Hi all

Anyone got any advice on whether to use agent or not? if so any recommendations? do they improve your timeline? how much do they charge?

By the way what is the latest timeline from submitting application to receiving visas?

Thanks

Martin

Hi Martin
We are going through process now, we are waiting for our medical dates, we started process in sep 2003 our file opened in jan 2004 and not heard anything since jan. Timeline seems to be 18 months and longer.
We are with a immigration agency who are based in London, they were very good with helping with all paper work at the beginning, but don't have much contact during this stage. They charge a £1,000 with 500 up front then the other 500 when get pr, but get all back if don't get pr. They are called SIS Canada, if interested in that contact me by pm, i'll give number to you. Also four corners agency in manchester, but they were not very good for us, also charge £4,000. It does not make it go any faster going with agency, but it was more peace of mind for us that we got all the correct files and information together. It's personal choice really, many people do it on there own and have no problems, you need alot of patience what ever way you deceide. Good luck.

I can understand the peace of mind thing about using an agent, but for us it just wasn't worth the considerable expense on top of an already expensive exercise. There's more than enough material and guidance available from the CHC for you to succesfully self-compile your applications, and they actively encourage you to do so. I agree with wensamjam, you need a lot of dedication and patience chasing paperwork in either case.

If you're applying through London though, make sure it's their instructions you're following and not the general ones from the Canadian government site, as they differ slightly.

London Office here

Using an agent won't improve your timelines any, although if you're a little different from the norm, say self-employed / business class, etc. an agent's knowledge may be of great benefit.

We received our AORs last month and are in the queue with everyone else now. You'll get plenty of help on various forums/mailing groups about applications if you get stuck.

Regarding timelines, this is a copy of a post I stuck on another thread recently :

For skilled worker applications through London, on current information figure maybe...

• Three months to get all the paperwork together if you apply yourself
• A three month wait for the AORs after you submit your application
• An eighteen to twenty-four month wait to be processed
• Three months to turn around medicals and passport requests and get your visa

It's a long process, start planning early!

Cheers, Iain

Martin
I was recommended a Canadian Lawyers frim called Abrams and Krochak

Web site is http://www.akcanada.com/index.html

They have been really helpful to us and we will be using them shorlty to help us inour move to Canada

I would watch out about hiring firm in the UK as the rules have recently changed in that the canadian authorities will only deal with registered Canadian companies and not ones based in the UK See below

As of April 2004, any person, calling himself/herself an Immigration consultant must now be a member of the Canadian Society of Immigration Consultants ("CSIC") if he/she wishes to deal with Citizenship and Immigration Canada. Citizenship and Immigration Canada will not conduct business with consultants who are not members in good standing with CSIC or one of the provincial or territorial law societies (see below under "Lawyers"). Immigration officers will verify electronically if an applicant's representative is an authorized representative.

I would seriousley look into this before you commit to anything or anyone in the UK to support you in your application

If you need any more info just ask

Eddie

Ditto - there's plenty of fees to pay already.

Whether you want the aid of an immigration consultant or not will depend on your situation. If you are in a hurry to make the big jump, or if you feel uncomfortable with all the paperwork, you might consider hiring a consultant.
But beware, a consultant will most likely give you a sunnier version of the truth than reality will. His aim is selling his services to you.
I hired a consultant because I want to make the big move as soon as possible. I didn't want to run the risk that I would make any mistakes in filling in the forms, thus delaying the process. English is not my first language (could you have guessed? ) so I gave the consultant all the information he needed to do the paperwork and now I can sit back and wait, or rather: I HAVE to sit back and wait.

My advice is: collect all the forms that have to be filled in and if you feel you can do it by yourself, go for it. If you think you will have problems and/or doubts, you can either consult the immigration forum, or hire a consultant. But like Voyager970 mentioned, make sure that the consultant you want to hire is a member of CSIC, since Canadian Immigration will return any application without processing, that is handled by a non-member consultant.

Good luck.

Hi Toontje,

Did you get your ap processed in Holland? At the time our consultant Paul Hiltemann was also helping foreign (Swedisch) clients. And as far as I can judge... he was so much cheaper than prices mentioned above.
URL: http://www.geocities.com/emigratie_a...eau_hiltemann/

It is in Dutch but since Paul is Canadian himself...

We only consulted Paul when necessary and this didn't cost us very much.

Hi Upperorange

I hired the services of Buysse Immigration Consultants (BIC) in Culemborg. Up until now I am very satisfied about the way they work. I made the decision to move to Canada last december, started collecting all my certificates etc in january but could not take the IELTS test until the end of february. Early march BIC had all they needed from me, but due to the new regulations regarding CSIC they sent my file to the Canadian Embassy in Berlin early may.
The fee they charge me is something like 2500 euro incl taxes and that's for a skilled worker appl. for just me, no dependents.
I do agree that BIC is not the cheepest consultant, but, like I said, I am very satisfied with their performance.
For more info, you can PM me.