Cracking Down On Fake Immigration Consultants

Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney introduced today in the House of Commons a legislation to crack down on crooked immigration consultants who exploit prospective immigrants. It's called Cracking Down on Crooked Consultants Act.

The Cracking Down on Crooked Consultants Act would strengthen the rules governing those who charge a fee for immigration advice, close immigration system loopholes currently exploited by crooked consultants, and improve the way in which immigration consultants are regulated.

“While most immigration consultants working in Canada are legitimate and ethical, it is clear that immigration fraud remains a widespread threat to the integrity of Canada’s immigration system,” said Minister Kenney. “The Cracking Down on Crooked Consultants Act will better protect prospective immigrants from crooked consultants and help safeguard our immigration system against fraud and abuse.” [Source]

If passed, the law will give the Minister the authority to designate a body to govern immigration consultants and establish measures to enhance the government’s oversight of this body. Canadian Society of Immigration Consultants is the body currently governing immigration consultants. Since the Minister himself recognizes the lack of public confidence in the regulation of immigration consultants, it is expected that a change in the governing body may be implemented.

In the Philippines, there are only few immigration consulting firms prior to the Ministerial Instructions introduced on November 2008. That is because immigration process takes about 5 years and thus, applying for immigration to Canada is not that popular. But after the changes, wherein the processing was only about 6-12 months, several immigration consulting firms suddenly sprouted like mushrooms. Most of which are crooked consultants described in the Cracking Down on Crooked Consultants Act.

Beware of these crooked immigration consulting firms. Deal only with legitimate consulting firms like Canadian Immigration Consultancy. We have been in the industry for 2 decades now and have already sent thousands of Filipino workers to Canada.

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A Single's Journey, The Canadian Visa Application

Consider the case of my one client for example.

It is not by any accident that she finished her Bachelors Degree in Accountancy, became a Certified Public Accountant, became certified by CIAT - Canada as a Certified Accounting Technician, was able to find employment in companies like Unilever Philippines, Inc. and Deutsche Bank Group, and get a Permanent Residents Visa for Canada at age 26.

How this client got her Permanent Residents Visa, is due to the following:


- Wanting to Immigrate in Canada, she went to us to find out about her options
- Knowing that her Education and Work Experience made her eligible to apply for the Federal Skilled Workers program, she made a decision to apply.

- Acknowledging the challenges that she had to overcome she set out a concrete plan - to start with her Permanent Residents Visa application while the Immigration Regulation was still in her favor; determine the obstacles that lay ahead of her goal and find ways to overcome them.

That is why on...

April 6, 2009 we filed the application to the Centralized Intake Office in Sydney, Nova Scotia Canada

As a result we received the Positive Assessment - May 15, 2009 which also prompted us to ready the necessary documentations for the Full application Package that we will eventually submit at the Canadian Embassy within the 120 days allowance that was given to us.

The plan was simple, since single, we had to make good use of the 120 days allowance that was given to us, because we have to be certain that it gets the 67 points passmark to get the PR Visa for Canada, under Citizenship and Immigration Canada's Selection Grid.

The key to most single applicants who does not have double degrees in college and first degree relatives in Canada, is to get the full 16 points for the English Proficiency in the Language Criteria of the points system.

Which meant that if the client could get the full points, he will get his PR Visa for Canada.

To achieve this, she would have to get the following scores, per area, for her International English Language Testing System (IELTS):

Reading - 6.5
Writting - 6.5
Listening - 7.5
Speaking - 6.5

That is why right after filing the clients application to the CIO, we encouraged her to take the English examination (IELTS) to prove her Language Proficiency right away.

So that she would still have the time to retake it, if ever she would not get the prescribed results to make her application successful.

As it turns out, our plan proved to be effective, because she did not get the points she needed the first time she took the exam.

So she re-took the examination, but was unsuccessful yet again.

Sad and confused, she called me up and asked what she had to do, she already wanted to give up at this point of her application.

