Hitchcock & Associates

[Springbok]

Hi everyone

Cecil Bass, the MD of Hitchcock and Associates, one of Australia’s largest and longest established immigration firms, will be in South Africa between 16th and 26th October. The consultations last about an hour at a cost of R600. Please provide your details to Pauline Keys at the contact details below and Sandra, their Marketing Manager will 'phone you to make an appointment with Cecil, either in Cape Town, Joburg, Pretoria or Durban.

I have used their services to obtain my PR visa and can highly recommend Hitchcock & Associates. The whole process went extremely smooth and I got my visa after 18 months.

Regards

Charl

HITCHCOCK AND ASSOCIATES

131 Rubida Street

Murrayfield

Pretoria 0184

South Africa

Tel : (+27) 012 803 5660 or 012 803 5280

Fax : (+27) 012 803 0895

email : hitchpk@worldonline.co.za

website : www.hitchcock.com.au

About Cecil Bass:

Cecil was born and educated in Johannesburg, South Africa. He obtained a Bachelor of Accountancy Degree at the University of the Witwatersrand in 1978 and qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1979.

Cecil has spent many years in the investment and real estate industries, as well as in local government in South Africa. He gained extensive experience in commercial and industrial property, working with leading property developers and institutions. He was manager of Pioneer International’s Johannesburg office for 2 years.

Cecil was an elected member of the Johannesburg City Council from 1982 to 1994, representing the Democratic Party and its predecessors. From 1990 to 1994, Cecil was a member of the Council’s management committee, chairing the culture and recreation committee as well as a number of other committees. He was a member of the Council of Wits University from 1990 to 1994, as well as the University Council’s executive committee. He also held numerous senior positions within the Democratic Party’s national and regional structures.

Cecil migrated to Australia in 1998 and joined Hitchcock & Associates in July 2000, as a partner in the business. Cecil was appointed to the position of Managing Director in 2002. He also heads up Hitchcock Financial Services, in Australia, which specialises in international financial planning, blocked rand investment for South African expatriates as well as Australian financial products.

Cecil’s professional and business background enables him to specialise in business skills migration to Australia.

Cecil’s interest ranges from music to sport and the arts, as well as taking a keen interest in international affairs.

[Spider]

Hi Charl,

With the initial consultation cost of R600, what do their services cost in total for their assistance in obtaining a PR Visa?

Also, if the first consult goes well, what was the next lot of steps for you?

Thanks

Chandi

[Springbok]

Hi Charl,

With the initial consultation cost of R600, what do their services cost in total for their assistance in obtaining a PR Visa?

Also, if the first consult goes well, what was the next lot of steps for you?

Thanks

Chandi

Hi Chandi

During the initial consultation, Cecil will ask you lots of questions and do the points test with you. Very informal. Just to see what your chances are and what type of visa you would qualify for. If you are happy with that, then it's up to you whether you want to enter into a service agreement with them or not.

I paid Hitchcock's fees in two installments, A$4500 in total = R26,000. 50% is payable immediately and the balance when your application is lodged with immigration. You also pay for all other extras, e.g. I had to pay A$250 (=R1450) to the Institute of Engineers Australia for the assessment of my qualifications, as well as A$1845 (=R10700) to the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (DIMIA) when the migration application was lodged. And then of course you pay for your medical and police clearance checks, but those amounts are only a few hundred rand. So in total I paid close to R40,000. Not cheap by any means, but my safety is important to me and I see this as an investment in my future. Plus everything was done for me by a professional firm without any hassles.

You will receive a lot of forms to complete initially, but everything is very clearly marked and you only correspond with Pauline in Pretoria. She deals with the Sydney office.

Hitchcock's professional services include consultation, case preparation, submission / lodgement, on-going communication / liaison with the client and Australian Immigration Authorities, visa evidencing and finalisation of all matters pertaining to your application.

The professional staff of Hitchcock & Associates are bound by the Migration Agents Registration Authority (“MARA”) Code of Conduct which regulates the conduct of migration agents. They will provide you with a copy of the Code upon request or you may visit the MARA website at www.themara.com.au

Regards

Charl

[Springbok]

Cecil Bass and Les Saretzki will be consulting in Sandton at R600 per hour as follows:

Tuesday 28 Nov.

Thursday 30 Nov.

Friday 1 Dec.

Thursday 7 Dec.

Friday 8 Dec.

To schedule an appointment, contact Sandra Francois at hitchsf@worldonline.co.za or tel. 031-208-3355.

They will also visit Cape Town and Durban between 27 Nov. and 8 Dec.

Hitchcock & Associates

[Riekie]

I'm just wondering: if you pay for everything anyway, what does the R26 000 go for? (My Question is not just relevant to this specific agent - I'm asking the question in general...) I'm sure all these agents are all fantastic but I am confused as to the justification of their fees.

