Ramkissoon ends distinguished career as consultant

After more than half a century of service, the Trinidad-born immigration consultant retires with a distinguished record of advocacy and community involvement.

For thousands of Caribbean immigrants who struggled to establish a new life in Canada, Sukhram Ramkissoon became much more than an immigration consultant. He was a trusted adviser, an advocate and, in many cases, the person who helped keep their dreams of making Canada home alive.

Now, after a career spanning more than five decades, the respected Trinidad-born consultant has stepped away from his practice, retiring in June 2026.

Throughout his career, Ramkissoon earned descriptions ranging from legend and immigration saviour to magician, largely because of his willingness to tackle cases others considered particularly difficult.

Born on October 16, 1938, in San Francique, Penal, South Trinidad, he began his professional life in the legal field, serving as a senior administrative officer at M. Hamel-Smith & Co., a prominent law firm in San Fernando.

His move to Canada in 1975 marked the beginning of a new chapter. Soon after arriving, he secured employment with the late Charles Roach, the celebrated civil rights and immigration lawyer whose advocacy made him an important figure in Toronto’s Black and Caribbean communities.

The partnership exposed Ramkissoon to the human consequences of immigration policy, particularly among vulnerable newcomers facing deportation or separation from their families.

Among the cases he encountered were those involving Caribbean domestic workers who had not declared children left behind in their home countries and subsequently faced immigration difficulties when attempting to reunite their families.

Recalling those years in an interview with The Caribbean Camera, Ramkissoon described working with Roach as a formative experience.

“It was quite educational and community-oriented because Charlie was a community person,” he said.

Those early lessons helped shape the approach he would carry into his own practice, Immigration Matters, which he established in 1987.

Over the following decades, his work reached an extraordinary number of newcomers. Ramkissoon estimated that he assisted between 10,000 and 15,000 clients during his career.

His involvement in immigration appeals is also reflected in approximately 97 reported Immigration Appeal Division decisions appearing on CanLII, Canada’s legal information database.

Ramkissoon’s influence extended well beyond his office. In 1987, he began contributing immigration articles to Contrast, later bringing his knowledge to readers of The Caribbean Camera. His columns became a valued source of information for immigrants seeking to understand Canadian immigration rules and procedures.

His expertise also brought him to the attention of national and local media, including the Toronto Star, Toronto Sun, Globe and Mail, Citytv, Global Television and CTV’s W5.

Among those recognizing his contribution is prominent Toronto immigration lawyer Barbara Jackman of Jackman & Associates.

“He was an immigration consultant, but he was one of the good immigration consultants,” Jackman said.

She remembered Ramkissoon as someone who dealt fairly and honestly with clients and understood when their circumstances required the services of a lawyer.

“You get the feeling or the impression that he’s not doing it just because he can make money. He’s doing it because he wants to help people too,” she said.

His service to the community was formally acknowledged in 2008 when he received the Stalwart Award.

Although Ramkissoon has retired, the family’s involvement in immigration services continues. His daughter, Cindy Ramkissoon-Shears, has assumed responsibility for his practice and newspaper column, while his son, Ronald Ramkissoon, maintains an established immigration practice in Scarborough.

As he approaches his 88th birthday on October 16, Ramkissoon can look back on a professional life closely connected to the experiences of generations of Caribbean newcomers.

His legacy is found not only in reported appeal decisions and decades of public service, but also in the thousands of individuals and families who secured opportunities to build their futures in Canada.

The Caribbean Camera joins his family, friends, professional colleagues and the wider community in celebrating his remarkable career and extending warm wishes for his 88th birthday and a happy, healthy retirement.

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