Moving a house is never easy within the country, let alone thinking of moving bags and baggage to another country altogether! Yet, if the dream life calls, it’d be stupid to ignore it and lay complacent, ensconced in one’s dreary old life waiting for things to change, only to find later that they don’t.
But one does need the right kind of help and support, especially in terms of an immigration consultant. This is because no one would want to take a chance with their career and life.
If you are thinking of moving to Canada, you will have choices galore when it comes to selecting a consultant. You may find it difficult to decide on the right one for yourself. Here are some factors you can consider when choosing a consultant.
Vital Factors
- ICCRC Registered: Always choose a consultant whose agency is registered with the ICCRC (Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council) under the IRCC (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada). This Canadian department is responsible for all immigration-related matters.
Members of the ICCRC have an authorization certificate along with a photo id showing their name and license number (starting with ‘R’ followed by six digits).
- Experience: Check the number of years the consultancy has been around to understand the depth of its experience. Ask them to furnish you with their success stories so that you have a clear idea of their expertise and rate of success over their years of operation.
Any experienced consultant will always have a finger on the pulse of the immigration processes and related changes and updates. This is vital as these can affect your application and you may decide to proceed once everything is positive to avoid jeopardizing your case.
- Referrals: With so many people moving to Canada in recent times, you are sure to get ample referrals from friends and family. If they offer a few names and relate their experience with them, you will get a fair idea of what to expect in your own case.
- Personal guidance: Each immigration case is different. Before you decide to uproot yourself, you should have a detailed consultation with the consultant regarding the job demand, financial aspects, and other pertinent topics. The consultant should be able to answer all your queries patiently and in ample depth so that you are clear about your next move. After all, you may be thinking of moving with your entire family and require a realistic assessment of how your life will be once you are in Canada. So, you should seek and get personalized attention and guidance from the consultant to be able to take a coherent decision on the immigration process.
- Cost: Moving to Canada is not an inexpensive task. And if your initial step itself, which is the cost of the immigration consultant, is exorbitant, you know you are in trouble. Ask them for their charges upfront and request a breakdown of the costs involved. This will help you to know what you are paying for and may have to pay at later stages in the move.
- Solutions: Not everyone stands a clear chance of sure-shot success or permanent resident visas in the beginning. If you are in this category and yet are extremely keen on immigrating to Canada, ideally, your consultant should list all the available options open to you that will help you to enter on a temporary basis. Then, they can help devise a roadmap that will help you to change this temporary visa into permanent residency at the earliest.