Maybe I'm

[Springbok]

I'm just wondering: if you pay for everything anyway, what does the R26 000 go for? (My Question is not just relevant to this specific agent - I'm asking the question in general...) I'm sure all these agents are all fantastic but I am confused as to the justification of their fees.

Maybe I'm

Valid question, Riekie. You pay for a service I guess and these guys are experts at what they do. They save me the effort from spending many hours doing everything myself and staying abreast with all the rules of the immigration process.

In my case, I first qualified for the SIR visa, as I was 5 points short on the points test. That was Feb. 2005. Then earlier this year Hitchcocks informed me that there were a few changes and that I now qualified for the Skilled Independent (136) visa. If I did it on my own, I guess I still would have been on the SIR visa.

As for the justification of the fees: 1) I'm sure there is an industry standard regulated by MARA, and 2) in a free market, prices are set by supply and demand.

I'll see if I can find out from my agent how many hours they typically spend on an application from start to finish (roughly 18 months). And then work out what the R26,000 equates to on an hourly basis. I still think it's good value and a longterm investment in my future. It's actually negligible if I consider how much I will gain in purchasing power through earning Australian dollars for the rest of my life compared to South African rands. Because over the longer term, the rand WILL get weaker, as long as our inflation is higher than Australia's. The South African Reserve Bank's inflation target is 3% - 6%, while The Reserve Bank of Australia's inflation target is 2% - 3%. Current inflation rates, as measured by the consumer price index (CPI), is 3.9% for Australia and 5.3% for South Africa.

[Pippa]

Hi Riekie,

I agree with you. The R26,000.00 is hugely expensive. We obtained quotations from other migration agents, and it was much more affordable.

The whole process went extremely smooth and I got my visa after 18 months.

I believe that a basic Skilled Independant Visa (136) takes 9 - 12 months.

You pay for a service I guess and these guys are experts at what they do. They save me the effort from spending many hours doing everything myself and staying abreast with all the rules of the immigration process.

Did they obtain your unabridged certificates and relevant documentation for you?

Have a great weekend!

Pippa

[kangaroo]

Hi everyone!

Regarding the value that immigration agents add or don't add, and whether the money spent on them is worthwhile or not, have a look at this link:

Migration Agents ..., Is it worth the money?

Liza

Edited November 17, 2006 by kangaroo

[Springbok]

For those of you who do want to make use of an agent and who are willing & able to pay the fees:

The Chairman of Hitchcock & Associates, Mr Neil Hitchcock, will be undertaking a consulting visit from 30 January to 16 February 2007, meeting new clients in Johannesburg, Durban, Cape Town and Pretoria. Remarkably, this will be Neil’s 65th consultation visit in 22 years.

For a consultation with Neil, please contact Sandra Krysztofiak either via:

email at hitchsf@worldonline.co.za

at the office on 0011-27-31-208-3355

or via mobile on 0011-27-83-441-6404

From their latest Newsletter:

2. REVIEW OF TEMPORARY RESIDENCE

(EXPATRIATE) VISAS

Late last year, before the Australian Parliament rose for the summer break, the Parliamentary Joint Standing Committee on Migration decided to review the operation of Australia’s temporary resident visa system. This followed a series of allegations and criticisms of employer exploitation of expatriate workers and suggestions that the system was being “rorted” or abused in other ways. To understand the significance of this review it is wise to look at the numbers. In approximate terms last year we had 66,000 skilled migrant visa grants compared with 60,000 skilled temporary visas. Numbers of expatriate workers coming to Australia have increased significantly over the last decade. In response to strong pressure from various industry sectors in the Australian economy, the Minister and her Department introduced several relaxations of temporary resident policy over time and there is no doubt opportunities for expatriates to be sponsored for the usual 4 year period of temporary residence are much easier that they were a decade ago.

Many readers would know that it is legally possible to apply to transfer within Australia from the Temporary

Resident (457) visa to another type of visa in Australia, the main ones being Employer Sponsored Permanent Residence and Spouse (partner) visas. Many (thousands) expatriate (457) visa holders change their status within Australia each year. Many of those people become clients of our firm to have that visa casework undertaken. The availability of expatriate visas is a vital short-term means of accessing skills and experience on the part of employers. A typical example is to bring diesel mechanics to Australia quickly, given our resources boom. It is almost impossible to find heavy equipment diesel mechanics within Australia at present.

On the other hand an Australian corporation having acquired new technology or production equipment

from overseas needs to bring in a commissioning engineer for 4 years to install, commission and maintain that equipment in its introductory phase. Everyone in our community would expect that visas be granted to such people in the short term to enable the wheels of industry to keep turning. We should then be seeking longer-term improvements in developing our own skills training and education to build our skilled work force.

