The Robinsons

Hi there
new to this site so please bear with me.

I am trying to move to BC under the pnp as a painter/decorator. problem is we are getting no where with a good consultant.
Have spoke and emailed shadi norman many times but progress is not happening and I am starting to hear bad stories about her. Also tried Rudolf Kischer but as a lawyer he wants over $13000 to get me a job and process the application ect.
Does anybody know or can recommend a better consultant?

Also if we are planning a 2 week fact finding trip and break to BC, could you offer any advice on a good place to pitch camp and explore? We saw a house for rent in north surrey at a $1000 per week. We shall be taking our 2 year old hence the house seemed a better option than a hotel.

Thanks

Jon and Connie

destinationnovascotia

Why do you need a consultant?

destinationnovascotia

Sorry, not meaning to be personal but it's just that most people on hear do it themselves. We have used a consultant but if I had found this site before I paid I wouldn't have done.

Dr.T

Hi Jon + Connie,

My Partner and I are also moving to BC (The Okanagan Valley; Penticton/Naramata to be precise). Like you, we did a 'research' trip last August and hired a Vancouver-based Immigration Legal firm: www.sulemanco.com. Have a look on their website and see if they fit your needs. We started working with them in September last year (Spousal sponsorship for PR visas for spouse and son). They submitted app to CPC Mississauga in mid Nov; spousal approval obtained in mid Dec; started processing spousal app at CHC London on 4th Jan and last week they requested $490.00 for PR visa processing. So we're very pleased so far.

I think you can do it yourself but with the distances involved - and not having done it before - it is reassuring to have someone who knows the ropes.

Best of luck!

destinationnovascotia

It is good that you are pleased with your consultant, but your situation is very different to someone who is considering SW route and has been asked for money to get someone a job.

NewCanadian

And why you are so persistent in telling people who want to hire representative that they don't need one? It is their choice, not yours. Do you really want to them to blame you if they fail doing it on their own? Or do you have some magic powers to guarantee that they will succeed without help?

You can suggest who to hire and who not to hire - your persistence in trying to change people's minds is at least weird, if not suspicious. It for sure doesn't answer the question OP asked.

Jon & Connie - I give my vote for Andrew Miller if you look for suggestions. You may send me a PM if you want to ask more about Andrew.

destinationnovascotia

Firstly, I did not tell them that they didn't need one. There is a place for using a consultant, some people definitely need to use one. I merely asked why they needed one and pointed out that many people do it themselves.

A number of people on here have considered using consultants and changed their minds when they are in receipt of the facts. When we were first looking into immigration, it never occurred to us to do it ourselves. We could have done, we just did not know where to go for advice. I still stand by the fact that I would have saved about £1700 if I had found BE first and I know that others feel the same.

Secondly where did the "persist in telling" bit come from. I have posted on here almost 1000 times and have only mentioned immigration consultants a handful of times, usually in the wake of others. I am always careful to say that this is my situation, or, this is what I have done/would have done. I would not be so arrogant as to tell people what they should do.

Thirdly, a piece of advice that I can't stress too strongly. Use an immigration consultant if you want to, but be very wary of handing $13,000 over to anyone on the promise of them getting you a job. I am sure that Andrew Miller would agree with that one.

Lastly, I don;t have magic powers, but neither do the consultants who claim to be able to get folk a job and get peoples visa faster than anyone else.

People come on here asking for advice. It helps them get the right advice if they are helped to ask the right questions. I would be the first to agree that people need to make their own choices, I have said that on many occasions on this and other subjects.

Judy in Calgary

I recommend the TripAdvisor forum for travel-related questions. BC's official tourism website is very helpful too. Find Family Fun is a website that was created by a real-life Vancouver family with 3 kids. Brilliant.

The Wiki article called Renting has links to websites that list short-term rentals.

I strongly recommend that you read the series of Wiki articles about job hunting in Canada.

Judy in Calgary

I think we need to distinguish between immigration consultants and immigration consultants who also act as recruitment agents and find jobs for foreigners.

People in the trades are in demand in British Columbia and Alberta. If they understood how job hunting in Canada worked, I believe they would be able to find jobs for themselves, and wouldn't have to pay people to find jobs for themselves.

Jon and Connie have said they're going to the Vancouver area on a recce. I think that's a great idea. If they follow the advice in the series of Wiki articles about job hunting in Canada, which includes an excellent article called Scouting Trip, they should be able to get a handle on the employment scene in BC's Lower Mainland.

I've been trying to research this issue of recruitment agencies that charge the job hunter a fee. Usually it's the employer who pays the agency's fee. But there are some recruitment agents who seem to be tapping into the foreign market and charging fees to prospective employees.

I started a thread called Combined recruitment agencies / immigration consultants in an effort to gather more information, but not much has happened in that thread.

