Living in Canada is just like living in any other first-world country: you will have to work hard and be persistent in order to be successful. Immigrating to Canada isn’t impossible, but it will take some effort on your part. However life as a Canadian can be extremely rewarding, therefore it’s well worth the effort becoming a Canadian citizen.
Should you buy your visa?
You may see some advertisements that insist that it's possible to buy a visa. These advertisements are misleading. While you can take steps to minimize the risk of your visa application being denied, you cannot buy any sort of visa guarantees. In fact, it is against Canadian law for any individual or organization to give visa guarantees to anyone. If you hear of any immigration advisor or related service advertising a guaranteed visa, you should find someone else because anyone who offers a visa guarantee is either unfamiliar with Canadian immigration law or deliberately trying to deceive you and take your money.
Should you hire someone to assist your visa application?
While you are not required to hire anyone to assist you in the completion of your application, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) recommends that you should get help if you can because the application process can be tedious. It requires a lot of time and effort to dig up all of the supporting documents you need, and a professional immigration advisor will be able to help you save time by letting you know what sorts of documents are acceptable and which are not. But, ultimately, your immigration application is still your responsibility. You are the one who is driving the process and moving it forward, and if you don’t keep things moving, your application will remain at a standstill.
Is a visa worth the high costs incurred?
And you should be aware that there is a significant cost attached to the application process. Between the fees for the application and documentation, cost to hire an advisor, medical exams, and other expenses, it can get rather expensive. Yet, if you have weighed the costs and still believe that you were born to be a Canadian, then it’ll be worth the sacrifices.
Diana Salem is a legal secretary who specializes in Canadian immigration and visas. She is also a spokesperson Aims Global Services.