Staff Reporter
The office on Harris Road in East Auckland is often as crowded as a busy branch of Immigration New Zealand (INZ) with more people keen to snatch a few minutes of the owner’s time.
Yet, it usually takes up to three weeks to get an appointment with Sarfraz (Saif) Shaikh, Managing Director of Immigration Advice New Zealand Limited.
Processing their applications for business, work, student, residence and visit visas take time and effort but the Company’s reputation for honesty, integrity, forthrightness, transparency and high success rates bring an increasing number of customers to its doors of the Practice or the inbox of Mr Saif’s computers.
His wife Anahita (Ana) shares his passion for quality service and offers genuine help to those in genuine need.
Tough job
The Immigration Licencing regime (as often reported in this newspaper) is tough, and apart from obtaining a licence (renewable annually) immigration advisers are accountable for their service and behaviour towards clients and INZ, after obtaining the mandatory licence from the Immigration Advisers Authority.
In a field that is so often wrought by people who promise more and deliver less or nothing, the Shaikhs are a breath of fresh air.
Honesty & Integrity
It is their honest approach and the ‘courage’ to inform clients not to proceed with an application to INZ when their case is weak, that distinguishes them from many other immigration advisers.
“It is better to inform clients not to waste their time and money, instead of giving them false hopes; such an approach helps no one, least of all immigration advisers, because our success depends on the reputation built over the years,” Mr Shaikh said.
Sporting progress
Immigration Advice New Zealand Limited has been a sponsor of the Indian Newslink Indian Sports Awards, which Mr Saif says is “the best thing that has happened to encourage and motivate our sportsmen and sportswomen to excel in various type of sports and improve their overall wellbeing.”
“I hope that new migrants will also take up sporting activities which help them to integrate faster with their own communities and with mainstream New Zealand,” he said.
