The New Year brings new hopes, freshness, air of warmth and a feeling to achieve more in the future. Abhinav too dreams of making it big in the coming years! Our team craves to provide the best Customer Care satisfaction to all our clients, and the upcoming year is just an excuse to maximize our efforts on a huge scale.

We strive to solve all the Immigration related queries of our clients and provide them with adept advice in visa issues, which suits their individual case studies with brilliance. With this aim in mind, the team at Abhinav wishes all its readers a very happy and prosperous New Year 2010. Hope the upcoming days, with their gleaming approach, bring plenty of success, peace and love of your near and dear ones in your life.

The afterglow of Christmas is gradually evaporating and the chilling effect of January is marking its way in the lives of people in a silent manner. Similarly, we hope that egos and sorrows evaporate from your life and the warmth of love and tranquility enters your life with the advancement of this New Year!

Happy New Year Folks!

From the CEO’s Desk…

The year 2009 was a turning point for the Immigration Industry in different aspects. Many countries faced challenges of balancing their immigration policies and targets in line with looming recession. Those who received their Immigration visas were not sure whether or not and when to land in the new country. And despite toughening the economic scenario and the immigration polices, people who applied for immigration continued to have an upswing.

The immigration consulting market became more interesting with new products like Denmark Green card and Hong Kong Quality Migrant program coming into picture. Of the two, the Denmark Green card is the biggest disappointment. The Denmark Visa Consulate offices lack the necessary Human Resources and Infrastructure to manage the constant inflow of applications. This has resulted in the ever increasing application processing delays and the absolute lack of transparency while processing. In addition, it being a non-immigrant visa has discouraged many applicants and those who qualify for other options prefer Canada and Australia as they offer Permanent Resident status from the first day post landing.

UK Tier 1 became tougher with educational requirements being limited to Master’s degree holder. As the year ends, it has been proposed that the Tier 1 program has become too tough and even Bachelors degree holders should also be permitted to apply. However, this program is known for its quicker (mostly under one month) processing. On the negative side, the higher application fee and the procedure of demonstrating funds is a major deterrent for those interested.

Australia adopted stringent processing time frames and by the final quarter, only occupations nominated under the CSL (Critical Skills List) were expected to get (within 12-15 months) priority processing. Majority of the other lists and categories will experience longer processing delays – at times more than 3 years.

Canada is the surprise winner and despite a very limited occupation list, the country continues to attract maximum interest from prospective Immigrants. The main reason for this is the shorter processing timelines. Also, its geographical positioning making it neighbours with the USA is another advantage. But as the year closes, there are strong rumours that Citizenship and Immigration Canada is proposing to toughen its selection criteria. Hence, this country is being eyed very keenly this New Year.

Prospective Immigrants also interested in the French Skills Talent and Migration visa; although it has a very limited in scope as it is essentially targeted at the self employed, entrepreneurs and investors.

ABHINAV stood out amongst other consultants. It grew its business by over 100% and we are among one of the few India based consultants that meet the requirements of authorised representatives as prescribed by Citizenship and Immigration Canada. Our highly trained human resources ensure that our clients get excellent services irrespective of the country they apply for.  Our website – www.abhinav.com – is now among the premium Immigration websites and enjoys top 26,000 ranking at year end.

Exciting years lie ahead and the company has earmarked Pune and Hyderabad as its new office location. Both these new branches will be operational by March’31st 2010.

In Immigration business since 1994, the company is best placed to service aspirations of immigration and visa applicants out of India and around.

Ajay Sharma

Principal Immigration Consultant of Abhinav

Abhinav commenced its Immigration Consulting Business on August 18th 1994. Since the date, the firm saw various seasons and several ups and downs. The team of “One Man Army” gradually flourished its business all over India and is currently in the process of becoming the leading Immigration and Visa Consultancy firms of the nation.

Abhinav as an organization has several branch offices all over India, with its head office located in New Delhi. The firm is attired with proficient Visa specialists who specialize in all kinds of visas for countries like Australia, UK, Canada, New Zealand, Denmark, USA, to name a few. In addition, the firm is bedecked with separate segments namely Documentation Department, Marketing Section (both offline and online), Client Servicing, SEO Team and other professional personalities who leave no store unturned in serving the visa-related needs of the clients in the best way possible.

Talking about the website, the company revamped its Site on 14th August 2009. The task for the SEO team was to start everything from the beginning and thus the “Blogging Aspect” commenced on 3rd August 2009. The team of accomplished writers at Abhinav started doing what they could do the best – writing blogs on the Immigration world and acquainting the readers on these critical issues. Next, the responsibility was handed over to the SEO Team which promoted the website to greater heights in just few months. Thanks to all this, the Alexa ranking moved down to 25,239 from 80, 00,000, in nearly four months! The Blog (http://blog.abhinav.com/) is filled with nearly 470 posts and the site has witnessed more than 1, 50,000 niche visitors since April 2009! Above all, the Testimonials on the website speak out the praise and trust that the clients have in store for the company!

