Shoddy agents misleading potential immigrants and squeezing money out of them have become a thing of the past with the introduction of the Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007.
A Survey conducted last year found that a majority of applicants preferred the services of Licensed Advisers.
Wellington based Premium Research conducted the Survey on behalf of the Immigration Advisers Authority (IAA) to determine the calibre, character and effectiveness of Immigration Advisers and create a benchmark for future assessments.
The Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007 became partly operational on May 4, 2009, when it obliged all immigration consultants based in New Zealand to hold licenses through a process of registration. It became fully operational on May 4, 2010 with all offshore consultants required to undergo the same licensing procedure.
The Survey accounted for 1137 respondents, a majority of them based overseas, telling their experience to the researchers.
About 72% of the participants said they were happy with their licensed adviser, while 57% said they were satisfied with their unlicensed adviser.
The License regime has helped potential migrants to identify qualified and licensed immigration advisers such as Jasmine Bath, who runs Immigration Guru Limited with her husband from the South Auckland suburb of Papatoetoe.
A graduate (BA) in Politics and Sociology of the University of Auckland, she launched her career as a ‘Warranted Immigration Officer’ at Immigration New Zealand. Two years later, she moved to a private consultancy in South Auckland as a Licensed Immigration Adviser.
“I realised that I had a passion for providing immigration advise and that the greatest reward was seeing the smile on the faces of clients. I realised that customer satisfaction can be achieved through expert advice and unbeatable service,” she said.
Established in January 2010, Immigration Guru Ltd has grown to be a successful company with strengths in ethics, communication, efficiency and reliability.
“We pride ourselves in providing outstanding customer service and developing long-term relationships with successful outcomes and customer satisfaction. Our aim is to provide expert advice to each client with the hope that we will be a part of their success story,” Ms Bath said.
