passport refusals, and both revocation and resumption of citizenship. Lijing Cao's practice includes citizenship applications.
Work permits and employers
Lijing Cao handles work permits under both the Temporary Foreign Worker Program and the International Mobility Program, labour market impact assessments and study permits, and advises mid-sized and multinational employers on workforce mobility and compliance. The firm has represented workers for decades, and the founder's 2019 book is a practical guide to LMIA compliance and enforcement.
Permanent residence and sponsorship
Permanent residence work ranges from Express Entry and family class sponsorship to caregiver and humanitarian applications, alongside temporary residence matters such as super visas and temporary resident permits.
Refugee protection
Refugee work covers both the Refugee Protection Division and the Refugee Appeal Division. Katherine Berze came to the firm from a grassroots organization where the work included the refugee determination process, judicial reviews and appeals, and J. Norris Ormston has appeared in refugee board proceedings and detention reviews since 1980.
Good to know
Wheelchair accessible
LGBTQ+ friendly
Virtual appointments
By appointment
In-person servicesHow Bellissimo Immigration Law Group PC works
The founder started the firm on a simple principle: treat every immigration, citizenship or refugee matter as though one's own life were at stake. Case evaluations are a team effort, built to collect as much relevant information as possible, with the aim of giving clients immigration solutions that are affordable, effective and lasting. Bellissimo works from the starting point that immigration law is about people's lives, not only legal rules, and it puts weight on educating the public, both in client work and more widely through its legal writing and publications.
Milestones & recognition
- Cecil L. Rotenberg, Q.C., mentor to the founder, served as counsel to the firm for many years and co-counselled many cases with Mario D. Bellissimo.
- In 2016 Pro Bono Ontario chose Bellissimo for its Law Firm Pro Bono Award.
- In 2018 Canadian Lawyer included the firm in its Top 10 immigration boutiques.
- Mario D. Bellissimo wrote Canadian Immigration Law and Policy: Then and Now, published by Irwin Law and University of Toronto Press in the Understanding Canada Series.
- On May 11, 2023, the founder testified on Bill S-8 before the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development.
In the community
- Since 2012 Bellissimo has given pro bono help to families with children at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children who are also facing immigration problems, reaching more than 100 families by 2016. Violetta Gniadek acts as the firm's case liaison with the hospital.
- Through its Educational Outreach Team, the firm helps with training on immigration law at COSTI Immigrant Services.
Affiliations & connections
- COSTI Immigrant Services: Mario D. Bellissimo is a Special Advisor to COSTI on immigration law and policy.
- The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids): Bellissimo provides ongoing pro bono services to SickKids families dealing with medical and immigration issues.
- Pro Bono Law Ontario: Mario D. Bellissimo acts on a pro bono basis for Pro Bono Law Ontario.
- Canadian Bar Association Immigration Law Section: Mario D. Bellissimo is a past Chair of the CBA National Immigration Law Section.
Lawyers 7
Certified Specialists
A designation granted by the Law Society of Ontario, not a self-declared area of focus.
This firm’s lawyers at a glance
- Languages on the roster
- Cantonese, English, Hindi, Mandarin, Punjabi, Urdu
The neighbourhood
Bellissimo works from Suite 1402 at 20 Eglinton Avenue West, one of the two office towers that make up the Yonge Eglinton Centre on the northwest corner of Yonge and Eglinton, together with a small shopping concourse. An underground tunnel connects the complex to Eglinton subway station, and Canada Square stands across the street.
When the centre was built it was one of only a handful of large office towers north of Bloor Street. A revitalization finished in 2016 added five floors to the 20 Eglinton West tower and re-clad both towers in curtain wall glass. Being in Toronto, the firm is used to working with many clients from very different backgrounds.
Frequently asked questions
- A relative has been detained by CBSA or given a removal date. What does Bellissimo need from me right away?
- Call Bellissimo right away. Keep the refusal letter, notice, report or direction from CIC or CBSA close by, together with a copy of the application involved and any earlier government correspondence. From there the firm moves to get the relevant immigration, refugee or CBSA files, protect legal rights, stop the deportation or seek release from detention.
- My parent was found medically inadmissible for excessive demand. Should we challenge the finding or go straight to an H&C application?
- Bellissimo considers it one of the most common mistakes in medical inadmissibility cases to skip challenging the excessive demand finding and turn instead to humanitarian and compassionate relief. The firm has prepared mitigation plans for children and adults over several decades, for conditions such as chronic kidney disease, developmental delay, heart disease, and diabetes and hypertension.
- Is Bellissimo's consultation fee credited if I retain the firm within a week?
- Bellissimo charges for consultations because they're in-depth case evaluations, but the fee is deducted from legal fees when a client retains the firm within 7 days of the consultation. Payment plans are available where IRCC deadlines allow.
- Does Bellissimo accept legal aid certificates for immigration matters?
- Bellissimo isn't accepting legal aid certificates at present. Low-income clients who need an immigration lawyer can contact the office and explain their situation, and the team tries to help as much as it can; the firm takes on low-income, low bono and pro bono cases.
- Can I work with a Bellissimo lawyer in Mandarin, Russian or Punjabi?
- Bellissimo has lawyers for each: Lijing Cao is fluent in Mandarin and Cantonese, Alexandra Goncharova is bilingual in English and Russian, and Kiertivaan Singh Bhogal is fluent in Punjabi, Hindi and spoken Urdu.
- The government has moved to revoke my Canadian citizenship. Is that something Bellissimo handles?
- Bellissimo handles citizenship revocation cases, including in the Federal Court, and continues to help citizens fighting revocation. It was one of the firms responsible for Hassouna v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2017 FC 473, in which the Federal Court declared subsections 10(1), 10(3) and 10(4) of the Citizenship Act inoperative because they violate section 2(e) of the Canadian Bill of Rights.
Where to find them
Yonge Eglinton Centre, 20 Eglinton Avenue West, Suite 1402, Toronto, ON M4R 1K8 · 416-787-6505
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