That was why I encouraged her to retake the IELTS exam for the third time, you see I knew Jacqueline could get the points she needed.

I did not believe that she did not have what it took to get the full 16 points for the English Proficiency criteria, for the following reasons:

1. She was able to finish her College degree
2. Was able to pass her CPA exam
3. Worked in Companies who used English as the medium of communication, regularly.
4. Had clients, colleagues and superiors who has no choice but to use English to communicate their needs and requirements.

I knew for certain, that with enough practice, the right conditions and correct mindset she, will get the scores that she needs.

With a little push, she agreed to retake the IELTS for the third time.

While waiting for her English Examination results we submitted her Full Visa Package - August 15, 2009 to the Canadian Embassy in Manila.

On December 8, 2009, we submitted, the clients IELTS Results:

Listening - 7.5
Reading - 6.5
Writing - 6.5
Speaking - 7.5

As it turns out, my faith in my clients abilities were right, after all...

On January 26, 2010 she got her Medical Notice

On April 6, 2010, at CIC office we gave her, her Permanent Residents Visa for Canada.

Her application experience may not have been easy, but with a good plan, determination and persistence she got what she wanted.

At present, my client, now belongs to a minority, an Elite group of people who knows a simple yet important truth.

Only you can make your dreams come true.

And because she worked hard for her Permanent Residents Visa for Canada, getting it may have been a hundred times more fulfilling for her.

She had a choice, to give up at the first sign of difficulty, but if you know her like I do, you too would say that she is meant to get the Visa.

That considering her credentials, education and work experience, she not only deserves getting a Permanent Residents Visa, it is part of her inherent rights.

If you want to be like that client, you too should already start preparing your plans to achieve your goals.

If you want to be successful in your application you have to act TODAY!

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Looking for A Job In Canada?

After recieving your Immigrant Visa for Canada. The expiry of that visa is actually 6 months, meaning you need to be in Canada before the 6 month term expires. One common dilemma of clients having their visa's granted, is how to find job in Canada. Actually there are many options for you to find a job in Canada even you are still here in the Philippines. I found this very interesting website that caters different jobs with respect to provinces and cities in Canada.

As the website says "Jobrapido enables you to search through over 200.000 jobs posted on job boards, recruitment agencies, career and company websites." If you are looking, securing or finding a job in Canada, this website could help you.

www.job-rapido.ca

So start job hunting now! Maybe your Canadian Dream will start here!

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Canadian Embassy Manila Processing Time Delay?

Recently, a number of our clients has been wondering why they do not receive notice from the Canadian Visa Office-Manila even after the 45 days processing time indicated on their acknowledgment letter. This of course makes most of them worried about their application.

Are you in similar situation?

You shouldn't worry if there's a delay, it has nothing to do with your documents. Give it 2 weeks alloweance before you make a follow up. There seems to be delay in processing due to volume of applications the visa office is reviewing.

The new acknowledgement letter we received recently indicates a different processing time.

Processing Time:

Applications for permanent residence in Canada in the category in which you have applied are finalized in an average of 6 to 12 months in our office. If you have not received any instructions from this office within 90 days from the date of this letter, please contact us directly and inform us of this.

That used to be 45 days.

The same thing is true with those who have submitted their original passports, waiting for their visa. It used to be returned with 2-3 weeks. But now, it takes longer.

“We will make our best efforts to have your passport(s) returned to you with your visa(s) within 90 days from their receipt at the Embassy. You should not make any plans to travel to Canada until you are in possession of your passports and the required visas.”

Processing period remains to be 6-12 months from the time the Visa Office received your application with supporting documents, after assessment from Centralized Intake Office.

So there. That explains why there is a delay. Avoid unncessary stress. It's not you, it's the embassy. ;-)

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Immigrant's Visa Party April 17 Aristocrat Malate Manila

Did you miss last Saturday's Immigrants Visa Party? We will have another immigrants visa party this coming April 17, 2010 at Aristocrat Restaurant in Manila. During the visa party, we'll be conducting our in-house pre-departure orientation seminar to prepare our clients on their settlement in Canada.

