Industries: immigration law
Cantonese answering for immigration law firms and consultants (2026)
TL;DR: Surfio answers the Cantonese-speaking calls an immigration practice cannot handle, asks what the matter is, books the consultation where the caller wants one, and sends the lawyer or consultant an English summary with the recording and transcript. Surfio does not give legal advice or assess eligibility; every legal question goes back to the licensed practitioner. Legal intake platforms such as Reflekt Legal go further into screening and routing, so compare both before choosing. The first step with Surfio is a paid 30-day pilot at USD 380.
Book a 15-minute demoWe walk through how your Cantonese calls would reach the team.Ask about pricing on WhatsApp
Answer eight short questions to prepare a immigration law demo (the form is in Cantonese)
Where the intake call stops and the lawyer starts
An immigration caller almost always wants an answer to "can I stay" or "can I bring my family". That is legal advice. On a Surfio line, the Cantonese call collects the facts and books the meeting. The answer comes from the lawyer, RCIC or registered migration agent at the consultation.
| Kind of question a caller asks (illustrative, not a recorded call) | On the Surfio call | Left for the practitioner |
|---|---|---|
| "My work permit runs out soon, what should I do?" | Records the permit type and the expiry date the caller gives; books a consultation | Whether to extend, change status or apply for something else |
| "Am I eligible for permanent residence?" | Records current status, time in the country and how the caller heard of the firm | Any view on eligibility |
| "I got a refusal letter." | Records the date on the letter and the application type; flags it in the English summary | Appeal or reconsideration options and their deadlines |
| "How much do you charge?" | Gives the fee only if the firm has supplied one for that purpose | Quotes for the specific matter |
| "Can you act against my former employer?" | Records the other party's name as given | The conflict check, always |
Surfio keeps immigration intake calls to facts for one reason: telling a worried caller that a permit expiry "should be fine" is legal advice in disguise, and a missed status deadline cannot be undone. The call ends with a booked consultation instead.
Recorded intake raises a privilege and confidentiality question that each firm's own regulator rules govern, so Surfio settles it with the firm in writing before a pilot, under the service terms.
Fields a firm should hand Surfio before the pilot
Immigration matters turn on dates and status. A summary that says "caller asked about a visa" is useless to a practitioner. Agree the field list in advance so the English summary arrives in the order the file is opened.
- Caller's name as written in English documents, plus the Chinese name if offered.
- Is the caller the applicant, a sponsor, or a relative calling for someone else?
- Where the applicant is now: inside the country, or overseas (for example in Hong Kong).
- Current status and its expiry date, as the caller states it.
- Matter type in the firm's own categories: study, work, family sponsorship, permanent residence, citizenship, refusal or removal.
- Any date the caller mentions from a government letter.
- Names of other parties, for the firm's conflict check.
- Previous representative, if any.
- Consultation preference: in person, phone or video, and a booked slot where the caller wants one.
Surfio writes the enquiry into the firm's CRM, so the intake clerk does not retype these fields. The recording and transcript stay attached for anyone who needs the caller's exact words.
Surfio, Reflekt Legal, CaseGen or a bilingual receptionist?
Reflekt Legal and CaseGen are AI legal intake products that already rank for Chinese-language law firm answering. Reflekt has a dedicated Cantonese page; CaseGen's page is for Mandarin. A bilingual receptionist is the traditional route. Surfio is narrower than the platforms: Cantonese answering, English handover, booking and CRM entry.
| Option | Language stated | What the provider says it does | Published price | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Surfio | Cantonese | New dedicated line; English summary by email; recording and transcript; consultation booked on the call; enquiry written into the firm's CRM | Pilot USD 380, which ends by itself after 30 days; the retainer after it is monthly. Full rates on the pricing page | Surfio pricing |
| Reflekt Legal | Cantonese and English (also Mandarin, Spanish, Arabic, Persian, Hindi, Punjabi) | Structured case intake of names, dates, events and contact details; routing by case type, language and urgency to a lawyer or case manager; a unified English summary. Its site menu lists Conflict & Jurisdiction Screening and an Immigration Law practice area | None found | reflektlegal.ai Cantonese page |
| CaseGen.ai | Mandarin | "Multilingual AI agents & real-time call translation in Mandarin" for law firms | None found | casegen.ai Mandarin page |
| Bilingual receptionist (Canada job ads) | As advertised | An Indeed listing titled Licensed Immigration Consultant: "Answer phone calls and respond to customer inquiries", part-time, 24 to 30 hours per week | "From $17.60 an hour" in that listing; another Toronto listing for a Mandarin-speaking immigration office assistant shows $25,000 to $50,000 a year (currency as shown on ca.indeed.com) | ca.indeed.com search results |
Choose a legal intake platform if the firm wants conflict screening and routing to lawyers done during the call. Choose Surfio if the firm wants its Cantonese calls answered, the consultation booked and the matter handed back in English, with conflict checks and case assessment done by the firm's own practitioners. A wider comparison is on the answering services comparison.
Signs a practice should not bother
- Cantonese-speaking clients arrive almost entirely through community legal clinics or advocacy groups that interpret for them, such as the Chinese Progressive Association listed in the Immigration Advocates directory.
- The firm wants conflict and jurisdiction screening done on the call itself. That is a legal intake platform's job.
- The practice is a sole RCIC who already speaks Cantonese with clients, like the Toronto practice that advertises a licensed RCIC-IRB "who speaks fluent Mandarin and Cantonese".
For firms still deciding between hiring and outsourcing, the no-Cantonese-speaker options page sets out each route.
Frequently asked questions
Callers ask who they can ask immigration questions for free. Will Surfio answer them?
No. Surfio does not answer immigration questions, free or paid. The call records what the caller needs and books time with the firm. Whether the firm offers a free first consultation is the firm's decision, given to Surfio in advance.
Canadian callers ask how much they should pay an immigration consultant. What happens?
The call can give the firm's published consultation fee if the RCIC has supplied it. It does not compare fees across consultants or estimate the cost of a matter. Price questions are noted in the English summary.
Can the call capture visa type, status and deadlines in Cantonese and summarise them in English?
That is the purpose of agreeing a field list before the pilot. The English summary follows the firm's fields, and the recording and transcript let the practitioner check each date against the caller's own words. The pilot is where the firm judges whether the summaries meet its standard.
Does Surfio run conflict or jurisdiction screening?
No. Surfio records other party names so the firm can run its own conflict check. Reflekt Legal lists Conflict & Jurisdiction Screening as a feature on its site; a firm that wants that on the call should look there.
How does Surfio compare with Reflekt Legal and CaseGen?
Reflekt Legal publishes Cantonese legal intake with routing to lawyers; CaseGen publishes Mandarin answering with real-time translation. Neither shows a public price in Surfio's September 2026 research. Surfio publishes its price and keeps the scope to answering, booking and English handover.
Sources
- Reflekt Legal: 粵語法律接聽服務（粵語及英語）, page and site menu read, accessed 14 September 2026
- CaseGen.ai: Mandarin Chinese Answering Service for Law Firms, Google US result, accessed 14 September 2026
- Indeed Canada: "Immigration Company Chinese Receptionist jobs" search page, Google CA result snippet dated 25 August 2026, accessed 14 September 2026
- Indeed Canada: "Immigration mandarin jobs in Toronto, ON" search page, Google CA result snippet, accessed 14 September 2026
- Immigration Advocates Network: legal directory, Chinese Progressive Association, Google US result, accessed 14 September 2026
- Canada Number One Immigration: Mandarin & Cantonese Immigration Consultant Toronto, Google CA result, accessed 14 September 2026