The Parliamentary Review will inquire into eligibility requirements and monitoring, enforcement and reporting arrangements for temporary business visas. Among the terms of reference for the inquiry, there is focus on English language proficiency and enforcement procedures for both employers and visa holders. Neil Hitchcock is assisting the Migration Institute of Australia in preparing the Institute’s submission to the inquiry.

* Australian Citizenship

Changes to Australia’s Citizenship laws have been “on the boil” for some time now. Government keeps announcing the changes and then keeps on deferring their introduction!! This is frustrating for everyone - including ourselves! Latest information is the changes will come into effect on 01/07/07. Let’s hope so. Let’s also hope that the recommendation to government to not make the new 4-year residential rule retrospective as part of the changes.

5. SURGE IN SOUTH AFRICA

As we celebrate the 20th birthday of the founding of Hitchcock and Associate, it is important to remember that clients from South Africa have been a significant part of our global clientele over these years. During that time our chairman, Neil Hitchcock, has undertaken significant travel to that part of the world and will soon depart on his 65th consulting visit.

Nowadays Hitchcock’s Managing Director Cecil Bass undertakes most of the consulting visits, with Neil contributing one or two each year.

We must make special mention here about the sterling work being done by Sandra, Pauline and Michaela in our South African office over the years. Thanks also to their predecessors who contributed since Hitchcocks began their office there in the late 1980’s.

Whilst Sandra joined us in her new and vital role in marketing and co-ordination of our services in more

recent years, Michaela and Pauline have been with us for most of the history of Hitchcocks in South Africa and are still going strong!

In 2007 we will undertake 7 consulting visits, a record for any single year since Neil began travelling there in 1985. Throughout 2006 we noticed a surge occurring in demand for our services in Southern Africa and that appears set to continue in a sustained manner in 2007.

This increased demand seems to be different than surges we have experienced over the past 20 years

of travelling there. In the past we may consult with a family about their eligibility to migrate and we may not

see them again for another 12 months or more before they finally decide to get moving with their migration

case. There are also many past clients for whom we have secured migrant visas who have held back from

actually migrating for some years due to professional or business reasons

Things are different now.

The new clients we are seeing across all visa eligibility categories want to get the process underway

immediately. There is no more holding back and waiting. Fortunately there continues to be a high level

of eligibility amongst South Africans as a client group and the skills shortage in Australia, plus demand for

business investment and employer needs, has meant there is no better time than to be seeking to migrate.

It is important to note that Hitchcock and Associates charge professional fees to meet with new clients for

a detailed assessment of their migration eligibility. These consultations are thorough, usually lasting up

to an hour with follow-up contact (if required) before establishing a final position as to which visa category

is the right one to apply for, and the timing and strategy for doing this.

We are aware that some people (including agents not registered in the Australian system) offer visa services

in South Africa and charge no consultation fee - and people sometimes wonder why we do.

There are several reasons.

Firstly, we are a professional firm. We employ excellent people and there is more than 100 years of specialist immigration knowledge shared among our 10 Registered consultants. To retain and maintain

such people in our firm has to be paid for.

Secondly, we operate a South African office with 3 full-time employees which is of great benefit to our

clients because they have people on the ground in South Africa they can talk to, and obtain assistance from, as they go through the complex and sometimes frustrating migration process.

Thirdly, we ask clients to share in the travel costs for Neil and Cecil when they undertake such visits.

For those clients insisting on seeing an Australia based consultant, it is a lot cheaper to see us over

in South Africa than to travel over here solely for that purpose.

Finally, and to be frank and honest, charging fees for consultations acts as a deterrent for people who want something for nothing. Most of our clients come to us personally referred and they know in advance there will be a fee for the consultation.

For more direct information about fees and what we do for clients in the initial consultation process, please contact Sandra as per the above details.

[Onthemove]

Good morning to all,

Came across this now silent topic and feel compelled to add my 2 cents worth:

Hitchcock & Assoc dealt with my son's visa application - and for the most he was happy with their service (bar for the fact that the visa was issued on the passport he didn't want it to issued on).

I figured I couldn't go too wrong making use of them so employed them to assist me with my parent visa application. 

A whopping fee having been paid to them plus the 1st VAC fee, I have found them extremely tardy in passing on vital correspondence from the DIBP and Parent Visa Centre meant for me.

They sat on the Acknowledgement Letter and Receipt for 10 weeks and now have sat on vital update confirmation from the Parent Centre for 3 months (conflicting information I picked up on the Acknowledgement Letter regarding current citizenship and passport number, and they hadn't spotted this at all).  On each occasion it required a reminder to get feedback/update.

Has anyone else had similar negative experiences with them?  Or am I just the unlucky one ?

 

Is Mr Neil Hitchcock still the Chairman of Hitchcock & Associates?   I doubt he realizes how tardy his staff is in my case    their website makes no mention of him.