Immigration Consultant vs. DIY:
Which is Better for Your Canadian Visa Application?
There is a decision that is always on the mind of any applicant for a Canadian visa: to hire an immigration consultant or not to hire an immigration consultant otherwise known as DIY. Their effectiveness also has its strengths and weaknesses, and its use depends on your situation, knowledge, or how much you trust yourself in the procedure.
This comprehensive article will compare these two approaches covering their strengths and weaknesses in light of source and practical aspects to assist your choice.
- Understanding Immigration Consultants
Immigration consultants, also known as Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultants (RCICs), are professionals licensed by the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants (CICC). These consultants are trained and authorized to provide advice, assistance, and representation for immigration applications to Canada.
Advantages of Hiring an Immigration Consultant
- a) Expert Guidance
- Arguably the reason most candidates seek the assistance of an immigration consultant is due to the specialized knowledge that they posses. RCICs are well informed about federal immigration law in Canada, and are acquainted with most up-to-date policies, so as to gain admissibility in your preferred visa category.
- Authentic Source: The CICC regulates immigration consultants and requires them to pass rigorous exams and adhere to strict ethical standards.
- b) Avoiding Common Mistakes
- The application for the Canadian visa can be tiresome for an individual who has no prior knowledge of the process. The immigration consultants assist in reducing the chances of making some of the mistakes that may include missed documents, half filled forms or incorrect perception of the requirements for one to qualify for the immigration.
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- Evidence: A 2018 report by The Conference Board of Canada noted that many visa rejections are due to minor errors or omissions in applications, errors that a consultant can help prevent.
- c) Time-Saving
The application for the Canadian visa can be tiresome for an individual who has no prior knowledge of the process. The immigration consultants assist in reducing the chances of making some of the mistakes that may include missed documents, half filled forms or incorrect perception of the requirements for one to qualify for the immigration. - d) Representation
RCICs can act on your behalf, communicate directly with immigration authorities, and address any questions or concerns from Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). This can be helpful if your case requires clarification or if you face delays in processing.
Disadvantages of Hiring an Immigration Consultant
- a) Cost
The main disadvantage of engaging the services of an immigration consultant is the fees. Fees charged by the lawyer differ with the issue under consideration and range from $1500 to $5000. For individuals, who are filing petitions for permanent residency or business immigration, they are likely to pay more fees.
- b) Unregulated Consultants
- However, there are other unaccredited or unlicensed immigration advisors who practice their profession despite falling under the category of regulated consultants guided by CICC. The issues may result in negative outcomes, the applicant may be rejected a visa, or even banned from applying for one in the future if they deal with such people.
- Authentic Source: The Canadian government warns against using unlicensed consultants and urges applicants to verify the status of any immigration professional on the CICC’s official website.
- DIY (Do-It-Yourself) Approach
The DIY strategy of application means applying for a visa to Canada on your own without hiring the services of an immigration consultant. This option should be best for applicants who do not have doubts about how they will go through the immigration process.
Advantages of the DIY Approach
- a) Cost-Effective
Perhaps one of the biggest benefits of managing your visa application is that it saves a lot of money. It can save money dedicated for consultant fees and allocate your budget to other expenses that are necessarily involved in the immigration procedure that include; fees charged for the application forms, language test, medical examinations, and the cost of the travel.
- b) Full Control
In short, when the application process is managed personally, none but you alone control the entire process. You are wholly responsible as far as getting documents together, completing paperwork, writing letters to the immigration authorities. Such an option is chosen by some applicants since they are able to supervise every stage personally.
- c) Access to Free Resources
The website of the IRCC (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada) has very comprehensive and easy to follow guidelines for almost all the visa sub classes. There is also self-service tools accessible by the internet that help applicants know the requirements of their visa type and how to go about it, some of them are: Come to Canada Wizard, Visa Application Guides among others. Further, discussing and participating in some communities on forums and boards, people share some useful advices and real-life experiences for first attainers.
Disadvantages of the DIY Approach
- a) Risk of Errors
- Perhaps one of the most significant dangers of the DIY approach is you are likely to make mistakes in your application. This could involve things like incorrectly completing forms or not submitting documentation that should have been submitted resulting in a very unhealthy outcome of delayed processing, or outright rejection.
- Evidence: The Government of Canada reports that errors and incomplete submissions are among the top reasons for visa application rejections.
- b) Complex Cases
If you have a complicated case like a refused visa previously, a complex family ties, or any break on your work or education, then DIY process might be challenging to handle. Thus, managing these issues on your own can lead to increased chances of an application being processed wrong or take a long time.
- c) Time-Consuming
The Do-It-Yourself choice is time consuming and strenuous most of the time if the individual has no knowledge regarding the Canadian immigration process. As a matter of fact, you will have to spend numerous hours searching for the visa, reading the requirements and gathering the documents and meeting all the requirements set by the IRCC. That may not be possible for those with tight schedules to attend those meetings or classes.
- When to Choose a Consultant vs. DIY?
Here are some considerations to help you decide which option is better for your Canadian visa application:
Choose an Immigration Consultant If:
- You have a complicated case such as previous visa refusals, criminal records or health matters.
- You are entering via less known routes like business visas or investor programs which often come with high cost and paperwork requirements.
- You just don’t have time or feel comfortable doing the whole thing yourself
- You may prefer a professional to act on your behalf and communicate with immigration officials.
Opt for DIY If:
- You can manage the application process and are aware of visa requirements.
- Your case is pretty simple and straightforward like filing through the Express Entry Program with good qualifications as well as high Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score.
- You are willing to invest time into doing the legwork yourself — so you can save on consultant fees.
- You have used the free resources made available by IRCC and are confident you can make it through them without any assistance from a third party.
- Conclusion: Which is Better for You?
While going for an immigration consultant or going through the process independently depends on various factors which include the level of legal complication of your case and or your financial ability. Although engaging outside consultant brings efficiency by that organization being professionals in their own rights, they will mean an added expense. The DIY approach on the other hand is cheap but will demand a lot of efforts in terms of research as well as detailed work. In the end it brings down to the ideal strategy that will suffice our needs and circumstances.
For simple cases and when an individual is willing to handle the immigration process on own, do it yourself may suit the best. However, if you have an intricate case or don’t want to do it yourself, an RCIC will help make the process even quicker and improve the likelihood of it being approved.
