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Thread: immigration lawyer/advisor

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2018
    Location
    New Zealand
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    17

    Default immigration lawyer/advisor

    I know this question has been asked before, so I apologise in advance.

    What is the REAL purpose of an immigration lawyer/advisor?
    What can they do that I cant?

    My partner and I were successful when we applied for a partnership work visa, despite being given several (serious and complex) PPI's. We did this ourselves after a lawyer we spoke to quoted us 6k.

    This time round we are looking to gain residency, and the same lawyer has quoted 8.5k+

    So, is it worth it? I cant understand what it is they do that we couldnt?

    Thanks

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2018
    Location
    New Zealand
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    17

    Default

    Perhaps someone could point me in the direction of a previous thread in regards to my question? Thanks

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Posts
    37,824

    Default

    You are evidently confident in reading the INZ web pages, operational manual and paperwork, and you've proved that you can do the necessary yourself. It IS just a matter of doing what the rules say, and responding to any questions clearly with more evidence or explanations.

    People with an ordinary situation leading to an uncomplicated application who nevertheless benefit from using an LIA or lawyer are those who are unhappy in dealing with official language, and are reassured by having someone TELL them what they should do. Otherwise, benefit can arise when there is something complicated, needing an interpretation of the rules rather than straightforward box-ticking, in which case the professional can argue on the applicant's behalf from the background of their knowledge of previous cases.

    Despite what some people hope, no LIA or immigration lawyer has any special 'pull' that can get a case accepted, or to the head of a queue.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Dec 2015
    Location
    New Zealand
    Posts
    9

    Default Immigration Lawyer

    Hi,

    You can choose any lawyer in Auckland, But I like to warn you to not use the services of dream Immigration Service in Auckland, They have once totally ruined my application.


    Thanks
    Maxxx

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2018
    Location
    New Zealand
    Posts
    902

    Default

    A good question :-) For those with straightforward applications, sometimes people want the stress of time and energy spent liaising with INZ about any requests they have transferred to an adviser - since we are dealing with INZ all day, every day, liaising with INZ is just what we do. And as much as the rules and requirements are publicly available for everyone to find online, there are unfortunately some "unwritten rules" that only those of us who deal with INZ day in and day out come to know about - for example, there is no written rule about how long a job needs to be advertised for in order to meet the instructions for an Essential Skills work visa, but (for some unknown reason) INZ generally insist on an ad running for at least 2 weeks and the ad has to have been run in the past 3 months before they will consider the criteria satisfied. While an adviser can't guarantee that your application will be processed any faster than someone's without an adviser, because we are in touch with INZ on a daily basis, we do have the ability to keep the immigration officers processing the applications in check by requesting progress updates and ensuring that they are processing an application as efficiently as they should/can. And, because we know the immigration instructions back to front, we can also make sure that any requests being made by INZ are only in line with instructions and not in line with something they're not actually authorised to check (unfortunately I see this happen on a regular basis, where an immigration officer goes on a bit of a power trip and starts hunting for "issues" that aren't really there and they're not actually within their rights to be looking for).

    As for a lawyer quoting you $8,500 for a residence application, that is an outlandish fee! Unfortunately lawyers are not subject to the same Code of Conduct that us licensed advisers are, and we are required to only charge 'fair and reasonable' fees, which can be justified in terms of the work we actually do. I personally charge $2,500 for assisting with a Residence application and that is within the range of the 'market rate' for a licensed advisers service (albeit at the lower end of the scale, coz my overheads are low and I just *love* my job )

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Feb 2018
    Location
    New Zealand
    Posts
    17

    Default

    Thank you all for your responses!

    As we have only spoken to one immigration Lawyer this time round, the 8.5k figure is the only one we have. My partner (who is the one hoping to gain residency) is prepared to pay that, but I am NOT!

    The Lawyer we spoke with mentioned that they will need access to our case file from our previous visa application to find out on what grounds our CO accepted our application for a temporary visa.
    Presumably, we can also access this information from INZ?
    I am trying to get in touch with someone at INZ but they seem to be very busy at the moment! I was on hold for 1hr yesterday and gave up.

    Can someone also let me know, how different is the partnership based residency application compared to the temporary work visa?
    Will it be a similar process?
    I understand residency can take a lot longer, and may have to go through two seperate immigration officers?

    I have a lot of questions! More to come haha, thank you for your time

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Posts
    37,824

    Default

    The Lawyer we spoke with mentioned that they will need access to our case file from our previous visa application to find out on what grounds our CO accepted our application for a temporary visa.
    WHAT? So this expensive lawyer wants to piggy-back on the work previously done by somebody else, so they have less to do!? Oh, please...

    Depending on how long you have now been living together since you had your partner-sponsored work visa, it may be necessary to re-use some of the evidence from that first application, to make up the necessary 12 months' evidence in total. Otherwise, I can't see any reason why the forms can't be filled in using your own information for which YOU are the source. Doesn't this man know how to fill in the forms without looking at what someone else did? YOU did it all right, for yourself.

    Two factsheets for you, the one concerning a partner-sponsored work visa https://www.immigration.govt.nz/new-...lders#criteria, and the other, a partner-sponsored residence visa. https://www.immigration.govt.nz/new-...-visa#criteria In each case, click on SHOW ALL EVIDENCE to see what is required.

    It is all very similar, except that, for residence, you have to show evidence of 12 months' living together, rather than the smaller amount of time (not specified, but 2 - 3 months usually does it) for a temporary work visa. These old threads https://www.google.com/search?source...10.0a534T4BhOw have discussion and examples of what people have used for evidence.

    It is normal for a partner-sponsored residence application to take longer, as there is more evidence to be verified. As in every case, there is usually a CO who works the application, then, when s/he has done that and is in a position to recommend an outcome, the case is referred to another CO for second-person checking (2pc) - this official looks over the whole thing checking for mistakes, or anything missed, and to guard against the possibility of corruption. (That's the ordinary situation with "two immigration officers" - absolutely standard. The only time the main CO would usually be changed is if the first one left or was transferred.)

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Feb 2018
    Location
    New Zealand
    Posts
    17

    Default

    [QUOTE=JandM;578554]WHAT? So this expensive lawyer wants to piggy-back on the work previously done by somebody else, so they have less to do!? Oh, please...


    Not only someone elses work, but OUR hard work!
    She also didn't really give us an insight into how she can help our case. She made us feel like we would fail without her help. I dont think we necessarily will..

    Thanks for the links, this is very helpful. I think I plan on compiling as much information as I can, to really try to get my head around the application, and then if I feel we are out of our depth I may seek help from an Adviser, and certainly not this greedy lawyer!

    We know we will encounter some problems, and will definitely need a character waiver. This does worry me and is where we may need legal help.
    Do we necessarily need to be represented by an adviser/lawyer from our area? We live in Wellington.

    I will most definitely be back with more questions, I have a billion already! So thank you all for your time and help. You are fantastic!

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Posts
    37,824

    Default

    Do we necessarily need to be represented by an adviser/lawyer from our area?
    No, it's not necessary, with modern communication options. I've known people in Europe and the USA be represented by LIAs in NZ.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Apr 2016
    Location
    New Zealand
    Posts
    59

    Default

    We used a LIA based in NZ and we were living in Europe. Worked out great for us from workvisa to permanent residency, and was an affordable price

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