jasonlisa

Hi, lucky you getting a job offer at the Expo! There was one company there who had any jobs similar to my husband's, and apart from that we spent several hours floating about picking up feebies! (Got loads of pens, a stress ball, calculator, tie pin and some chocolate coins- well worth the £30 it cost to get in)

We were already subscribed to Willis Brazolot before we went to Expo. They have initially assessed us and we have enough points without a job, and are having our consultation in a couple of weeks time where they will tell us how much further services will cost. I can't give you any further comment about them except to say they have been very friendly so far, but guess they would be wouldn't they!

Sorry to sound like a complete eejit, but if we don't go for them, how on earth do we begin getting things started on our own? Do we start the application process (and if so how) before we look for jobs, or vice versa. We were given the impression that they would get us out there working within a few months, but from what we saw at the Expo, going through the normal process takes years.

Guess you've been asked this question 70 million times now, sorry to repeat it. Any advice woudl be good. Or even if someone just says Hi!

Lisa and Jason

bluemoon1

Hi Jasonlisa

I will pm you

Bleech

Save your money and avoid these thieves. We got scammed, sorry I mean we used the services of 4 corners, ended up paying about 6k for them to basically just type up our forms (wrongly) into a pdf document! I still begrudge that money, especially now it's like $12k down the drain.
I think I'd watched a few too many TV shows and had dreams of them holding our hands, meeting us at the airport, sorting out schools and jobs etc. but in reality all we had were a few miserable phone calls (which were all initiated by us) and a few documents printed off the web.
Alas we found sites like this one after we'd applied. Do yourself a favour, unless you have a complicated or different application, DO IT YOURSELF. This site is a great resource for information about the application process.
Since arriving out here I've met a few people who have used consultants and they've all met them in service stations and airports!! What's all that about?!?

seanyg

Gosh what a nightmare! I'd also heard negative things about Four Corners too, a while back. I still see them advertised in lots of emigrate publications - maybe someone should inform the editors as it makes their magazines look bad when they're giving advertising space to con-artists!

We're using Stuart Bennett from Hand-in-Hand Immigration. He's not acting as our consultant on paper as he's just advising us and providing a form-checking service, but he's only charged £1'000 and has been so helpful. I can ring him day or night and he nevers tires of my incessant emails and barrage of questions! Even before we decided to use him he let me ring him loads with questions, whereas other consultants / lawyers / companies etc. wouldn't tell me anything unless I'd already signed up with them!

We're going through the Manitoba PNP and, if all goes well, and we pass our medicals / police checks, we're hoping to have PR within the next 12-15 mths. It's the only province where you don't need a job offer so that's one less hassle for us to worry about (the whole 'Catch 22' situation) - but obviously once we've (touch wood) got PR we'll try and line up some work before we go over there.

So not everyone's a con artist / expensive, but you do have to be wary.

Good luck everyone!

Anita :-)

seanyg

P.S. Forgot to mention - he's also only taken the deposit so far (£300) and I don't have to pay the remaining £700 until we get our PNP certificate.

P.P.S. - I'd advise asking around before using anyone - we got recommendations for Stuart from several people, including the guys at UK 2 NOVA SCOTIA. Personal recommendations beat impressive advertisements hands down.

Twink001

Hi Lisa & Jason,

we are using consultants too.....! we knew our application would be difficult with one thing or another, so thats why we are using them. At the end of the day its your own personal choice whether you wish to use consultants or not.
I have heard good and bad about WB - I couldn`t say either way as we are not using them. They seem very expensive???

Good luck with your venture

Sue

jasonlisa

Hi Sue, we haven't had our quote yet, going to Heathrow on 28th July, for what sounds like is going to be a shock! Some of you have mentioned that it may be worth using consultants if our case is not straight forward.

How about this scenario? My mother and biological father were married when I was born so I took his name. However they then got diorced and my mum met my stepdad, who went through the courts to legally adopt me (i have copies of both my original birth certificate, and the one that was produced after my name changed, as well as the adoption certificate). My name then changed again when I got married.

To further complicate stuff, we got married in Antigua. Marriages there do not require registering on return to the UK. I did not have trouble with this when I had my UK passport changed.


Does anyone have any feedback as to whether or not this sounds like an easy application to process, or do you think we'll need some help??

R I C H

Sounds pretty straightforward to me. I wouldn't think you'd need to pay for assistance.

JTM73

I don't see why you'd have any problems. You have all your necessary paperwork should they be required for your application.

If you're going through the PR route, then your first step is the simplified application form - it's only a few pages; easy enough to fill in. They will contact you when they're ready to process and tell you what they need from you.

If you want to get there quicker then I assume you'd want a temporary work visa. If so your first step is to start job hunting in Canada. There's loads of articles on Wiki about job hunting and how to go about getting a TWP.

There are other routes, such as PNP and study visas; however, if you spend some time on the CIC website, plus read through the wiki articles on this website, I reckon you'd find out pretty much all you need to know and what your various options are. You'd then be able to make an informed decision on whether you still need to pay someone to help you along.

I'm still at the early stages myself and I haven't yet decided what route I'm going to take. But after spending some time on this website and CIC's, I'm pretty confident I don't need to pay anyone to help me through it all.

Biiiiink

None of that is any problem. When they said "complicated" upthread they meant things like having criminal convictions, or serious medical problems - things that can prevent you from being eligible for immigration to Canada.

jasonlisa

Thanks everyone for your replies and advice- I guess it sounds complicated to me but there are plenty of people in my situation. Will carry on readin through what we need to do,

lisa

christmasoompa

Definitely not complicated and definitely do not need to pay somebody to it for you unless you particularly want to - your best bet is to sit down and read the Wiki and that will tell you all you need to know. You'll soon get up to speed! Best of luck.

Twink001

Hi Lisa,

We got married in Greece! we have to provide a certified translation of the marriage cert!!! Did have one - you think I can find it????.....nope.......not a chance!!!! so yet again more expense to get a written translation done! :curse::curse:.

( and yes, I have turned my home upside down, and inside out trying to find it.........maybe there is, an evil force at work !!! )

Sue

kazbob

Hi, we got married in the Dominican Republic and our certificate is in Spanish, I have emailed a company asking for a certified translation quote but they haven't even bothered replying to me! Can you recommend a company?

Sorry to hijack the thread. Thanks.

Karen

Twink001

Hi Karen,

I have pm`d you.

Sue