Paul Mathieu

Hi All…

Tonight I finally gained enough focus towards getting my act in gear
and investigating what exactly is involved with obtaining a Skilled
Person's PR visa in Auz. Needless to say that after perusing through
this board for a while and hitting the Immigration website, I now have
substantially more information, along with a lot of homework to
complete. This is where I'm hoping that some of you can answer a few
quick (year right!) questions for me…

First, for the people who have applied for a Skilled-Persons PR visa
by use of an Immigration Consultant, how much did the tally run you?
I'm a Canadian, living in Canada and my searches on Google have
produced various price ranges – starting at $300 USD and working
upward from there. My situation is somewhat off normal as in 2002 I
had shut down my Canadian business (I'm an I/T Network Consultant) to
pursue what I hoped to be a 3 to 5 year world tour. This goal didn't
see fruition (yet). My trip started off in London (UK) and was
suppose to lead me down to Australia and New Zealand (then T.B.D?).
Unfortunately, after 9 months in London I had to return to Canada for
some surgery. Although I have fully recovered, I now am slightly over
the age limit for a Working Holliday Visa for Auz (I'm 31yrs going on
32 this May). All that said, I'm thinking that using (or at least
consulting with) a reputable immigration agency might be beneficial?

Secondly, How long does it take to get one's Police Check done in
Canada? I have no criminal record, but I do have a bit of debt (if
they take that into account).

Third, a good friend of mine has migrated to Auz and has his PR visa,
should I consider having him sponsor me? Would this help and is this
doable?

I leave it at that and thank everyone for reading this far. If you
can share some advise it certainly would make me happy.

Cheers,

Paul

VanTheMan

Hi Paul,

For the first question, it all depends on your own self. Getting help from a reputable immigration agency will be beneficial. They will help you and clear your doubts in each and every aspect. You can try to get help and advice from migration experts such as George Lombard or Alan Collett.

For your second question, I'm not sure about the timeline for police check as I'm not from Canada. Usually, it's around 1-2 months in other coutries.

For your third question, if your friend is related to you, e.g. relative, uncle/aunt, then he/she might be able to sponsor you. But if it's just an ordinary friend, I'm afraid he can't be your sponsor, but he may be eligible to be your assuror if he/she met the basic requirements.

How old are you, what are your expertise/work experience?. You can go to the DIMIA website and download booklet 6 to have a better understanding in General Skilled Migration before going further.

Hope this helps.



Rgds,
Van

VanTheMan

Paul,

For your second question, please refer to the below link:
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=270702



Rgds,
Van