(To see the biggger sized image please click here)

All this was not possible without the sheer guidance of Mr. Ajay Sharma, the principal immigration consultant at ABHINAV, who always remains with his employees and applauds them as a one big family!

Year 2010 holds new promises and hopes for everyone out there!

The series of recent racial attacks on Indians has hampered the image of Australia in a major way. Be it as a tourist destination or as a study destination, Indians are losing their interest in the country, thanks to the misdeeds by a few Oz citizens.

A drop of 20 percent in Indian students traveling to Australia has been speculated in the upcoming year 2010. As Australia is bedecked with world class institutions and applauded faculty, it is not right to term the whole nation as a Racist Country. Offense by a few people has resulted in spoiling the reputation of the country as a whole, which in turn is not right!

According to a report by The Tourism Forecasting Committee, “Tourism” as a sector would see a growth in the coming year but “international student arrival” would decline on the other hand. As far as the Indian students are concerned, a fall of 21 percent has been predicted, which may lead to an economic loss of A$78 million in 2010, provided the slots are not filled by other overseas students.

Australia has managed to craft its reputation as a major study destination for children coming from all over the world. But recent racial attacks have ruined its position in a major way. A small segment of barbarous Oz citizens have blemished the image of their own country, which is not correct as the whole country has to pay the price for it!

Now, what will applicants do if they are facing problems with their applications to immigrate to New Zealand? You may not face any problem with your application, but there is nothing wrong in learning about the official Immigration New Zealand (INZ or NZIS) complaints procedure. Here are the steps one has to follow under the Client Complaint Resolution Process when he/she is not satisfied about a matter handled by INZ:

Step 1: First of all, anyone having a complaint should direct it to the manager of the branch, where case was handled since he the only one with the responsibility to look after the complaints directly. One can follow this step, no matter whether the branch is an Immigration New Zealand office or a Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade office.

Step 2: When the complainant is not satisfied with the branch-level response, he/she can write to Deputy Secretary, Department of Labor’s Workforce. To contact the Deputy Secretary, following is needed:

Deputy Secretary - Workforce
Department of Labour
PO Box 3705
Wellington 6140
Or
Fax: 04 915 6278
Email: depseccomplaints@dol.govt.nz

When the Deputy Secretary receives a complaint, he then asks the relevant Branch Manager to look after it. If the manager is unable to resolve the complaint, the complainant can once again write to the Deputy Secretary, with a request to consider his/her complaint by a Regional Manager. In case, if the Deputy Secretary is not able to tackle the complaint, the complainant has the right to ask for an independent manger in order to address his/her complaint.

To know more about the Client Complaint Resolution Process, contact an Immigration and Visa Consultant!

Long Term Business Visa popularly known as LTBV allows a business or an investor to settle down in the land of Kiwis after qualifying the eligibility criteria. The visa also opens the pathway to apply for New Zealand Citizenship at the later stages of your life and allows the applicant to stay as a self-employed person for up to three years. Given below are some of the mandatory requirements that need to be fulfilled before applying for the Long-Term Business Visa:

• Financial Aspects: The main applicant is required to have sufficient funds in order to invest in the business and handle other financial needs linked with it. You can not take advantage of the benefits enjoyed by the permanent residents during the current span of your Business Visa.
• Work experience: It is essential to have a relevant work experience, including qualifications, with respect to the business that you are planning to start in NZ.
• Also, you are required to have a clear record, implementing that you have never indulged in any fraudulent activities ever before. You should have a sound business record in order to demonstrate your ability to run a successful business.
• It is mandatory to get occupational registration in New Zealand.
• An applicant needs to proof that the proposed business would benefit the New Zealand economy.

To enter New Zealand you need:

• The applicant needs to qualify the health requirements
• Should have a good character
• Should have proficiency in the English language.
• Have a good business plan (you can take guidance from an expert Immigration guru on this)
• Evidence of ample bank balance

If you meet these conditions successfully, you may apply for the Long-term Business Visa for New Zealand. Hire an Immigration and Visa consultant and start implementing on your plans for migrating to NZ today!

In a mutual agreement, India and Japan agreed to smoothen down the visa rules within the next twelve months in order to enhance the trade between the two countries. Additionally, the countries are collaborating on various issues like defence and nuclear energy at the same time. The issues came up in the recent meetings of Japan’s Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Singh said that he appealed the Japanese counterpart to ensure that the visa system is more progressive and generous in order to enhance the trade between people of all nations. Indian Prime Minister also said that his Japanese counterpart mentioned about the “restrictive features” and promised to look into it.

