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Consultancy firms cash in as more PR applicants seek help amid tighter rules

SINGAPORE — Cashing in on the frustration of applicants stymied by tightened immigration policies, a crop of firms has emerged over the years to offer application services for those seeking permanent residency or citizenship, with claims of stellar success rates.

SINGAPORE — Cashing in on the frustration of applicants stymied by tightened immigration policies, a crop of firms has emerged over the years to offer application services for those seeking permanent residency or citizenship, with claims of stellar success rates.

Immigration consultancies in Singapore said they have seen the number of enquiries swell in recent years, not least because a tightening of the immigration framework since late-2009 has resulted in fewer people being granted permanent resident (PR) status.

Last year, there were 29,955 new PRs, Senior Minister of State (Prime Minister’s Office) Josephine Teo said during April’s Budget debate. This is a steep drop from the yearly average of 58,000 new PRs between 2004 and 2008. In 2008 alone, 79,167 people were granted PR status.

The number of new citizens, though, has hovered consistently above 20,000 in recent years, save for dips between 2009 and 2011. Last year, 20,815 individuals became citizens.

Against this backdrop, firms offering application services are doing steady business, touting high success rates and expertise to help them cut through the complexities of the application process and raise their chances. For example, they enhance the presentation and content of applicants’ personal profiles, and guide them in the submission of appropriate and relevant information and documents - services that can cost anything between S$2,000 and S$25,000 per application.

At Immigration Solutions, the number of walk-in enquirers has ballooned from about 300 to 400 a month in 2014 when it was set up, to about 1,200 a month now, the head of its marketing department Megdelene Seah told TODAY. A video on its website promises to help applicants “stand out” against fierce competition, and about seven in 10 walk-ins engage its services after a free consultation.

Aims Immigration Specialist, which was established in 2006, receives about 10 to 15 enquiries each month, up from around five to 10 in 2011. Of these enquiries, 30 to 40 per cent become customers, Mr Pearce Cheng, its managing director for Singapore and Greater China, said.

Among those who sought out the services of such firms was a Filipino doctor, who requested anonymity. The 43-year-old was at her wit’s end after her second application for PR status was rejected, wondering “why I failed”, despite her qualifications and having all her papers in order.

But she balked at the rates quoted and decided not to engage the service. “(The firms) don’t have any guarantee, they don’t know who gets it. It’s just that they know that when they arrange the papers … they have a (high) passing rate,” she said.

On the other hand, Rebecca, a Chinese national who held an Entrepreneur Pass, was pleased with the ease of applying for PR through Aims, as she is not proficient in English. The 32-year-old, who declined to reveal her full name, said the hassle of having to renew her children’s Dependant’s Passes every year and constraints on her ability to acquire or cooperate with other firms prompted her family to apply.

Immigration Solutions has its writers craft a personalised cover letter and advises its clients to submit other documents focused on their contributions to the country. The firm claims that about nine in 10 of its applications are approved. Enquiries for its services have surged, so much so that it is looking to double its consultants to 20 by this year to meet rising demand, Ms Seah said.

Another firm, One Visa, advises its clients to take part in charity events or take up a Chinese language course, for example. “The key is (to demonstrate) integration to society and contribution,” its business development director, Mr Heng Cheng King, said. The firm’s fees range from S$2,000 to S$5,000 per application.

At First Immigrations, staff members also educate applicants on how to further integrate into society, and the firm’s website says it has a 96-per-cent success rate.

Fees vary depending on services rendered. Aims’ fees are quoted based on the requirements of each case and the “man-hours needed to facilitate an application”, Mr Cheng said, while Immigration Solutions’ Ms Seah said the firm’s fees are contingent on a client’s means to pay and the complexity of the application.

Customers typically come to know of the firms online, by word of mouth, or through referrals. They engage these services for various reasons. Ms Seah said: “(The) majority … are not sure how to go about filling in the form correctly... and they don’t know what they should do (and) submit to get their application approved.”

When contacted, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority said that it dealt directly with applicants wishing to take up permanent residency here and each application is assessed on its merits. It could not comment on private services that applicants use to prepare their applications.

A social-media researcher from Malaysia, who gave her name only as Ms Yong, did not sign up for Immigration Solutions’ complete package, but paid S$800 for a cover letter and S$120 to translate her birth certificate into English. The 34-year-old became a PR last January, and said it was “a good investment”.

Still, as she awaited the outcome, doubts lingered. “It was not guaranteed that I was going to get it… I don’t know how they (the authorities) even choose (which applications they approve).”

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