Best Immigration Consultants In India
As the number of Indians immigrating to Canada shot up over the past few decades, immigration consultancies blossomed all over the country. You probably see an immigration consultancy on every other block promising to get you a visa within days!
What you might not have realized is that a lot of these consultancies might be unauthorized. That is why it is best to check beforehand instead of risking your application. With that said, there is no lack of brilliant consultants all across India who really can make your application process hassle-free and give genuine guidance. With all the options available, it becomes difficult to decide on one.
Whether you are looking to immigrate to Canada permanently, go to Canada to pursue your Master’s degree, or searching for better job opportunities in Canada, you need the skills of authorized and experienced Canadian immigration consultants. Read on to find out the what, why, and how of searching for immigration consultants in India. There are several regulated immigration consultants working in all major cities and states of India. A quick Google search will reveal the closest one to you.
Why Hire a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant?
The Federal Law of Canada demands that if you use an immigration consultant for your application for a fee, they must be registered with Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council (ICCRC). The registered consultants (RCICs) are the only ones allowed to assist applicants through the process. These RCICs can really turn your application around.
Best Guidance
RCICs are trained and educated in every related aspect of Canadian immigration and there is nobody who can guide you better. They can advise you about which program to apply through and can be well worth your time and money.
Insurance
RCICs are insured to prevent any unintended mistakes from damaging the applicant or the consultant. Moreover, if you think the consultant didn’t try his best on your application, you can make an official complaint via the ICCRC.
Ethical Guidelines
RCICs are under oath to follow the strictest guidelines to ensure professionalism and ethicality in their work. They are subject to a Code of Ethical Conduct, and are bound to follow the official procedures and rules. Misconduct results in severe repercussions.
Is Hiring A Canadian Consultant Worth The Fee?
If you’re here, you’re probably wondering why you should hire a consultant in the first place. How do Canadian immigration consultants help you with your immigration process after all? You can complete the application yourself and take help from your mother’s cousin who immigrated to Canada 5 years ago, right?
So, should you take your chances and go through the process yourself? Is it worth the hefty fee considering that you can go through the process yourself and take help from friends or family? This would save you some money too, right?
Wrong!
There is a high chance you might not clear the immigration process without any professional guidance, and would have to apply and pay the processing fee again.
The Canadian Immigration process is very demanding and detailed. You can’t just assume that you’ll understand the technicalities of the immigration laws and rules. Chances are, you might not make the cut if you do it on your own, especially if you’re doing so for the first time.
Hiring professional consultants puts you at ease that your immigration process is in the hands of someone reliable who would answer questions for you, explain the legalities of the process, and make sure that you never miss a deadline or document that needs to be submitted.
While hiring a consultant does not guarantee you a visa, it does improve your chances by a significant degree. The consultants draft your application after reviewing your profile thoroughly and advise you on how you can strengthen and proceed with your application accordingly.
Cost of Obtaining a PR Visa
The cost is largely dependent on what type of visa program you use for your application, because all of them hold different fee. This is a generally how the PR visa cost is broken down.
- Application processing cost – INR 53,009
- IELTS – INR 13,000
- Documents and Courier – INR 1000+3000
- Medical Tests – INR 5500
- Police Verification Certificate – INR 500
Plus, the consultant’s fee, should you decide to hire any.
What Will the Consultant Do for You?
If you’re paying the expensive fee for a consultant, you should know what exactly they do for you. Different consultancies have different mixes of services that they offer. Some just do the bare minimum and some go out of their way to even provide transport to and from the airport.
A good, authorized consultant’s job is to guide you through the application process, explain what would be required from your end, and communicate with you about the documentation and requirements you’d have to meet. Canadian Immigration Consultants would generally
- Conduct detailed assessment of your chances of being approved for a visa
- Prepare clients for interviews with the immigration officers
- Assist the client in completing their application and paperwork
- Re-check the application to ensure nothing is missing or incorrect
- Provide assistance in securing admission to universities in Canada or searching for jobs
- Give legal advice if needed
Most importantly, the consultant should be honest, professional, and give you the best chance at succeeding.
What the Consultant can’t do for You One thing that the consultant cannot do for you is guarantee you a visa; they do not have that in their hands. If a consultant is promising you a visa, asking for extra money to ensure your application gets approved, or telling you that they have a contact at the immigration department, it is probably a sham and an unauthorized consultant. Do not under any circumstances believe the consultant because the decision of approving a visa is for the immigration department to take and consultants have no say in this.
What Happens If You Hire An Unregulated Consultant Accidently?
Care must be taken against fraudulent, ghost consultants in the market who are not authorized to represent you in your immigration process. Canada rejects your application if you use any consultant besides the ones that are authorized by ICCRC.
Financial Loss: These unauthorized consultants charge a lot for their services and disappear with your money when things fall apart. Since they are completely unregulated, there is no way you can press charges or track them down.