The goal has been set and it has been said that Rs93,400 crore is the target of two nations in trade by the next year. Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama also called India to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), but the later put the responsibility on the US and China for taking the lead further. In addition, India and Japan agreed to work out in Western Dedicated Rail Freight Corridor, aiming to start its initial phase in the next year.

Discussions were also made on topics related to cooperation in renewable energy, infrastructure, loans, security and climatic conditions.

Immigration New Zealand’s Client Complaint Resolution Process is designed to have a more interactive way to deal with complaints that stem from the interaction between INZ and its clients. But, now the question arises what type of information you are needed to provide while lodging a complaint under the Client Complaint Resolution Process?

Here is a little information that could help you:

When you lodge a complaint, you are required to provide your full name, along with your Application /Client number of the case the complaint is about. In case, you are not provided with the Application/Client numbers, you can give your full name, date of birth, as well as your passport number. In your complaint, you need to provide the authority a precise description of the reasons for the complaint. To support your case, you can give other relevant documents as well.

A complaint may be of any kind that is related to application processing and any interaction between Immigration New Zealand and you. The INZ takes a maximum of two working days to acknowledge your complaint. After that you are most likely to receive response from the branch where your case was handled within fifteen days. However, in certain complex cases, the Branch Manager may take a little more time.

If you lodge the complaint at the office of the Deputy Secretary, then you may be required to wait for twenty days to receive response. In this case also the Deputy Secretary may take more than twenty days, of course in particular cases.

To keep yourself updated with information regarding immigration to New Zealand, seek the help of an Immigration and Visa Consultant!

This is not the first time that Tharoor, Minister of State for External Affairs, is finding himself in trouble, thanks to his activities on Twitter (http://twitter.com/ShashiTharoor/status/7064299241)!

His recent tweet saw him asking one simple question: Whether making Indian Visa rules more stringent would be good from the point of Indian Tourism? He also observed that the killers who caused the brutal attack on 26/11 had no visas! He has been majorly criticized for making these views public on the much applauded Micro Blogging Site- “Twitter.”

Senior Congress leader Satyavrat Chaturvedi further commented on his activities that the Minister will soon understand the “political culture”. He further said that old habits take their own time to change!

In his latest tweet, Tharoor mentioned that he missed “brouhaha” in his observations for the amendments in the new Visa rules. The tweet came a day after the minister was publicly reproached by his boss, SM Krishna, saying that the minister should not have discussed such matters in public.

Also, in recent news, Government has stated that it will review its “Stringent” (http://blog.abhinav.com/india-gets-tough-on-visa-rules/) rules in six months. Stay tuned for more info on this!

One of the recent projects aimed to be an aid in the development of the country, the Passport Seva Project has found another barrier on its way. The main purpose of this E – Project is to ensure the speedy processing and delivering of the passports. The obstacles this time include employees who are seeking clarification and asking for a review.

The entire project costs Rs. 1,000 Crore. This contract was signed in October 2008 for the process to be implemented by June this year and has been outsourced to the renowned Tata Consultancy Services. The assignment was initiated as a part of the government’s many E – Governance projects in order to boost the efficiency in the management and distribution of passports.

However, many such timelines have been fixed and the deadlines have passed but it all seems to have gone in vain. With this, TCS is also unable to provide with fool – proof software that could be applied to the regular functioning in the new procedure.

The All India Passport Employees Association wrote to Mr. Shashi Tharoor, expressing their opinion to review the entire project. The AIPEA allowed the project to be executed after an agreement which included the committing to the overdue promotions. The

AIPEA has around 2,400 employees who are posted at the regional Passport Office across the country. Also, no fresh recruits have been done inspite of the increasing delays. Hence, the association raised its voice against the unjust happenings.

As per the plans, the TCS employees would be handling the Passport Seva Kendras and the employees from the Ministry would be responsible for the back end jobs. This would include the Ministry officials handling the matters of high sensitivity.

In order to convince the Ministry employees, a tour was conducted for them to the Passport Seva Kendra in Bangalore which happens to be pilot project location. All the major civil work has been completed here. Yet, they seemed displeased with the TCS officials. The main reason for this was no demonstration of all the testing which was supposed to be shown during the tour.

On the other hand, the Department of Information Technology’s Standardization Testing and Quality Certification is responsible for all the auditing of the software made by TCS. According to them, large numbers of bugs have been found in the developed software which has led to its malfunction. Additionally, it being an external dependency module, a fixed timeline or a date cannot be provided.

Above all, TCS has ensured that the project would be on the run by January end; although the foreign ministry officials are still not sure.