The Canadian immigration process is complex and daunting. Canada has 10 provinces and 3 territories. Each Province and Territory has its own immigration programs for skilled and semi-skilled workers as well as students and investors. In addition, there are also several Federal immigration categories.
To give you peace of mind, it is recommended to have a detailed consultation with an accredited Canadian immigration consultant in UK first to ensure that you qualify for a visa. If you qualify for a visa your consultant should outline the timescales involved, the documents required as well as the issues which the visa office will question. More importantly a Canadian immigration consultant should be honest and provide a realistic assessment of your chances of securing a Canadian visa.
An experienced Canadian immigration consultant, will be able to anticipate what can go wrong and make recommendations to improve your chances of success. An experienced consultant can make the Canadian immigration process much smoother. However, finding a suitably qualified Canadian immigration consultant in the UK can be a task within itself. The following points will guide you to choose the correct Canadian immigration consultant:
The consultant should be authorized by the Canadian government
As an applicant you must check that your immigration consultant is an authorized one. A Canadian immigration consultant must be registered with the ICCRC (Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council).
All ICCRC members have a certificate of authorization as well as a photo ID card which will clearly identify their name and license number. All ICCRC license numbers start with the letter “R” and are followed by 6 digits. Our ICCRC licensed consultant is Harjit Grewal (License Number R507916).
Please note that lawyers and consultants who are registered with the OISC (Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner UK) or the Law Society of England & Wales cannot represent you with a Canadian immigration matter. They are limited to providing advice and representation in connection with British immigration law.
The consultant must be experienced
ICCRC certification is proof of a consultant’s reliability and accreditation. You should also ensure that the consultant has practical experience of Canadian immigration law. If you want to apply for a skilled worker program ask the consultant how many clients they have represented previously before and what their success rate was.
An experienced consultant will also give you an honest assessment of the chances of your application being successful as he will know the type of candidates that the visa office has selected in the past.
The Consultant should provide a range of solutions
If your aim is Canadian permanent residence, a consultant should select the skilled worker program which clearly fits your profile and which result in you being granted Canadian permanent residence in the quickest timescale.
If you do not qualify for a permanent resident visa or don’t have a good prospect of success a consultant should outline study or work options which will enable you to enter Canada on a temporary basis. The consultant should then explain how these temporary visas lead to permanent residence and create your own personalized roadmap.
The consultant must know the Canadian job market
The most important factor in Canadian immigration cases is your work history. A good consultant will assess your previous and current job titles and compare it to Canadian occupational standards. A key element of the immigration process is to correctly identify your Canadian occupational codes and show how your work experience matches the essential duties in the Canadian code. Failure to do this correctly will result in your application being refused.
If your profession is a regulated occupation in Canada, a consultant will inform you of any licensing procedures and help you to start the process. This information will form an integral part of your visa application as you will need to demonstrate to the visa office that you are ready to work in Canada.
It is a mandatory requirement to have your qualifications and experience assessed by a designated third party who will perform a conversion against Canadian standards.
The consultant must have a clear fee structure
Transparency of the fee structure is another factor that must be considered when ensuring the reliability of a consultant. If your consultant doesn’t clear his fee structure in the beginning or surprises you with additional charges for additional services, then it is better to opt out in time. A good consultant always makes sure that his clients clearly know about his fee, and which services are chargeable.
Testimonials
Many consultants use written testimonials on their websites but how can you be sure that they are genuine? It is better to instruct a Canadian immigration company which has genuine reviews preferably given by video. We recorded a sample of our many happy clients giving positive feedback about Sterling Immigration, please see above.
Hopefully, this article would be of help to you next time you are in search of a reliable Canadian immigration consultant.
