Brazalot & pros & cons - Lawyer

Old Nov 9th 2017, 11:29 am
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Default Brazalot & pros & cons - Lawyer

Hi All,

We have just had our initial skype call with Brazalot after completing their assessment at an exhibition a couple months ago.

I am already aware of the negative feedback around Brazalot. My first impression during our call was he trying his best to make the PR process sound very complicated and without his services I would not achieve the max top score he could get us. However, some of the topics we discussed did interest me and I wanted to come on here to see if his comments were accurate/realistic

- Without going into my background he believes we could score comfortably 437 points and we would go down the express entry route for PR which is the process I also think is best for us. It was the timescales to get approval which interested me. I was told that if we were to start this process in the next couple weeks we would be looking at March 2018 being the earliest but realistically could expect to complete our immigration process and be ready to move Jun/July 2018. Do these timescales sound realistic? I already have a potential employer and I would like to give them an accurate timeline albeit subject to factors which could be out of our control.

- As my partner spent a year in Australia 10 years ago he mentioned that we would have to get a police report from the Australian police for this period she spent over there. Is this correct or is this them attempting to make something sound more complicated than it is hence why we need a lawyer.

- He also highlighted that they would assist with finding somewhere to live and work if required. In reality could this just be some links to estate agents and recruitment agencies or does anyone have any positive experience where they provided this support?

I have spent a lot of time reading threads and posts on having a lawyer or not, the general consensus I am getting is with the support of you guys and some time and effort it can be quite straight forward. My concern is I spend a lot of time away from home working and my partner works most Saturdays so weekends are limited to doing stuff together and keeping the kids entertained. Would a benefit of a lawyer ensure we maintain good progress? My worry is that we won’t keep on top of things and the potential time needed to double check we are completing or providing the correct documentation on time. Does a lawyer take an element of this away?

Financially we can afford a lawyer but if it really isn’t as difficult as it seems then I would push to do it ourselves.

I appreciate any advice on any of the above

Many Thanks,

Dave
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Old Nov 9th 2017, 1:08 pm
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Default Re: Brazalot & pros & cons - Lawyer



I'll answer your questions in line.

Originally Posted by David198
Hi All,

We have just had our initial skype call with Brazalot after completing their assessment at an exhibition a couple months ago.

I am already aware of the negative feedback around Brazalot. My first impression during our call was he trying his best to make the PR process sound very complicated and without his services I would not achieve the max top score he could get us. However, some of the topics we discussed did interest me and I wanted to come on here to see if his comments were accurate/realistic
The first thing to realize is that a lawyer can't magically get your more points that you could get on your own. The points calculation is very black and white - either you meet the threshold for points or you don't. Here's the breakdown on CIC's website for how points are calculated: Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) Criteria – Express Entry You can see quite clearly that you can work out how many points you would score. (As native English speakers, you can assume full marks for the language part.) You say below the lawyers told you 437 - are you able to come up with the same number?

- Without going into my background he believes we could score comfortably 437 points and we would go down the express entry route for PR which is the process I also think is best for us. It was the timescales to get approval which interested me. I was told that if we were to start this process in the next couple weeks we would be looking at March 2018 being the earliest but realistically could expect to complete our immigration process and be ready to move Jun/July 2018. Do these timescales sound realistic? I already have a potential employer and I would like to give them an accurate timeline albeit subject to factors which could be out of our control.
This part I'm not sure about. A lot of it would depend on how low the invitation draw threshold goes. If the draw floor never drops below, say, 450, and you have 437, then it will be awhile before you get an invitation. On the other hand, if you applied now and the next draw was, say, 430, then you'd be over in Canada pretty quickly. So it will entirely depend on what the minimum points requirement is for the next round of invitations.

Express Entry invitation rounds - the draw that happened yesterday was a minimum of 458, but previous draws have been in the low 400s (can't remember the number offhand). If 437 is actually your points score, I absolutely would say to put your profile in the pool for consideration as you are likely to get an invitation at some point, but in terms of when, it will entirely depend on the minimum number of points in each draw round.

- As my partner spent a year in Australia 10 years ago he mentioned that we would have to get a police report from the Australian police for this period she spent over there. Is this correct or is this them attempting to make something sound more complicated than it is hence why we need a lawyer.
This is correct, your partner will need a police report, but it's not exactly a complicated process. THey are playing up the complexity. CIC tells you exactly what to do to get the certificate: How to Get a Police Certificate – Australia

- He also highlighted that they would assist with finding somewhere to live and work if required. In reality could this just be some links to estate agents and recruitment agencies or does anyone have any positive experience where they provided this support?
Not sure about this part, but I believe there are rules around lawyers finding you employment. I don't believe they can arrange anything for you - as you suspect, they would just give you contacts and such, and you can get those from places like this forum or from a simple google search. I wouldn't worry about that.

I have spent a lot of time reading threads and posts on having a lawyer or not, the general consensus I am getting is with the support of you guys and some time and effort it can be quite straight forward. My concern is I spend a lot of time away from home working and my partner works most Saturdays so weekends are limited to doing stuff together and keeping the kids entertained. Would a benefit of a lawyer ensure we maintain good progress? My worry is that we won’t keep on top of things and the potential time needed to double check we are completing or providing the correct documentation on time. Does a lawyer take an element of this away?
A lawyer might take away a BIT of it, but honestly, once your application is in, there's not much you'll have to do. If CIC requests any documents, they'll either come to you for it, or they'll go via your lawyer and you'll still have to provide whatever it is. If I'm not mistaken, EE is one of the most straight-forward routes. The application forms can seem daunting, but once you sit down and break it down and work through it methodically, it's actually not that complicated at all. Your case is not complex (from what you've written here) so I personally don't see any reason for you to spend the extra money on a lawyer (even though you say you can afford it). A little bit of time and concentration and you'd be good to go.

First thing is to have a look at the CRS grid and work out what you actually score. (I have heard stories of lawyers, not limited to Brazolot, inflating the number of CRS points they can "get" you in order to get your business... but as I said, either you meet the criteria or you don't, lawyers can't magically conjure up extra points out of thin air.)

Hope that helps and post back with the extra info!
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Old Nov 9th 2017, 2:22 pm
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Default Re: Brazalot & pros & cons - Lawyer

+1 to everything SchnookoLoly says.

In truth they are not acting as a lawyer but a consulting agency, the problem is they charge as if they are lawyers.

Whether you use them or not you will be doing 90% of the work anyway as the applications requires personnel information that only you can provide.

The general concenceous on the forums is that you only need a consultant if you have difficult circumstances i.e. criminal record, poor visa/immigration history etc.

You only ever need a lawyer if you need legal advice or require a point of law to be argued.
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Old Nov 10th 2017, 3:32 am
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I agree with what has been said above .................

Brazalot, and any other consulting company, will charge you a large amount of money for their services, you will end up doing most of the work AND also paying the fees required by Canada. Why pay thousands of pounds just to have someone ask you to get all the paperwork together? Your partner will have to get her own report from the Australian police, pay the fee, and then hand it over to the company.
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