Thomas Richards

About Thomas Richards

Thomas Richards is a solo immigration law practice run by Thomas G. Richards, a Barrister and Solicitor called to the Law Society of Ontario in 1988. Richards was born in Toronto and has also lived in Germany, Italy and China. From 1999 to 2002, Richards practiced Canadian immigration law while based in Guangzhou, in mainland China. After returning to Canada in 2002, the practice covered both criminal defence and cases under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA), and it has since narrowed to focus solely on IRPA matters.

The firm now concentrates on opposing IRPA removals and inadmissibility findings, representing clients at hearings before Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) and the Immigration Appeal Division (IAD), and in appeals to the Federal Court. Richards also appeals IRCC refusals of temporary resident, sponsorship, extension and other application types. The practice keeps two Toronto-area offices, a downtown location at Brookfield Place and a second office in Markham with a phone line answered in Cantonese and Mandarin. A consultation costs $400, waived if the firm is formally retained. (Fees as of September 2026.)