[Sarah & Alex]

Help ... We have been accessed as currently having 100 points and we are wanting to start the EOI ASAP.

We are trying to work out whether to use a consultant to help us with the whole emigration process or Do It Ourselves. :confused:

Has anyone used the emigration group, if so what was your experience like?

How easy is it to complete the whole process by yourself? If you have to contact the consultate to sort out problems are they easy to get hold of?

Sarah & Alex

[Diny]

Sarah & Alex

First of all, welcome to the forum.

From what I have read on this forum and by talking to other expats the general impression I get is that you should avoid immigration agencies like the plague !!!

It may sound like abit of a corny plug but no matter what question or query you may have you will almost certainly find the answer on this forum.

The entire process can seem a little daunting but keep calm and simply work your way through it. Ask anything - no matter how silly you think the question is - we've all been there and have all had to ask the same questions in the past.

Obviously you must take whichever route you feel comfortable with, and if you are happy to use an agency then that is fine. However, I think you will find the general opinion is that you can do everything that an agency does and you'll save yourselves a few thousand along the way.

Good luck.

Diny

[K&CS]

Hi Sarah & Alex and welcome to the forum.

I agree with Diny totally. We didn't even consider an agent and we were pretty clueless at the beginning. You just need to read up on what to do and once you get going, it's reasonably straightforward. Feel free to ask anything you want - we've all either been through it or are going through the whole experience on here.

Good luck

Kate

[Smiler]

Hi Sarah & Alex


Welcome to the forum :clap

I agree with Diny and Kate. It is easy enough and cheaper to DIY. The way I look at it if you are doing everything, you know what stage you are at and can plan accordingly. Your application isn't sitting on someone else's desk waiting for...........

I think the 2 or 3 people I've seen using agents have dropped them after a while.


Ask away and the answer will be on here somewhere.

Deborah

[MB]

Hi, Sarah and Alex. Welcome indeed.
For what it's worth, we did the whole process ourselves and found working with NZIS to be very smooth even if -- and this is utterly understandable -- it takes a few months from start to finish.
But our suggestion to DIY comes with one big caveat, which is that your 'journey' with NZIS will almost certainly be smoothest if you get as much as you can correct and unambiguous right up front (e.g., the right certificates and photocopies; employer letters that contain what NZIS actually ask for in terms of content, etc., etc.). In other words, do as exactly as NZIS asks as you can, starting now... and THAT is where a bit of careful reading and research pays massive dividends. If NZIS ask for paperwork that shows your start and finish dates of employment, for example, do the work early on to get that paperwork in motion. And -- the usual old lessons! -- we approached people nicely and carefully if we were asking them to prepare boring but vital paperwork for us like this.
Psychologically, biting the bullet early and tackling any potential trouble-spots in your application can be a bit wince-making... but by doing so you give yourselves the enormous benefit of TIME to remedy any possible hiccups EARLY. (As I've said before, our own biggest cause for anxiety was that a lot of my wife's work experience years in her field (ballet) had been part-time: but by wading in to the Ops Manual head-on and finding all the relevant clauses we got a realistic idea early on of the impact this might have on our application. Things worked out fine).

Anyway, in general, far better, we thought, to spend an extra few days getting things wrinkle-free before we submit stuff to NZIS, rather than rush an only-85%-adequate bunch of stuff off to NZIS and then have delays later.

To help with this sometimes-exacting early work, there is a HUGE amount of info on the NZIS site including the whole Operations Manual that every case officer uses as their guidebook. I think it's worth bearing in mind that this Ops Manual is more or less the last word for the officers, so if you can read and obey it carefully enough you'll almost certainly be good to go.

Two last words, this time about agencies. First, several of them publish and archive newsletters that often have good commentary or Q&A about the process. I found that these, plus this forum and the NZIS site and one or two forums a bit like this one, were a terrific ally as we prepared our case.
Secondly, an agency and/or lawyer might be worth considering if there is something particularly and clearly difficult about your case that you can anticipate now. Not something that might be a bit 'common or garden' tricky -- such as having children from other relationships (which probably means mostly just extra work and diplomacy(!) on the applicant's part) -- but a real heavyweight issue such as previous expulsion from NZ, or really complicated NZ property/financial situations, or whatever!

All the best - the key is probably just plain old careful reading and calm working-through of things early!

[MB]

One more little tip... and I'm afraid other forum members will roll their eyes here as I've said this in at least two other places, but anyway:

to help with the detail work I referred to above, work as a team with your partner at key stages by actually READING STUFF ALOUD as a method of checking and double-checking your application and paperwork. Even if it's a pain, sit yourselves comfortably at the computer/desk just before submitting your EOI and go through it all line by line, reading out every number and fact out loud while the other one checks it. And -- though it was hard -- we really tried to focus all the way through the 50-odd pages of the form so that it didn't all become just lip-service blah blah blah checking!
And then do the same before sending all your ITA stuff a few weeks later.

It's really, really worth it... despite all our earlier care I think we found one or two things that needed correcting, just by using this method.

