A reasonably priced competent visa agent for Thai -> New Zealand

[KiwiStyle]

dude. If your missus' case is straightforward then don't use a visa agent. If your girls case Is a mixed bag of lollies then I reckon an agent is your best bet. I used one years ago to take my girl back to godzone in 2009 and they helped heaps. I used the boys here in Pattaya and they were great. They charge 30k plus the visa fees - well worth the investment and a hell lot cheaper than some other cowboys. Give them a call bro. Google thaivisa-express.

Kia ora NZ1325

As far as I am aware, Paul and his team are not authorised to assist clients with visas to New Zealand. This is because of the strict licensing regime which is now in place for all those providing immigration advice for New Zealand. There are licensed advisers in the region including Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore. I would suggest that anyone seeking professional assistance visit www.iaa.govt.nz for more information.

Cheers

Liam

[drgoon]

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Hi

Thanks for replying. I did notice on the application form that it asks have you ever been turned down, and from now on we'll have to write Yes to that. Discouraging because I guess they ask it for a reason.

Have you had any good experiences with any of the agents?

Thanks again

TL

My personal experience was that an Agent wasn't needed for a Visa Application for my GF to visit NZ. We looked at pricing from Agents in NZ and Thailand and GF basically said... 'too expensive' and we did it ourselves.

I think the reason they ask that is to encourage them to use them, to be frank it's pure waffle.

Each application is considered on it's merits, if an application is declined, provided the reasons for the refusal are addressed there is absolutely no reason why a second application shouldn't succeed, though I will concede it's better to get it right first time, if only for cost purposes.

Exactly... friends of ours tried and didn't show any work history or 'compelling reason to return to Thailand' and the Application was rejected.

The applicant is in Thailand, the application is decided in Thailand, why on earth would you want to deal with an agency in NZ?

True, NZ agents are very expensive.

Our application process was easy and no hassles whatsoever.

We provided a letter from her Supervisor stating that she would be welcome back to her job on return

Copies of her Bank Account balance that I had made deposits to... approx 75k baht although she was told if she had no sponsor this was insufficient funds

Sponsorship Form from me

Copies of my Bank Statement

Photos of us together - ( not in the bar ) with friends and her family

As long as you fulfil all the requirements and have supporting evidence relevant to the Application you shouldn't have a problem.

PM me if you need more help. I'm not an expert but have done it a couple of times.

Cheers

[thaimlord]

Hi all

I promised to let you know how it went, so here goes.

After our first application was turned down for reasons that still leave us bewildered, we made the decision to enlist the assistance of Liam at JL Migration.

www.jlmigration.com

Liam, aside from being the only NZ Immigration Advisers Authority (IAA) accredited adviser based in Thailand

http://www.iaa.govt.nz/adviser-register/Adviser/Details/2dc164ed-27f0-e311-ad86-005056b62cb3

has also actually worked at Immigration New Zealand in Bangkok, as a visa officer and knows the staff there as well as the way things work. We figured he was our best shot at getting an approval.

Liam is a nice bloke, very knowledgeable and communicative. He advised us promptly, every step of the way, and all of the uncertainty was taken out of the procedures, at least as far as we were concerned. Through his efforts, we were informed on Thursday that my GF's visa to New Zealand was approved. Hooray !

Look, I know it seems frustrating to have to pay for something that should be inexpensive and easily done by anyone with half a brain, good intentions and a clean record. However, when you understand that INZ can approve or reject any application for any reason they like, (yes that's right) and that you have no recourse after they've decided, it can be a bit scary. Especially if you've been turned down before.

And whilst I understand New Zealand (and everywhere else) wants to stop undesirables from entering and especially overstaying in the country, the rules they choose to adopt should surely not preclude normal, decent, everyday folk with good intentions from visiting and enjoying New Zealand. However, they can and DO. It's left entirely up to the 'opinion' of the assessors, as bizarre as that sounds. Some assessors are Kiwis and some are Thai, so you may even get the fate of your family decided by 'the opinion' of someone who isn't even a New Zealander! How unfair does that feel? But that's the way it is, so we have to live with it.

