Hiring an Immigration Consultancy for Singapore PR or Singapore Citizenship

Getting the Singapore Permanent Residency (PR) is a ticket to stay long-term in Singapore. Many foreigners aspire to do this to achieve employment stability, build on financial goals, upgrade their and their family’s lives, and for some, to eventually become a Singapore Citizen one day. 

However, because of Singapore’s strict immigration stance, only 30% of all applications eventually get approved annually. The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) does not adopt the point-based system when approving permanent residency or citizenship like other countries so it remains rather not transparent on how they approve applications. While the Singapore Government maintains this is so to keep quality applications coming through, the frustration for applicants is, no one knows exactly why their applications are approved or rejected.

However, immigration consultancies like Immigration@SG may have some insights on the factors that affect PR approval. Having compiled years of data from approved applications, we can easily glean through what makes an application stronger than another. With data-backed analysis, it may prove beneficial for applicants to choose to hire an immigration expert to give their application an edge over the competition’.

How to Choose an Immigration Consultancy?

The immigration industry in Singapore remains unregulated, for now. Unfortunately, this means that anyone can set up a firm offering immigration-related services. Consultants do not need to be an expert in the field, they just need to acquire the sale. Because of this, applicants suffer high PR application costs while their submissions are not done properly. So how does one shortlist the right immigration consultant to partner?

• Check Out Reviews

Always check out Google or Facebook reviews to understand what it is like to work with a particular consultancy. However, there needs to be some discretion. 

There are companies that offer businesses review writing services where they will write up good reviews for the business to help increase their ratings. This is dodgy and morally unethical but totally legal. So when there are too many good reviews, take it with a pinch of salt as they may be fake reviews paid by the consultancy. 

On the other hand, if there are too many bad reviews, believe it! This means the consultancy is unethical and has angered many clients. Another tip is to take note of the total number of reviews against the number of years they have been in business as compared to their competitors. 

In this example, Company A seems to be an outlier as compared to Company B and C as they have too many reviews in a short period of time. This may be another sign of paid, fake reviews. If a company has too few reviews, they may still be a legit company but lacking in service quality.

In short, a legit immigration consultancy would hit the middle ground when you check their reviews. They would have a moderate number of total reviews and have both good and bad reviews. 

• Shop Around

The only way to know more about the services that a particular immigration consultancy offers is by shopping around. Start by contacting them via their website, phone, or ads to book a consultation. Usually, consultants from each firm will give a call back to confirm the appointment and find out a little bit about the applicant’s background. Take note of how long it takes for them to call and confirm the appointment. This might indicate how responsive they are and the service quality applicants might receive during the PR application itself. 

First consultations are usually free of charge. This is where immigration consultants show how their consultancy is different from the competitors, find out more about an applicant’s background and suggest how to move forward in the application. In general, the services provided by all immigration consultancies will appear largely similar. It is up to the individual consultancy to differentiate themselves. Some highlight their PR approval rate while others show their work in government projects. There are some who resort to dodgy tactics such as using reverse psychology by refusing to accept clients and others talk bad about other competitors. Of course, there might be some who hardsell and pressure potential clients to sign up on the spot.

However, this is also the time where the applicant can assess each immigration consultancy and choose which one to hire. Keep in mind that applying for Singapore PR is a time-consuming process and the applicant would be working with the consultant for at least 6 months. Further, there are different categories of agencies out there ranging from form-filling agencies to full fledged immigration law firms, each serving a different need and client base.

• Check the Background of Immigration Consultancy

Check out the website of each immigration consultancy and find out about the people behind it. Immigration consultants should have extensive immigration knowledge and experience to be able to advise clients on how to improve their chances of PR or Citizeship approval. WIth more years being in the industry, the more capable they are to handle complex and unique cases. 

The number of years since the set up of the company matters as well. This is because many immigration consultants open up their own consultancies after a few years of working for another immigration consultancy. They may have the expertise to handle Singapore PR and Citizenship applications but running a business is not easy. Managing both at the same time may cause problems. Because the consultancy is still new, they will not be able to hire a lot of employees due to low funds. The risk for applicants may be losing the money they have paid for the service if the company goes bankrupt and ceases operations. Their application may not even be submitted yet. 

Hiring an Immigration Consultancy

A lot of research needs to be done before one chooses an immigration consultancy to hire for a higher chance of success getting the Singapore PR or Citizenship. Be sure to take the time and explore options as there are a lot of bad apples in the market.