Simultaneously, we will be conducting an information seminar for those who are interested to live and work in Canada! If you want to learn how to immigrate to Canada in just 6-12 months, you may attend this immigrants visa party.

Interested? email me @ rgomez@go2canada.com

Venue will be at Aristocrat Restaurant in Malate Manila. Registration Fee is P500/head inclusive of dinner. Mark your calendar - it's April 17, 2010, Saturday, 4pm.

Registration starts at 3:30pm.

See you there!

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New High Demand Occupation for Canadian Immigration

As consultations are currently on its way to review the present process for the Immigration programs in Canada. It is possible that the list of High Demand occupations - Jobs, eligible for processing in the Federal Skilled Workers program will change.

Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister has announced in the Media Released portion of the Canadian Government Website, that due to the emerging changes in the Economy in Canada, it is high time for the process to also change.

These changes may mean a lot of things. It may mean that we will soon see a new set of High Demand Jobs in Canada. It may also mean that the current list may be retained with new occupations to be included.

What occupations will be included in the New list of high demand occupations we do not know, but speculating on it, you have check the current list of Occupations under pressure in the Human Resource and Skills Development Canada Website - http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca.

what you should do is to look for common occupations needed in all regions, the may be a good basis for the occupations that we should expect in the new list of high demand occupations.

When the new list will be published, again we do not know, but if we base it on the last time the regulation changed, we have a maximum of about 6 months to date, before it changes. This is the same timeframe, that they used up when they changed the old process last February 2008.

What you should do?

If your occupation is currently in the high demand list, it is to your advantage to start your application right now.

If your occupation is not yet in the high demand list, you should ready all your documents so that when the occupation list changes you will be ready to apply.

The safest way to take advantage of the current program is to start your application right now, before the new high demand occupation in Canada changes.

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Its A Love Story

Here is a transcript of one of CIC's Consultant's testimony that was shared during our Immigrants Party last month

Never once did I expect, that I will be writing a love story when I started narrating the Canadian Immigrants Visa - application experience of my clients.

But when I became the Immigration adviser of Mr. Ray Anthony Sator, his love story and that of his girl friend Rowena Faustino (Ms. Weng), begone to take shape.

What makes their story special, and why it is worth telling, is simple.

It a true to life, its for real.

I am not passing this down to you, based on what I heard, rather, as an observer, the events I am going to tell you unfolded before my very eyes.

Let me tell it to you by following the lead of the great story tellers before me, by starting Ray's story with these famous lines:

"A long long time ago (January 15, 2008 -two years is a long time), in the land Makati City"...




I met a man, named Ray Anthony Sator, who's last name was spelled with an "o" not with a "u", he came to me to help him pursue his plans to move to a far away country, Canada.

It was at our first meeting that I have noticed Ray's inherent good qualities, he was quite reserved, a man of few words. Maybe, there is something to the saying, "Silent Water runs deep".

As I discussed his options, he asked very good questions such as, what made him qualified, what will make his application stronger, how long will the application be processed, etc...

Since during that time the processing period was still tagged at 6 years, and the mere fact that he signed the contract with our company to help him with his application at the same day, I would say that he is also very decisive.

He knows what he wants, the long wait did not put him off, as the Immigration rules constantly changes, he knew that he had to act while the conditions was still in his favor, he wanted to be filed while he was still qualified.

From that day onwards, I saw how he struggled to juggle his time, working as a Senior Telecommunications Engineer at a young age, in a very prestigious Telecommunications company in the Philippines, and completing what was needed to file his application for Permanent Residents application was not an easy task.

Still, on April 10, 2008 Ray's application was filed under the then, Simplified Immigration Process of the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration Canada.

