Comparison of immigration consulting fees

[cansha]

As I said, you are assuming that everyone is exactly like you in terms of intellectual ability, background, ability to spot BS etc and setting that as an arbitrary reference level, with anyone being worse than you in these areas is to be blamed.

For example, someone with a Hindi medium school background is obviously going to struggle to understand the process (as its not written in Hindi) and also he won't have the same critical ability to evaluate consultants that you have. You can't expect him to be at the same level as you.

The argument is a bit flawed because if that guy doesn't have ability in English then he would not qualify for Canada in the first place. As far as I know English ability is one of the key requirements. And last I checked reading ability was part of the test.

And I think you did not understand what I said so you can read it again. I said you can't blame the consultants alone. I didn't say the blame is 100% of the person engaging with the consultant.

 

[pizzaboy99]

The argument is a bit flawed because if that guy doesn't have ability in English then he would not qualify for Canada in the first place. As far as I know English ability is one of the key requirements. And last I checked reading ability was part of the test.

And I think you did not understand what I said so you can read it again. I said you can't blame the consultants alone. I didn't say the blame is 100% of the person engaging with the consultant.

The argument is not flawed at all. If he can't read English, how do you think he will go on the IRCC website and see one of the requirements is English?

I understood what you were saying clearly. I am saying that the blame is 100% with the consultant and 0% with the victim and you say that the blame has to be shared.

 

[Breeze00]

As I said, you are assuming that everyone is exactly like you in terms of intellectual ability, background, ability to spot BS etc and setting that as an arbitrary reference level, with anyone being worse than you in these areas is to be blamed.

For example, someone with a Hindi medium school background is obviously going to struggle to understand the process (as its not written in Hindi) and also he won't have the same critical ability to evaluate consultants that you have. You can't expect him to be at the same level as you.

This is true. I guess it's the reason why most citizen of countries whose official language isn't English find it a bit difficult. But if your official Language is English, you have little excuse. We should all try to educate ourselves n help other that are interested or atleast, introduce them to this forum.

 

[Mohan Renganathan]

Hi ,
Thanks for posting the details. What is Govt Canadian website, if you like to start applying for PR yourself?
There is a immigration consultant who is requesting a payment of USD 400 for PCE (Profile Competency Evaluation). Is this Normal?

 

[Mr_Chang]

Hi ,
Thanks for posting the details. What is Govt Canadian website, if you like to start applying for PR yourself?
There is a immigration consultant who is requesting a payment of USD 400 for PCE (Profile Competency Evaluation). Is this Normal?

He's pretty much ripping you off to fill a questionnaire that is available online on your behalf. He will ask you the same questions and then tell you if you are eligible or not by entering your answers online.

This is where I want to highlight this post from last year, it's a perfect example.

It may sound like victim bashing but I think onus is also on the person paying these consultants. Canada process is relatively simpler process and surprisingly well documented one at that. I had looked at Australian process and I was lost ... And probably would have needed a consultant for that (Although many of my friends did even the Australian process themselves). But Canada process is very straightforward. So one should not need a consultant in the first place. And even if you take services of a consultant since you have less time there is no excuse if you have not educated yourself about CRS score and cut offs which are available with a simple google search.

Bottom line is if you have not done due diligence ... blame can't be put squarely on the consultants.

If you would google "express entry eligibilty tool" the first result is http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/skilled/crs-tool.asp which is the official govt. website.
If you google "canada immigration eligibility check" the first (non - ad) result is https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/express-entry/eligibility.html which then links to various articles talking about eligibility

Instead I'm sure for most people the immigration process with searches like "Immigration consultant for Canada" or something similar. This fear of "Immigration processes are complicated, let's hire a consultant" is what causes most people to fall into the trap of unauthorized agents who charge a lot of money.

Consultants are required. I'm not denying that, but there are cases which warrant them (complicated profiles, previous refusals, overstayed last time etc.) But still, the first step should never be consulting an agent. That's just plain lazy.

 

[Jusniz]

So, trying to revive this thread, I expressed my desire to migrate to Canada and I got into contact with this immigration consultant which I have checked is a registered ICCRC. Anyway, after a small explanation I have been asked to pay about £30 for a full eligibility check (which I now realized was not needed). So, after I have got to know I might be eligible for one of the E.E program they have told be they will charge me around £4,200 (with no spouse nor dependents, basicallyme alone) and that's without other expenses such as language tests, police clearance etc... that's a huge amount of money. I have made some research and considering doing the application myself and would like to know what you guys think of my situation?

 

[scylla]

So, trying to revive this thread, I expressed my desire to migrate to Canada and I got into contact with this immigration consultant which I have checked is a registered ICCRC. Anyway, after a small explanation I have been asked to pay about £30 for a full eligibility check (which I now realized was not needed). So, after I have got to know I might be eligible for one of the E.E program they have told be they will charge me around £4,200 (with no spouse nor dependents, basicallyme alone) and that's without other expenses such as language tests, police clearance etc... that's a huge amount of money. I have made some research and considering doing the application myself and would like to know what you guys think of my situation?

It's entirely your choice if you do it on your own or pay for someone to do it for you. Many people to it themselves however this means you need to be prepared to spend time reading and researching the program requirements.

 

[cansha]

So, trying to revive this thread, I expressed my desire to migrate to Canada and I got into contact with this immigration consultant which I have checked is a registered ICCRC. Anyway, after a small explanation I have been asked to pay about £30 for a full eligibility check (which I now realized was not needed). So, after I have got to know I might be eligible for one of the E.E program they have told be they will charge me around £4,200 (with no spouse nor dependents, basicallyme alone) and that's without other expenses such as language tests, police clearance etc... that's a huge amount of money. I have made some research and considering doing the application myself and would like to know what you guys think of my situation?

My personal opinion is that consultants bring zero value to you for simple cases. If your case is complicated like you have a complicated divorce or some court case etc. then you may want to hire someone. But even in that case I would recommend to hire an immigration lawyer and not an immigration consultant.

In the end you can decide if you want someone else to read IRCC website and give you information which you can read yourself by spending a few hours. Basically you need to decide if your 5-10 hours is worth more than 4200GBP.

 

[westendgirl21]

4,200 GBP is way to high. Licensed consultants who are members of the ICCRC who operate legally in Canada charge way less than that. My consultant charged $2,400 CAD so about 1,380 and was very helpful.

I find it amusing though that so many people are consultant-bashing on this sight and FB groups etc. when most of the answers come from, and pages are provided by consultants, including this forum! The phrase "don't bite the hand that feeds you" comes to mind.