In the meantime, I've been researching the matter independently. So far, I've found out that provincial legislation in Alberta and Manitoba prohibits the charging of fees to job seekers in those provinces. (In the case of Alberta, at least, the legislation extends to any job that is located in the province, regardless of where the recruitment agency is located and regardless of where the worker comes from.) I believe several other provinces prohibit the charging of fees to job seekers.

When I've found out more information and have satisfied myself which provinces do and do not allow the charging of fees to job seekers, I will publish the list in a Wiki article.

Surrey Expat

Two weeks is not a lot of time to get your bearings, do research and have a bit of fun. As much as possible do your planning before you get here, this will save you a lot of time, arrange transport, perhaps arrange to meet up with some people early on who can help you. A daily planner will help make the most of your time. Try and meet up with a few potential employers, with construction booming in BC, just walking on a job site might be enough to find the right person who is looking to hire or at least make contacts.

Perhaps make you trip before deciding on how to proceed with your application. You may then have had an opportunity to meet with some immigration consultants or lawyers. If you have not already done so get the forms and guide to see what is involved.

With only two weeks, a hotel might be an option to consider, you have no worries about anything other than coming and going and getting meals in restaurants. I don't think you will find you'll have a lot of spare time to shop for groceries, prepare meals, clean up the house etc. Housekeeping in the hotel do all that and the concierge can help you find places, you have people around all the time to ask if you have questions. Your time could be better spent on gathering the information you need.

The Robinsons

thanks.. worth a look I say!

Poppy2

Hang on there New Canadian - unbunch the knickers for just a mo........


I totally support what Destinationnovascotia has said here. If I were to come to a forum where countless members were immersed in their own journey into Immigration, or were on the other side looking back, then I would want to hear their reflections on the issue I raised. If that wasnt the whole point of a site like this, then it would be a forum for yes people. There have been countless times in my life when I have met a huge hurdle and wondered why people who knew better hadnt spoken out to warn me - that's the beauty of BE. Especially when someone is about to part with a huge wodge of money!

There have been countless threads about this. In essence, no-one NEEDS to have a consultant or a lawyer to complete the immigration process, there is enough help out there, even from the dreaded CIC. People choose to use outside agencies and that is their right, but some people (given they dont relocate for a living) may be labouring under the false assumption that parting with money and having someone official sounding acting on their behalf might grease the wheels..........which isnt often so. So Destinationnovascotia was looking out for that and sounding out what knowledge and experience of this the OP had. Most appropriate.

So hurray for people shedding some light from their personal experience. If that sort of advice stops someone having to face regret somewhere down the line, then great. Especially if money, effort and time is potentially going to be wasted.

And I look forward to seeing that information Judy when you have finished your research, because it is an issue more and more on BE lately and I think that people can so easily be taken advantage of. Good on you for taking the time to do it, I dont know how you do.

Again, a consultant that has worked well on someone's behalf is a great recommendation, but the situation of each individual's application, job situation etc has to be considered. If I may say so, I assume that Dr T is indeed a Dr of medicine and that is a job that is not that hard to place, unlike a bricklayer or a teacher and all the skills issues and paperwork that those jobs may entail.

Good luck jonandconnie, hope you find the answer that is right for you.

live to ski

Well done Judy on getting all the info together an more research for Wiki.

jon&connie - please do not think that by hiring someone they will be the answer to all your dreams. My company hired a top immigration lawyer for me. She was useless, gave wrong and bad advice, and delayed our application by 6 months. So in our case we were better off without a immigration lawyer / consultant and doing it ourselves with the help of BE.

There are lots of other examples on here about people who were messed around by immigration lawyer / consultant, with mistakes made, applications lots or very delayed at being sent off.

You are in the fortunate position that your occupation is in demand. Do some leg work yourself. We spoon feed you as much as we can on here espeically all the links that Judy gives on job hunting, networking etc.!

But if money isn't an issue with you, then by all means try one of this miracle consultants who say that they'll find you a job and sort out the paperwork, but maybe have a back-up plan as well.

live to ski

Hey NewCanadian

Have you read any of the horror stories on here from people who hired and paid good money for immigration consultants / lawyers?

I suceeded far better and fast on my own than I did with the so called help of a very expensive immigration lawyer.

I landed as a PR 3 weeks ago only because I didn't have any help as you put it and did it alone in the end (other than the great support off here). If I had gone with the immigration lawyers advice I would probably still be on implied status waiting for a new WP through LMO and then doing SW PR, rather than my choice of route of BC PNP.

I think the trouble is that people think that the more they pay the better the service where this isn't necessarily true.

Even with the most expensive help, you still have to do much of the leg work in collecting evidence and documents yourself.

Here's a thread that you might find interesting to read http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=507232

Canadaproject

Why dont you try Alberta as well. I have heard jobs are plenty there