princess caribou

Hi All,

Hubby and I met the Willis Brazolot people at the expo in London a couple of weeks ago and for £20 signed up for an assessment and meeting with Dennis Brazolot. So we got an email from them saying the initial assessment looked like our FSW application would be a success and inviting us to a meeting at Heathrow which we've agreed.
The idea is that we'll go and get as much info as possible - after all we've paid our £20 but after reading some of the posts on here I'm a bit worried that just by attending this interview we could inadvertently end up being committed to something we don't want to!
Their email said cancellations within 72 hours of the meeting would be subject to a £150 cancellation fee but (not that I would cancel) I don't see how they could enforce that.

Anyway am getting cold feet - should we just go as a fact finding mission or leave it?

Thanks guys

Whoopi83

Hi

I'm not expert on this but rather than spend money to see whether or not you would qualify, check cic.gc.ca.

I believe this is a link:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigra.../apply-who.asp

You will probably gain more info from this site plus other forums over that of a company who cannot guarantee anything.

anunlikelyunion

Hi princess,

my hubby and I went to a meeting with Dennis a little while back and I must admit we left feeling we need all the help we can get so let´s hire them. However, after sleeping over it we are certain that they are asking way too much money and after a bit of research we have now contacted a Canadian lawyer who is willing to help for far less.
Either way, I am sure that a lot of members of BE will tell you that hiring anyone to help is not neccessary as all the help and advice you need can be drawn from this forum and I wholeheartedly agree with that....however, if like us you just want to make absolutely sure that all the forms are filled in correctly, that all the i´s are dotted and all the t´s are crossed before sending of your paperwork, and that you will not be delaying the process because you forgot to tick a box or something, then I recommend you hire someone to help. This, in any case, what we are planning on doing.
Hope this helps you make a decision...good luck either way!!!!

englishrose1

Willis Brazolot are present at every exhibition that is held in relation to Canada it seems. My first Expo show was in 2004. Each time I have seen them in operation, they get you to fill in information for a small fee, and then follow up with a later consultation where the real fees given to the person wanting to go to Canada. Each poster on this forum has their own individual view about using these type of companies. Personally I think that you should try and save yourself the money. Whilst the information on this forum is at your own risk. The majority of us would advocate not using a company like this no matter how complex the case. However you must do what is best for you.

the_connors76

We met Dennis at Heathrow when we were first thinking of applying in 2005, and they told us to use them would cost us I think nearly £4000... or something like that. We decided against using them and filled out the forms etc ourselves. We landed June this year - and it was well worth saving the money we would have spent on them, they could not have got us over here any quicker!

Jimsan

Hi Princess, don't do it.
Fill the application in yourself and save your hard earned cash.
You will be doing all the hard work of gathering all the info you need to support your application.
You'll also be paying solicitors/notaries to get all that info legalised.
You will also have to pay your application fees and visa fees.
So with the money you save from not using an "advisor/lawyer = moneygrabber" you could do a recce trip.
We found a recce trip much more useful in giving us a look at the country we'd like to move to. It's also a chance to weigh up employment opportunities and make some useful contacts.
Have a look at the wiki section at the top of this page - plenty of info there.
I've PM'd you with our experience of using an "advisor".
You can do it
Good luck.
Jimsan.

moley39

Hi. My hubby and I went to a meeting with Dennis Brazolot in 2006 and we got PR in May this year. I do believe that you can do the application yourself, saving you an awful lot of money, but we did bombard our assigned person with emails asking lots of questions.

We paid £5.5k for our application which started in 2006, which is money that we could have put towards our settlement funds etc. They are good, but you still have to collate all the info for them, so you might as well save yourself thousands and do it yourself! In hindsight we would have DIY'd it! It was a struggle to get all the funds together,a s we had assets but not the actual money funds!!

SNOWDUDE

We used a consultant (not this one).

The process involved us filling in a lot of proforma documentation for the consultant and while I put a lot of effort into getting things right it was suprising how many things needed correcting. These errors would presumably have resulted in a rejected application.

I would say if you have a straight forward application and your comfortable with a large amount of paperwork/forms, give it a go yourself.

If like us its a complicated case and youre someone like me who ocasionally misses the dots & crosses it may well be worth the £4-£5k.

We also found the consultant did keep us going when at times we began to flag.

el_richo

As with any important documentation.........Check, check, and check again. Then have somebody else check through for a sanity check.

If people want to give me £500 i'll happily check through their documents and will save you a lot of money

princess caribou

Hi All,

Thanks so much for taking the time to message and all your good advice. I've only been on the forum a few days and already have learned so much! I did a quick forum search on WB and it has to be said it wasn't entirely all positive!
I think we'll sleep on it and maybe cancel the meeting as to be honest I think it will be a waste of time as we don't have 5K to spend on a consultant.
I'm so glad I discovered this forum - most of our friends and family think we're mad to be doing this - and if one more person tells me it's cold in Canada i'll scream! ... so it's good to know there are like minded people out there willing to help

Best

Princess Caribou

el_richo

Get ready................take a deep breath.......................




It's cold in Canada

In all seriousness, people have commented on that very same subject to me too. My reply always stays the same. When asked, i calmly look at them with a straight face and reply, "And?".

Bali2010

Are you 'darn sarf'?

Given (this will shock you all to know) that it is wet & windy in Yorkshire a different type of weather is assumed an advantage not a concern

There is no such thing as bad weather, just poor gear.

moley39

Hi! It is cold but it's a drier cold, and it's not a damp cold like the UK. Also canadians use the cold for winter sports so it's not too bad!! Summers are hot n sometimes humid too. I wish you all the best for your application to Canada, and hope it all goes well for you

hobbitess

Luvvit Bali, we just got back from in-laws in Pitlochry and guess what? It was wet and cold...and windy!

Yes I believe in Ca there is opportunity to be had in cold, snowy weather whereas here we come to a grinding halt.

We also went to an expo where WB presented, how smooth, witty, and clever. And expensive

Not one to spend easily I took a breath and looked at the forms and gonna do it myself. And BE are a marvelous stabilishing resource for the consistently dim

Atlantic Xpat

Except of course where its a damper kind of cold, like in NL,NB,PEI,NS. Cold is cold. If you don't like it then Canada is likely not the place for you.