Isabelle Dongier

With almost 25 years of experience in Immigration Law, Isabelle Dongier specializes in corporate immigration, helping companies obtain temporary work permits and permanent residency visas for executives, professionals and specialized employees. Her practice focuses on confirmation exemptions under the NAFTA and Canadian legislation, allowing fast-track approval procedures for employees transferred from overseas, professionals, experts and strategic employees. She also counsels clients on various aspects of international mobility such as entries for frequent business visitors, temporary resident visas, work permit exemptions, labour market opinions, bulk work permit applications, medical or criminal inadmissibility, spousal work permits, custom issues, permanent residence and Canadian citizenship.

Before joining Fasken Martineau in 1995, Ms. Dongier represented entrepreneurs and investors from Southern Asia and the Middle East, wishing to settle in Canada. She later participated in setting up the Québec Government's Bureau de révision en immigration, the first administrative tribunal with a mandate to review certain decisions of the Québec Immigration Department. This involvement further developed her expertise in immigration matters as well as in administrative and constitutional law, and increased her knowledge of the procedures and inner workings of the federal and Québec immigration departments. Isabelle Dongier is the leader of the Montreal office Corporate Immigration team. Since its inception in 1999, Isabelle Dongier has been listed as a leading Immigration lawyer in the LEXPERT / American Lawyer Media, Guide to the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada.

Ms. Dongier is also a regular speaker at Corporate Immigration law conferences and Continuing Legal Education for the Québec Bar, the Canadian Bar Association, the Québec Immigration Lawyers Association, The Law Society of Upper Canada and private seminars.

News

• Isabelle Dongier and Stéphane Gilker are mentioned on Droit-Inc for being named Lawyer of the Year respectively in Immigration and Entertainment Law by Best Lawyers
• "Lawyer of the Year": Best Lawyers in Canada recognizes 4 Fasken Martineau lawyers

Publications

• The HR Space: Renewal of Temporary Work Permits – Employers Beware!
• The HR Space: Coming Soon: New Regime for Canadian Temporary Work Permits

Presentations

• CBA National Citizenship and Immigration Law Conference
• Annual Immigration Law Summit

Membership/Affiliations

• Member, Québec Bar
• Member, Bar of Montréal
• Member, Canadian Bar Association
• Member, Canada Border Services Advisory Committee (2005-2010)
• Member, Immigration and Citizenship Law Advisory Committee of the Québec Bar (since October 2004)
• Chair, Canadian Bar Association, Immigration Law Section, Québec Division (1996-1998 and 2002-2004) and Member of its Executive Committee (1996-2006)
• Member, Canadian Bar Association, National Executive Committee, Immigration Law Section (1996 to 2000 and 2001 to 2005)
• Member, Cultural Communities Advisory Committee of the Québec Bar (1999-2004)
• Member, Executive Committee of the Québec Association of Immigration Lawyers (1996-1998)

Honours and Awards

• Recognized in the yearly edition of the Lexpert / American Lawyer Guide to the leading 500 Lawyers in Canada since 1999
• Listed in the Who's Who of Business Lawyers (Corporate Immigration) since 2003
• Recognized as one of Canada's Best Immigration Law lawyers in The Best Lawyers in Canada since 2006
• Listed in the Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory as most frequently recommended in Immigration Law
• Obiter Dictum Award, Québec Immigration Lawyers Association (2009)