An immigration adviser or immigration consultant is a person who helps people with immigration and citizenship issues and also increases the chances of obtaining different types of visas through the legal process. These consultants are legal experts and have knowledge of immigration laws and visa regulations, as well as the procedure for obtaining various types of visas.

Cost and requirements

The main complaint of most people is that immigration advisers are expensive. Work visas cost from NZ$ 2,000 to NZ$ 5,000, a residency from NZ$ 4,000 to NZ$ 15,000 and so on. Let’s see why this is happening.

• First, not every person can become an adviser. To do this, you need to have a legal education or experience in the field of law.
• Second, you need a compulsory license. To obtain such a license, you need to undergo additional one-year training at a New Zealand university according to a special program. This training includes 40 hours of compulsory lessons per week. After training, the adviser receives a limited license.
• Thirdly, after receiving the initial limited license, the prospective adviser needs to gain 2 years of experience under the guidance of a specialist with a full license.
• After gaining work experience, an adviser can apply for a full license and represent the interests of individuals in the immigration office.

Thus, obtaining a full license implies several years of study, preparation and detailed study of all possible nuances and pitfalls of the immigration process. Only after all the above points, a licensed specialist can officially represent a client before government agencies.

Nevertheless, the work of the adviser is monitored by the IAA organisation, which periodically monitors the quality of the work of the licensed specialist and, in case of any oversight, can revoke the adviser’s license.

In fact, this is one of the specialisations of jurisprudence. Some prefer to represent their interests on their own, while others use the services of specialists.

Adviser functions

• Assessment of prospects and chances of obtaining necessary visas
• Consultations on preparation for submission of documents
• Submission of documents and formal representation of the client at INZ
• Communication with immigration authorities, disputes and evidence
• The appeal of difficult situations and wrong decisions
• Representing the client before the tribunal if necessary

Competence and reputation

The next question that many people have is the reputation, success and competence of advisers. We know a lot of bad stories and reviews about working with immigration advisers. Unfortunately, they do have a reason to exist.

The fact is that in the past, the process of obtaining a license was much easier. The future adviser did not need to undergo additional training, it was enough only to have a law degree and a certain work experience. After 2007, a number of new rules came into force, which imply the presence of compulsory additional education for obtaining a license. This significantly improved the quality of the work of future specialists.

The incompetence of a specialist can also be explained by a human factor. Many immigration advisers do not have fixed prices, because they evaluate not so much the complexity of the case as the client’s ability to pay. In addition, the level of English proficiency leaves a very sad aftertaste.

The education market in New Zealand used to be different too. This is now a self-respecting company or specialist does not take money for issuing student visas, as it receives compensation from educational providers. Previously, advisers took money for everything. And they took a lot, thus working with 5-10 students a year and living on this money quite well.

In general, as in any field, there are good and bad specialists.

Results and guarantees

There are opinions according to which advisers only fill out papers, but are not responsible for the result. And that it is even safer to apply yourself because you can completely control your case.

There are two reasons for the existence of such opinions. The first one is the same problem of the quality of work of different advisers, about which we talked above.

The second reason is the fact that people often go to advisers after they start having problems or have been refused. In such situations, it is not always easy to remedy the situation and get approval, although for good professionals and with an adequate case, there are still chances of getting the required visa. At the same time, after an unsuccessful experience with a bad specialist, people are forced to delve into their own affairs and often achieve results.

Unfortunately, no one can give guarantees. As with working with a lawyer representing your case in court. One will do better, the other worse. Someone can defend their rights on their own. What’s the best? There is simply no single correct answer to this question, it all depends on the person and the details of the case.

Is it worth contacting an adviser

We honestly say that not everyone and does not always need the help of an adviser. Immigration rules are available to everyone on the official INZ website. If you are confident in your knowledge of the immigration rules, and if you do not see any problems and difficulties specifically in your case, then at your discretion, of course, you can apply on your own, as thousands of people do every year.

However, if you have certain difficulties and are not sure about the success of applying for a visa on your own, we advise you to contact Kiwi Immigration and our licensed adviser Yana Gild.

Yana is a professional with many years of experience. License number 201500855. For 3 years, Yana has helped Kiwi Education in difficult client’s cases when applying for different types of visas (work visas, complex student visa cases, residence). Throughout the history of our partnership, the refusal rate was less than 1%, which shows the professionalism and individual approach to working with the client.

Kiwi Immigration specialists do not take the money and do not start working on deliberately failed cases. But they are ready to consider cases of any complexity in order to assess the chances and say whether they can be useful in something.

If you need help with visas and immigration to New Zealand, fill out our application form on the official Kiwi Immigration website and we will contact you shortly.