No doubt you’ve got many questions you’d like to ask! Of course, we’re happy to answer any of your questions. However, there are a few questions that we get asked all the time, that you can find the answers to here.
Why should I use an Immigration Adviser?
Why choose Malcolm Pacific?
What will Malcolm Pacific service cost?
Do I qualify?
How long will my application take?
Do I need a job before I apply?
Can Malcolm Pacific get me a job?
My application has already been declined. Is there anything I can do?
Why does Malcolm Pacific place so much emphasis on an “Assessment”?
I don’t know, yet, whether I am going to migrate, or not. Will Malcolm Pacific still assess me?
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The outcome of your case will be the result of a government decision based on complex and ever changing rules. Well intentioned efforts to explain such policies simply, often lead to increased misunderstandings because they are not simple; the words used can have special meanings, not understood by the lay reader. You may think you are well informed; but the chances are you are not.
For example, in apparently straightforward, skills-based cases, 30% of all applicants who enter the process because they believe they are qualified are in fact rejected or declined.
You cannot afford to trust your future and that of your family to this level of risk.
Licensed Immigration advisers and lawyers in New Zealand are required to work under the disciplines of the New Zealand Law Society or the Immigration Advisers Licensing Authority. Provided the adviser you choose is properly qualified and licensed, you have protection against exploitation and a significantly reduced risk of failure.
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Dealing with Malcolm Pacific brings unique advantages not available elsewhere.
Real people, real skills.
Malcolm Pacific is a real organisation with deep skills and a physical presence, not an individual with a web-site. We have been here for migrants for 25 years. You can trust us to be here for you today, and tomorrow. We will not let you down.
Experience.
Collectively, our staff bring almost 200 years of specific New Zealand Immigration experience to bear on your case. No one can equal that claim. We truly understand the system in all its complexity.
Value for money.
Our expertise and personal service standards are at the highest level but our costs are not. We believe every migrant deserves access to the best possible service and our mission is to deliver that at an affordable price.
Attention to detail.
We aim to get it right, first time, every time, with well developed systems that bring all our collective skills and experience to bear on the specifics of your case.
Plain English communication.
While the process itself is complex and while we are skilled individuals, our communications with you are designed to remove the mystery and make your part of the process easy.
Enhanced outcomes.
Migrants supported by Malcolm Pacific enjoy enhanced settlement outcomes; lower stress, higher certainty, better time planning, better preparation, happier results.
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We can’t tell you now but we will after you have asked for an assessment.
That answer is not avoiding your question; it identifies one of the ways we provide value for money. By offering a full and free professional assessment right at the beginning, we not only give you certainty of outcome; we also ensure that our quote is relevant to your needs and that your fees are not used to subsidise someone else’s problem. Asking us for an assessment, at no cost or obligation to you, is the only logical way to get an answer to the “how much?” question.
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As with the previous question, we can’t tell you now but we will after we have assessed you.
And once again, that is not avoiding your question because each individual brings their own unique circumstances and Malcolm Pacific provides personalised service, not a “cookie-cutter” approach. Ask us for an assessment, at no cost or obligation to you, and the “do I qualify?” question will be properly and promptly answered.
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An immigration decision can take anything from hours to, literally, years, depending on many factors including; the type of application, where you are located, your nationality, the capacity of Immigration New Zealand at any given time or in any given branch, and government quotas. We can give you good time estimates at the time we complete your assessment and when you are a client we will keep you informed about timelines throughout the process.
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That will depend on the policy under which you are applying and on our assessment of your eligibility. Some policies do need a job as a prerequisite. Others appear to do so but, depending on how we can assess your points, there may be other alternatives. This is a question that needs to be answered in each specific case after a detailed assessment.
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Malcolm Pacific will give helpful advice and contacts but if you are relying on a third party to “get a job for you” you are heading into danger. There is always someone in the market making promises like this but genuine employers make their own decisions or directly employ an agent to act on their behalf. Most will want to interview applicants. We can direct you to where the opportunities are but when you get your job it will be because you have satisfied your future employer that you are the best for the job and you should not have to pay any third party for that. In fact, paying to get a job is illegal under NZ law.
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If we think the decision to decline was right we will tell you so you don’t waste money fighting an unwinnable case. However if we are of the view that the decision was wrong and there are grounds for an appeal, or reconsideration then we’ll tell you that, too. There are special case avenues that we can explore, so being rejected may not always be the end of the road.
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Over 25 years ago our founder, a former Minister of Immigration, Hon A G Malcolm, decided that, given the life changing importance of migration, every intending migrant deserved to know what their real situation was, before they made a commitment, or incurred any costs. That was a radical idea then, and it still is, because it means giving something of considerable value away for free. In the quarter century since, policies have become more complex and assessments more difficult to undertake, while professional obligations now impose significant penalties on those making mistakes when giving such advice (even if it is given for free). Many lawyers and advisers have responded by not giving assessments before starting work, or by charging for assessments (even if of doubtful value), or by setting up web-based, so called “assessment tools” that give “advice” of a very general nature, for which they cannot be held accountable.
At Malcolm Pacific we hold firm to our founder’s vision and each assessment is still personal, skilled and undertaken by a professional with consummate care. Partly, this is an old fashioned commitment to service but it also lies at the heart of our modern business philosophy. By completing assessments properly at the beginning, we gain the opportunity to quote you on the basis of your true needs; not by asking you to subsidise the problems of others; and that is one of the strategies we use for producing the value-for-money quotes that grow our business. Also, by completing a sound assessment at the beginning, we identify in advance whether, and how much, specialised advice is going to be needed in your particular case, allowing us to “get it right, first time, every time”; another important tool in our commitment to providing value for money.
As market leaders we can maintain the staffing and expertise levels that have enabled us, over the years, to provide hundreds of thousands of assessments without cost or obligation, but a Malcolm Pacific “assessment” remains a unique document, of great value to the individual and a cornerstone of our commitment to migrants and of our business method.
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Certainly; in fact we encourage you to have an assessment before you make your final decision. That way, your decision can be a real one, followed by an action plan that turns your dreams into reality. Our assessments are undertaken at no cost to you but with complete professionalism, and no expectation on our part that by asking for one you are committing yourself to be our client.
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