[Janice Lynch]

Hello,
Have all my paper work ready to go for Skilled Migrant residency.
I have 135 points - was going to go alone however could do with some professional help.
Have received some quotes from reputable Immigration consultants/lawyers but fee's are ridiculous($10,000 was quoted at one stage).
Any help would be great,
Thank you!

[xanctus]

I believe many of the members from this forum are DIY (do it yourself) kind of thing.
We did ours alone, and cost only the basic fees that u needed to pay, but no others.
It saves you lots of money by doint it yourself.
Good luck!

[Smiler]

Hello Janice

Welcome to the forum.

Xanctus is correct, most of us are DIY'ers , the only people I can remember using agencies seem to have problems, apart from the cost.

Do a search on immigration agencies using the search facility up top, but here's a couple of threads to get you going (or put you off) :D If you have a particular agency in mind, you can ask here to se if anyone has used them.

http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=5866&highlight=immigration+agencies

http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=5007&highlight=immigration+agencies

http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=5228&highlight=corners

Just a question from this old cynic though, how do you know those consultants are reputable? ;)

[Janice Lynch]

thanks guys - will take onboard. already applied but had a problem with by NZQA hense a firm.
Proteo Pacific would be the first however I hear they are very very good.
North Shore Immigraiton Service?
Might have another try - am getting anxious as my WHV is up in August.
Tnx for advice...

[jubjub]

Shocking waste of money, if you've got 135 pts then you can read and write. If you can read and write you don't need to pay anyone to fill out a form for you, right ??

Trust me on this, the thousands of dollars you're going to waste on this can be put to much better use when you get there. Seriously I've never heard of anyone that used one of these guys that didn't regret it later and call it a waste on money.

If you do have any questions you'll find the answer on here quick enough

[Hannah]

Yes Janice, I agree with what jubjub said. If you have all your paperwork together you probably don't need a consultant as all they do pretty much is tell you what paper you need to get together, what counts as evidence etc. (and the guide that comes with the ITA pack tells you all that - very clearly).

I used this forum as my one and only source of guidance for my application. I submitted my EOI, and within 6 days of receiving the ITA i was able to return it as i'd collected all the paperwork i needed (WITHOUT EVEN THE GUIDANCE FROM THE ITA PACK - PURELY FROM WHAT I READ/ASKED ON THIS SITE). My PR was approved last week without a single question raised by NZIS.


Fair enough, I didn't go through NZQA or whatever it's called, but there's plenty on this site about how to deal with them and having seen the paperwork for getting qualifications assessed it looked more like a pain in the ass in terms of time to get quals assessed than the form itself.

I also have yet to hear a positive immigration consultant story. We contacted one in the UK early when we looked at emigration (before we found this site) for an initial free appraisal and was told that not only would my OU degree not be able to be assessed by NZQA but also that my OU degree would not attract points under the SMC. Going down the DIY route I found that not only did my degree attract points, but also that it didn't need to be assessed by NZQA. I just read the NZIS website to find that out - shame the consultant charging three grand couldn't have done the same!

Immigration consultants - Be afraid, Be very afraid

Maybe the forumites could set up their own company!!!!!

[katandbob]

I agree.....DIY all the time (Consultants are only interested in your PURSE!)

[StevieD]

Janice - don't even touch them with a barge pole - unless you have issues and problems, they are a total waste of money. As the others have said, if you can read and write you are home and dry. It is just tedious filling out the EOI, best done online because it is cheaper. There is plenty of online help when you filling out on the NZIS website, and if you get stuck, ask on this forum.

Really, you don't need it. Save your money for more worthy things.

Steve - good luck.

[Kim39]

Don't use them:no we were told by one company that they weren't prepared to take me on, as i am an HGV driver and they said i didn't stand a chance of getting in country with my employ. Didn't leave it at that, went the DIY route, and we have been here close to 6 months. Use the dosh for something more useful.


Kim