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
