Mario D. Bellissimo is a graduate of Osgoode Hall Law School and is a Certified Specialist in Citizenship and Immigration Law and Refugee Protection. He is the founder of BELLISSIMO LAW GROUP PC and the principal lawyer with a practice focus on citizenship, immigration and protected person litigation and inadmissibility law. Mr. Bellissimo has appeared before all levels of immigration tribunals and courts including the Supreme Court of Canada. He is the past Chair of the Canadian Bar Association National Immigration Law Section, serves as an appointed member of the Federal Court Rules Committee and participates on multiple stakeholder committees involving the Federal Courts, the Immigration and Refugee Board, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, the Canada Border Services Agency, Employment and Social Development Canada, and the Department of Justice.

Mr. Bellissimo has testified before Parliamentary and Senate Committees on several proposed amendments to immigration law over the years. He has been lead on policy papers, legal analysis and proposed recommendations to government on behalf of immigration advocacy associations and in his personal capacity.     

Mr. Bellissimo acts on a pro bono basis for Toronto’s Sick Kids Hospital and Pro Bono Law Ontario and as the National Immigration Law and Policy Advisor for COSTI Immigration Resettlement Services. He and his team represent clients from all over the world and Bellissimo Immigration Law Group PC is exclusively committed to Canadian citizenship, immigration and refugee matters. Bellissimo Immigration Law Group PC handles hundreds of files each year and represents clients at every stage of the immigration process.

Mr. Bellissimo has authored several legal publications including (1) Canadian Citizenship and Immigration Inadmissibility Law, Second Edition, (2) Labour Market Impact Assessments, Compliance and Enforcement: A Practical Guide, (3) Canadian Citizenship and Immigration Inadmissibility: Criminal Law Edition, (4) Practical Guide to Canadian Citizenship and Immigration Inadmissibility Law: Corporate Edition, (5) Practical Guide to Canadian Citizenship and Immigration Inadmissibility Law: Refugee Law Edition, (6) Practical Guide to Canadian Citizenship and Immigration Inadmissibility Law: Immigration Practitioner’s Edition, (7) he is the Editor-in-Chief of ImmQuest, and the (8) Immigration Law Reporter. Mr. Bellissimo has taught several immigration law courses, speaks across Canada and appears frequently in the media on breaking citizenship, immigration and refugee stories.