My recommendation after learning all this?

- If you feel utterly confident that you can do it yourself, go for it. In reality, that's how easy it should be. Cross every T and dot every I, be polite with them and you may well be fine.

- If you're uncertain, or if you've been turned down in the past, give Liam a call or an email, and he will treat you well and give you good advice if our experience is anything to go by. If he can't help you, I don't think anyone can. He was a real pleasure to work with and the benefits of having an approved visa will last long after the thought of having to pay for an adviser is forgotten.

Cheers

TL

[thaimlord]

<my quote>

Some assessors are Kiwis and some are Thai, so you may even get the fate of your family decided by 'the opinion' of someone who isn't even a New Zealander!

</my quote>

On re-reading what I just wrote, perhaps INZ has a policy that all assessors are in fact NZ Citizens, in which case I would have been unfair in what I said in the above sentence. It's not right that I just assume someone with a Thai name is not a New Zealander.

That said, I do believe strongly that anyone deciding whether Kiwis and their families enter New Zealand should be a New Zealander. Maybe I'm being unfair there too? If so, no doubt there'll be a bunch of folk on the forum to tell me so :-)

Good luck anyway to all seeking a visa. Hope it goes well. Our experience ended well, finally.

TL

[meand]

I know this is not what you are looking for, but this stuff is definitely better done yourself. If you were in a western country and had money and wanted to hire somebody competent, that would be different. But here you arent going to get anybody good.

I've not done your exact process, but I have dealt with immigration. It's best to go in and talk with them if you can before you apply. Compelling reason to return is things like property/land in her name, a business perhaps, investments a job. If you don't have any of those, all a "competent" agent will do is tell you to get them. There is no way around this.

Just switch the tables. If you were them and your job was needing to know if a person will come back or it's your ass, what would you need to see? A mom who is in need of assistance is a starter, document how she has been assisting her. All the stuff mentioned above. But this is unique to every case, so everything you do just think "would this help to convince an immigration officer?" Maybe she has a car in her name here, or any other assets?

They need to see this stuff, and an agent isn't going to maker them magically appear, he will make your money magically disappear though, you can count on that.

Edited September 28, 2014 by meand

[thaimlord]

Thanks

To each his own opinions.

Our choice to use this advisor worked very well after we tried and failed on our own.

TL

[drgoon]

Glad everything went well for you.

How's it going, is your lady in NZ yet?

[thaimlord]

Glad everything went well for you.

How's it going, is your lady in NZ yet?

Thanks for asking, we're set to leave November 1st.

She's shitting herself about the flight, but excited as hell too

TL

[drgoon]

Glad everything went well for you.

How's it going, is your lady in NZ yet?

Thanks for asking, we're set to leave November 1st.

She's shitting herself about the flight, but excited as hell too

TL

555 was the same with us. It went something like this:

What happens if problem with plane...... if problem with plane we not leave till problem fixed or use another plane

What happens if problem with plane when flying........ no problem love, we die together

What happens if problem at Auckland..... I will talk with them ok

Can I take food on the plane..... no you cannot take som tam on the plane

there were many more questions, you get my drift though. Your lady probably asked the same ones.

Where abouts in NZ are you heading ??

[thaimlord]

He he. Yes mine has asked an almost identical set of questions!

Central North Island for a start, but all going well, will do a tour all around in the motorhome.

TL

[drgoon]

He he. Yes mine has asked an almost identical set of questions!

Central North Island for a start, but all going well, will do a tour all around in the motorhome.

TL

How's the trip going.. The weather is a bit hit and miss this time of the year.

I'm in Tauranga... PM me if you like

[thaimlord]

:-)

I'm in Tauranga too. It's a bit bloody cold, other than that it's good to be back home for a while. A change is as good as a rest as they say.

I'll PM you.

Cheers

TL