Migration is a done deal

NASC offers a broad based safety net and the best of professional expertise

Immigrating to greener pastures is a dream. With globalisation tearing down the borders and making way for cross-cultural amalgamation, the youth, the elderly and even the who's who of the elitist world are on the move. This is where immigration consultants like North American Services Center, NASC, step into bridge the gap, and facilitate the obsessed path. NASC is one of the most trusted names in immigration, and has been in the UAE with over 30 years of professional expertise. It is a name to bet for immigration, citizenship and resettlement concerns.
Excerpts from an interview with Kathryn MacDonald, RCIC-CEO of North American Services Center, UAE:
Tell us about your experience in the UAE and what edge does NASC enjoy over its competitors? 
We are celebrating our 16th year in the UAE this year and have seen the maturation of a very proactive government meet and rise up to international standards with regulations put in place in the past 10 years. NASC has embraced these changes as it made doing business very clear with that of an international model. As such, we rose up to the standard and today appreciate a great deal of respect from our international stakeholders. That said, many companies over our 16 years we have seen come and go, as they were unable to sustain.
While you deal with several kinds of immigration programmes, which of them is quite popular among the UAE residents?
There are over 60 Canadian programmes, the one that is most popular is definitely Express Entry.
What specific guarantees does NASC offer in terms of addressing legal and intricate issues?  
We absolutely guarantee our wholehearted effort towards our clients. However, keeping in mind it is the ultimate decision of the respective government. As a regulated registered consultant, it is mandatory to take professional development courses each year thus ensuring we are current to any new rules or regulation change. This is a safety net for the client.
How choosy are you in profiling the applicant before registering him/her? Tell us about your criterion?
The criterion is still based on the old selection factor that must reach 67 to be deemed pre-qualified. The new system now has a policy whereby it will convert the old criteria to the new naming it the Comprehensive Ranking Score (CRS). The minimum score to be accepted into the EE system is 297, which is 67 points in the old system. When a client approaches us we qualify them based on the old 67 points, however, should they not meet that score on the surface we simply will not retain the client. 
Could you list out few plus points, as well as success rate that should drive prospective candidates towards you? 
Firstly longevity in the region, we have five offices throughout the UAE and considering today moving into the Saudi Arabia market. I am a native Canadian registered with the ICCRC (our regulator) that maintains high standards of business practices and ethical mandate. I carry 1,000,000.00 Errors and Omissions Insurance that is there purely for the protection of the client against any error or omission on a file.
The success rate is something we are very pleased about given the fact that the new system is still in its infancy. As the government works out the wrinkles, I think we will see a far easier EE system and more draws.
What we are seeing a peak in is the Citizenship by Investment programme, whereby for as little as $100,000.00 USD a person may purchase a passport and travelvisa free to 137 countries. These programmes are available from the Caribbean, Portugal, Cyprus to name a few. This is ideal for a businessman that simply wants the freedom to travel and not necessarily immigrate to a specific country. For more info: http://www.nascintl.com/
mehkri@khaleejtimes.com

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