Time: You spend precious time on your application, and it proves to be all in vain. It could cost you a scholarship or a job, if you needed the visa on a short notice and all your time is wasted.
We’ll discuss how to spot fraudulent, unregulated consultants and how to avoid falling prey to them below.
Metrics to Choose the Best Immigration Consultant
So, how will you judge if the immigration consultant is the right one for you? Though there a few things you can look into to make sure that the consultant you’re choosing isn’t fraudulent or unreliable, the best judge would be your gut feeling. If the consultant feels right, listens to you, and patiently answers your questions, it’s probably a good idea to consider them.
However, please check them on all these fronts. Don’t hesitate in asking questions about their training, certifications, and experience. Protect yourself against being cheated out of your time and your money.
Authorization
The first question you ask before you decide on a consultant should be about whether they are a member of the Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council. Registered members of ICCRC are called Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant (RCIC)
If the immigration professionals aren’t regulated, do not proceed with the immigration process with them. If you use a non-authorized paid consultant, your application may be returned to you. Here are a few red flags that could help you recognize that an immigration consultant is unauthorized and unregulated by the ICCRC.
Retainer Agreement
Retainer agreements are documents drafted by Canadian immigration consultants that outline the immigration services provided to you in exchange for a fee. If your consultant does not provide you with a written retainer agreement, or tells you that it isn’t important, this is a cause for alarm. The consultant is most probably a fake.
Use of a Representative Form
A representative form is government-issued form that contains the information of both you and your consultant. It is an extremely necessary document that is supposed to accompany any inquiries made by the consultant, and is proof that the consultant is working for you and charging a fee. If the consultant doesn’t present you with this form, insist on signing it. Keep extra copies of every document you’ve signed to protect yourself.
If your consultant signs the form declaring that he is your family member, stop him immediately. This is a breach of rules and you should report the action immediately.
ICCRC Status
Check the consultant’s standing through ICCRC’s website. If the RCIC has an ‘active’ status, this means that they have a good standing and are safe to proceed with.
Be cautious if the consultant gives you any sort of guarantees for visa, promises of quick visa processing, or references of his contacts within the immigration office.
Cash Payments
Do not make cash payments under any circumstances. All your payments should be made through bank accounts and you should keep invoices and receipts of everything. Cash is untraceable and an unregulated consultant could swindle the money out of you and disappear.
Accreditation
Check for the accreditation of the consultants. Are they ISO certified? Do they have any accreditation to their name? These accreditations testify to the authenticity, reliability, and efficiency of the consultants and good consultancy groups must have at least one to their name. If it is not, search around for one that is endorsed by official quality standard ratings. There are too many good consultants out there; Kansas Overseas Careers, for example, has two international accreditation which help applicants trust its excellence in Canadian immigration.
Fees and Affordability
A lot of people hold back from hiring a consultant because they want to override the consultant fee.
While it is understandable that the average man in India would look for the cheapest way out, doing so is a grave mistake.
The fee varies depending on the services that the consulting agency is providing. Kansas Overseas Careers offers a very reasonable rate for Canadian consultancy and even offers free initial consultancy after which you can decide if you want the full service.
Stop thinking of immigration consultants as an addition expense; start thinking of them as investments.
References
One of the surest ways to judge the reliability of consultants is to look at reviews and ratings. Ask them to provide you with references that could satisfy you. Talk to their previous clients about their experiences and ask them if they would recommend the same immigration officials. You could also check out the list of successful applicants that the consultancy probably put up on their website.
Client Centric Attitude
Even if the consultants are good at what they do and have a long list of successful applicants, this doesn’t make them the best consultants. The best would put your worries at rest and talk to you about your application, ensuring that you’re at ease. They would offer genuine advice and be patient enough to answer your questions when you don’t understand something. Consultants who focus on your experience rather than merely only on your application will be much easier and pleasurable to work with.
Kansas Overseas Careers
Headquartered in Hyderabad, Kansas Overseas Careers has an impressive record with Canadian immigration applications. Reputed for having the best Canadian immigration consultants, Kansas Overseas Careers has served hundred of clients and smoothly helped them immigrate from India to Canada.
We’re registered with ICCRC and have rigorously trained our team of consultants in providing the best immigration services to clients. We regularly update them and conduct workshops on the ethics of the industry and the changing laws surrounding immigration so that they can help you navigate the murky waters of immigration applications as seamlessly as possible.
Established with the vision of being recognized as the best immigration company in all of India, Kansas Overseas is well on its way of becoming the best in the business. It is ISO-9001 certified and is recognized by the Indian Ministry of Corporate Affairs as one of the best immigration consultancies in Hyderabad.
Let your search for the best Canada immigration consultants end here. Kansas Overseas Careers offers free initial consultancy. Visit our website for a telephone consultation or book an appointment with one of our immigration consultants to have a better idea of what we’re all about and how we conduct our business with the highest levels of professionalism.