[xanctus]

As many other members said it's somewhat better to DIY cause it can saves you lots of $$$. As for our own experience, we did it ourselves and there were not much of a hassle doing it. The only probs, maybe to get some police certificate if you live in another country. However, other than that...is not that bad.
Good luck

[baboonworld]

I wouldnt touch an agency - they can actually mislead you!! Without going into too much detail they told us that my partners parents have absolutely no hope of ever immigrating to NZ - as i am sure the forum members will back me up - this is not true and family member can possibly get Family Quota after sponsor has been in NZ for 3 years. So very misleading (and they are expensive). All they do is ask the questions out loud for you!

[Diny]

to help with the detail work I referred to above, work as a team with your partner at key stages by actually READING STUFF ALOUD as a method of checking and double-checking your application and paperwork. Even if it's a pain, sit yourselves comfortably at the computer/desk just before submitting your EOI and go through it all line by line, reading out every number and fact out loud while the other one checks it. And -- though it was hard -- we really tried to focus all the way through the 50-odd pages of the form so that it didn't all become just lip-service blah blah blah checking!
And then do the same before sending all your ITA stuff a few weeks later.

It's really, really worth it... despite all our earlier care I think we found one or two things that needed correcting, just by using this method.


This is exactly what we did, although we didn't go the ITA route (got here through family category) there was still alot of form filling to be done. The above tip is a VERY good one.

Diny

[Ebeee]

Hi Sarah & Alex,

I think what people are saying about the ammount of information and support on this site is very true. Had I found this site before we kicked off the process then I would have seriously thought about doing the whole process myself. We opted to use an agent. We used Protea Pacific who are based in Auckland and I have to admit they have been really, really, good. It is not a cheap option, but then we expected a few problems with our application because not everything was straight forward. There were issues relating to my work history and continuity etc. With this in mind we took a conservative approach and used the agent. We considered that we may only get the one chance and did not want to blow it! So in reality the cost is not that important to us as we have now been granted PR.

I also have a friend who has used 4 Corners and has found them ok. Again, his was a difficult case.

So really, I guess it's how comfortable you feel about taking it on.

Whatever you choose, good luck with it and I'm sure you will find this forum will answer any questions you have.

Cheers,

Ian.

[willsken]

I can't offer any more advice, but I will say that I have found the whole process quite straight forward so far. (If a little time consuming!!) I think if you don't have any complications, do it yourself. Just be methodical and read everything over and over to check. Be organised and send off for everything you need early!! (eg have you all got full birth certs - OH only had the short one!) :nice1

[Miggy]

Ditto all of the above guys. Steer clear of any agencies and do it yourselves, yeah it's time consuming but pretty straight forward - and with the money you save you can have a really great 'blow out' when your PR lands on your mat!!

Good Luck.
Steve

[Karen and Rich Matthews]

Okay, a little scared writing this- but here goes...

A friend of mine DID go through the emmigration Group, she's a teacher, so had all the extra hassle of the application to NZQA and the teaching board. She never disclosed the amount she paid, but I'm guessing A LOT (I don't think it would be an exaggeration to say that she didn't get much change from 5K) the only thing i WOULD say, is that they did EVERYTHING- accomodation, flights, renting, jobs....that was great for her- a busy job, small child etc, but i did feel that it took the 'adventure' out of it. For her it took a couple of visits and she left it down to them to arrange it all- even form filling. The process seemed to be a lot quicker too.....

I guess it depends how much time you have and how organised you are. Rich and I are (luckily) and although at the time we found the whole thing a 'sitting on the edge of your seat' experience, for ME that was NOTHING compared to the hassle of selling our house here!!!!

Hope this helps

[JCM]

I think its horses for courses. If you can't be bothered with paperwork and you choose a good agent they'll take a lot of the hassle out of the process. If you like to do things yourself (like me) you'll probably want to handle the application yourself.

[leosus]

Well had I found this board earlier I may have opted NOT to use an agent too, but that is not the way it has played out...
I hired Paul Eggleton of Bay of Islands Immigration Consultants, and so far so good. It is just him (I think), and he seems to be on top of things, and even thought he may have a job offer for me- I didnt want what he had but...

My reasoning (and I am NOT paying even close to 5k) is purely because I am going it alone, and sometimes I dont trust myself, and I would really hate to screw this up. I am typically a DIY person, but on this one I felt I may need a little guidance sometimes. I have paid my 1/2 deposit months ago, so now I just have to pray he is good, and helpful.

Why did I choose Bay Of Islands Immigration? Because I knew I was going to be a Northlander, and I like small businesses. Good luck.

[Sarah & Alex]

Thanks everyone for all you help and advice.

We have decided that we are going to DYI (So we might be back asking some more stupid questions!!!).

Sarah & Alex

[willsken]

I think you are doing the right thing. (Don’t quote me on this!! :laugh ) All I will repeat to you from earlier is to get everything sent off as soon as possible. The time it took for my qualifications to be assessed and then to register as a teacher with NZ took an age (about 16 weeks in total!) For us this wasn't a problem, as we aren't even thinking of going before September 2006 anyway.

Very good luck with the process and ask for advice all the way. Even when I though I knew the answer I always asked anyway, just to make sure.