[texasted]

Hi,

Can anyone give me advice on which immigration consultant to use or the ones that I should not use?? As I have to get a job before we can go to NZ it seems that I have no choice but to use a consultant.

Thanks
Nicky

[mgbridges]

Hi Nicky and welcome to the Forum. In regards to which Immigration Consultant to use I think the most common answer you'll get is - don't bother! Especially if they are going to charge you for their services. It IS possible to deal with the EOI, ITA, NZQA etc processes by yourself and if you've got queries there is bound to be somebody on here who can help.

In terms of finding a job if you are in the UK I'd recommend getting along to one of the NZ Expos. Register with as many NZ based recruitment companies as you can, approach major companies direct via websites particularly if you are in the IT field. In terms of teaching & nursing I'm afraid I can't help but there are plenty of other folks on here who can who I'm sure can point you in the right direction for agencies if you need them.

If you can give a bit more info about why you think you need a Immigration Consultant maybe we can advise a bit more.

Good luck with whatever you decide,
Anneliese

[Flo jo]

I totally agree with Mgbridges. There is nothing you can't do yourself & NZIS are really helpful. You should just target the recruitment consultants in your field (we were advised to only use no more than 5 good ones). If you do decide to use a consultant then read any small print as I think most of them take a percentage of your salary for the first 1-2 years plus the costs they charge you if they find you work. Do you really want to be tied to an agency when its hard enough settling into a new country? If it was me I think I would end up resenting the move each month I saw a chunk of my salary disappear!!! Hope that makes sense. Good luck with it all & there is always plenty of people with good advice on this forum.

[Jennispink]

If I can muddle through it all myself, anyone can. :yes
Sack paying loads out to a middle man:no

[Jamie Smith]

Well intentioned that it is, the above is not necessarily the best advice.

Gardeners, conveyancers and accountants all make livings doing what other people can do if they felt like it. Same for migration, you might like a guide to help anticipate difficulties before arise, saving time and frustration with later NZIS queries. Horses for courses.

In terms of recruitment, in pretty well any country only 1/4 of jobs are advertised. Of that 1/4, half go through job portals online and half via recruitment agents.

The other 3/4 of jobs are placed privately without advertisement - best secured by networking and knocking on doors. If 1/4 of jobs are online or at recruiters, then maybe spend 1/4 your search time in those places and 3/4 of time going direct.

At the several expos I've attended, there are perhaps a few recruiters (who only access half the 1/4 of advertised jobs or have limited industry focus) and a few government organisations like water supply, hospitals etc. By all means add those strings to your bow but don't only rely on recruiters and expos for job search.

There's no substitute for going in the front door, and it should take less time than competing with 200 online applicants and recruiters who often refuse to work with migrants as candidates.

[willsken]

Gardeners, conveyancers and accountants all make livings doing what other people can do if they felt like it. Same for migration, you might like a guide to help anticipate difficulties before arise, saving time and frustration with later NZIS queries. Horses for courses.



I don't think you need to use an agent. Nothing you have to do is difficult, just time consuming. At the end of the day you still have to provide them with all the information you have to provide for you application anyway. The vast majority of questions you can be answered for free on this very board. Agents charge a lot of money for their service and at an expensive time like this every penny saved has to be a huge bonus. :)

[Chiba]

In a little while you'll at least be able to choose one who's licensed...

http://www.iaa.govt.nz/

...but not quite yet.

[peebles16]

I think the immigration part is reasonably straightforward and honestly if we can get through it anyone can :D So I don't think you need an immigration consultant as such. Using an agency to secure employment is a different thing altogether and although mixed response to this from some folks on forums quite a few have had success using this approach. You don't say what field of employment you are looking for but if you did maybe somone could point you in the right direction.

Good luck
Karen

[Moorf]

For some people the immigration process isn't as straight-forward, so immigration agents are needed.

However, what I object to, and this has nothing to do with Jamie's service whatsoever, is the ability for immigrants to be totally ripped off with relative ease by so called "agents" who give 100 percent guarantees (but refunds are usually non-existent :roll ) and charge ridiculous amounts of money - we're talking THOUSANDS of $$. I've even heard of "agents" adding on weekly fees to rentals they source their clients. :mad:

[tigerlily]

Just to reinterate:
-immigration agents help you through the paperwork of applying to get into the country and have the right to work

-recruiters help you find a job

I've not heard of too many good experiences of people who promise to do both those things at the same time.

Actually coming yourself on a trip to meet and greet, check the place out and see if you can get some interviews is a strategy that has worked for some folks here. For us it actually took moving here to get anyone to take us seriously. If you are in a high demand field, like say programming, life might be much easier for you than it was for us. I think that your situation is not unique in that you are in the catch-22 of I need a job to get residency, I need residency to get a job. Many people here have faced that and not everyone ends up using a consultant (in fact very few people here used them) so you do have choices. Look at coming for a short trip?

[Derv]

We used an immigration consultant to guide us through the paperwork and to provide, on our behalf, exactly what NZIS wanted and how they wanted it; the consultant was excellent and we don't regret our decision for a minute. We are sure that it simplified the process and speeded everything up a lot.

We did not use anyone to find a job - we did that ourselves (through the UK Expos and the internet) especially when we saw that every job recruitment agency charges an exorbitant fee.

As TigerLily says, the two types of agencies are very different. Make sure you are very clear what you are agreeing to pay and do before you sign up for anything.