It was not until October 2008 that I learned that his girlfriend, had an application for Manitoba Provincial Nomination Program (MPNP), this was when Ray asked me to help her comply with the second stage requirements of the MPNP program.

Extending my services to Ray's Girl friend at no additional cost, I helped them by giving them needed advice to finish Ms. Weng's requirements to get her Visa.

The problem with this scenario was that, if Ray's application will not be approved, he will not be able to go to Canada, whereas if Ms. Weng's application is approved she will move to Canada without Ray.

At this point I told them that they have the option to get married at that time, so that they can move to Canada together, I even went as far as talking to the parents of Ms. Weng and attempted to convince them that this is a good option for the couple to take, but due to the parents own apprehensions, they did not agree to the plan.

Left with no choice, Ray and Ms. Weng, processed their respective applications.

Nevertheless, I witnessed how Ray continued to help Ms. Weng process her application to the best of his abilities.

It was a day of filled with mixed emotions, when Ms. Weng's Visa came out last March of 2008, and when she finally flew to Canada May 2008.

At this time, Ray's hope of reuniting with Ms. Weng was dependent on the results of his own Resident Visa application for Canada, before the current change of visa processing procedure, we expected this to happen after 6 years from the date he filed his application to the Canadian Embassy...
------------

Despite all odds, Ray continued to process his application, and with a stroke of luck, the changes in the Ministerial Instructions was published November 2008, favoring the application he has filled.

Even though his current occupation as a Telco Engineer is not on the 38 high demand occupations, his previous work experience as a College Instructor in Don Bosco Mandaluyong, is part of the eligible applications for processing.

With a happy heart and renewed energy, Ray religiously completed all the requirements that was required of him, which included taking the IELTS, securing all work related documentations from his past and present employers, getting his graduate and post graduate studies documentations, etc...

Call me a hopeless romantic, but I truly believe that Ray Sator and Weng Faustino are meant to be together.

Fate has smiled upon this couple; on March 25, 2010 Ray Anthony Sator's Visa was finally issued to him.

We can all learn from Ray's story.

If you want something, you have to work hard to get it.

If you want a better life for yourself and for your loved ones, do what is necessary to make that dream into a reality.

Act while the conditions are in your favor.

Do not live to regret the day, that you will wonder "what might it have been" if you acted on an opportunity of a lifetime, knowing that you are one of the few - of the lucky ones who qualify for said opportunity.

Do not be put off, by the thought that you may not qualify if you apply rather, act on an opportunity and hope that you will get what you want.

All applicants risk being disapproved when they apply for the Federal Skilled Workers application for Permanent Residents Visa application.

But.

There are always two sides of a coin, while it is true that you risk being disapproved when you apply, it is also true that your application may also be approved.

On the other hand, if you do not submit any application, it is for certain, that you will not get a Permanent Residents Visa for Canada.

In life, there are no assurances but people still risks their hard earned money for certain investments.

Most of the time, people will be willing to put their money at risk, depending on the value of the promised reward.

- Some individuals, continue to buy lottery tickets despite the impossible odds.

- Parents, spend millions to send their kids to college even if they are not assured that their children will have a better quality of life when they graduate.

At the Canadian Immigration Consultancy we continue to motivate everybody who qualify for the program, because we know from past experiences that getting a Permanent Residents Visa will give your family and your loved ones a better quality of life.

The basic benefits of a Permanent Resident alone, will give your family - better Financial Stability (please read - Canada Benefits for your family)

Considering the returns we know that this is probably the most worthwhile investment that you will make for yourself and your your family.

Ray Anthony Sator, signed for the program because he also wants to have a better quality of life...

But most especially, because he wants to be with the person who owns his heart, priceless...

If you have been told that you are qualified for the program, act now before its too late.

Give us a call and tell us your concerns, we may have a solution to your problems.

Avail of special promotional programs on our consultancy fees!

For any questions and clarifications, email them to rgomez@go2canada.com

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