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Applicants cautioned against fraudulent immigration consultants

If you want to file your immigration application for Canada, Australia, or New Zealand you should be aware of the fraudulent consultants, who in their bid to make quick bucks can eat up your hard-earned money and damage your case also.

Published: Sat 10 Jul 2004, 9:56 AM

Updated: Tue 1 Nov 2022, 12:35 PM

  • By
  • Haseeb Haider

These consultants are not fully aware of the immigration procedures, they may have a posh office and good at marketing but they aim at your pockets.

There are immigration consultants who make promises to get an application processed in 3-4 months whereas it takes around a year or even more. Guaranteed and confirmed job offer is another trump card some consultants may play to catch gullible and innocent clients.


According to Shanaz Lakhani an immigration consultant: "Immigration is now becoming a trend across the globe; some immigrants intend to stay in their new country for a little while, then heading back home where they are well-settled drawing handsome salaries and remunerations. Some others return because they find adjusting to a new society too difficult".

Ms Lakhani said the process through which a person from one social and cultural group becomes a part of another has been termed 'assimilation'. Every immigrant has his or her own unique set of challenges but the proper approach, a thorough study of intended destination and the right mental framework, will ensure the perception of the chosen country as the right place to begin life anew and definitely it will strengthen over the years to come.

" Canada, the second largest country in the world, and repeatedly voted the best country to live by the United Nations, has an immigration plan to absorb between 220,000 to 350,000 new residents every year," she said.

The overall review indicates that China leads the trend as highest in immigration, India ranking second, Pakistan third and the Philippines ranks next to them. Back in 1860s when Immigration was in its early childhood stage, 6,500 people migrated, in 1913 the graph soared to a staggering 400,000, ever since migration has never stopped though the figures declined but are still in 250,000 to 260,000 per year.

Out of the UAE's total population of 2.4 million, around 1.8 million are expatriates. Obviously Indians, Pakistanis, Filipinos and Middle-Eastern expatriate population are mainly dominating the UAE, so it offers an attractive and sizeable number for immigration market.

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Mostly managers, doctors, engineers, IT professionals, technologists, nursing and para-medics and many other basic skill categories, even supervisory levels are acceptable for Canada, where the current pass mark is only 67 now.

Australia also accepts wide-ranging professionals and managers. The pass mark for Australia is 120, but if you have a relative in a designated area in Australia, pass mark does not apply and a lower pass mark of 110 if you have a sponsor.

Australia has also opened up its doors for immigrants and welcomes applicants who score as low as 70. All in all, Australia offers approximately 150,000 visas for foreigners to settle there.

Shanaz Lakhani said that reasons these expats prefer to file their cases from the UAE rather than their own country were that it was affordable from here and secondly because the turn around time is quicker compared to their home country.

New Zealand, which had one of the most proactive migration policies for the last three years, has suddenly started to tighten its screws. It has introduced a pool system, of selection, which makes it impossible to apply for residence without a job offer.



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