Will Tao

Will Tao is an experienced Canadian Immigration and Refugee Lawyer with over a decade of experience and the founding lawyer of Heron Law Offices, a firm known for its principled and client-focused approach.

Will provides legal services in all areas of Canadian immigration and refugee law with a focus on complex applications, overcoming refusals, inadmissibility matters, appeals, and judicial reviews. He regularly appears before the Immigration and Refugee Board and the Federal Court of Canada. His focus is on international students, families, and temporary foreign workers. His current work includes challenging the government’s use of Automated Decision Making, navigating inadmissibility matters involving security and misrepresentation, and developing strategic immigration solutions for applicants in the tech, arts, entertainment, and sports industries.

Will also provides strategic advice and consultation to government, media, educational institutions, and businesses on immigration, refugee, decolonization, and race equity issues. He is the founder and creator of the award-winning Vancouver Immigration Blog, through which he works to make immigration and refugee law more accessible to the general public. He also has significant past teaching experience as an instructor for the University of British Columbia’s Certificate in Immigration Laws, Policies, and Procedures (CILPP) program.

A key opinion leader in Canadian immigration, Will has been frequently invited to speak at various conferences and comment in the news. He has served as an expert affiant before the Federal Court (FC), and has consulted with the Treasury Board Secretariat. In December 2024, Will appeared before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration to provide expert testimony on reforms to the International Student Program.