What is the average cost involved when opting for the BC PNP category?

[Arunb]

Hi,

I would like to setup a branch office of my family owned Indian company in Canada under the Business immigration program (EI base category), British Columbia

1. What would be cost of hiring the services of an immigration lawyer? On an average how much will an immigration lawyer charge say on a retainer basis?
2. What will be the consultation charges for a business consultant for making the business concept /plan?
3. What will be the charges for an auditor ?

Thanks
ab

 

[Riley Haas]

Hi,
Let me try to answer your questions:

1. It really depends on a lawyer but here is one example: https://www.matkowsky.ca/immigration-lawyer-fees CAD$30,000 for just the legal fees. It's possible someone in BC might charge less - especially if they are not based in the Greater Vancouver Area - but you'll have to call around.
2. The prices are over the place for this, anywhere from US$400 to USD$20,000 so again I'm sorry to say the best thing to do is to contact a whole bunch of people and ask what they charge.
3. There's this https://www.auditanalytics.com/products/canada/audit-fees but it looks like you have to pay for it. All the other examples I'm finding are for gigantic organizations.

Sorry I cannot be more helpful.

 

[Arunb]

Thanks for the reply
USD 400-20,000 is quite a huge difference, any idea how to find out which is the best deal.

I got two quotes, 5000 USD & 25,000 CAD. The retainer contract also have almost the same terms.

 

[Riley Haas]

There might be a professional business consultants organization in Canada (or in each province) where you could find more information, though I don't know.

You could also try a small business or entrepreneurship forum to see if anyone has a good idea of what it should cost for your size business. Sorry I cannot help you with this, it's well outside of my knowledge area.

I got two quotes, 5000 USD & 25,000 CAD. The retainer contract also have almost the same terms.

Is this from a lawyer or from a business consultant? That is a massive difference.

 

[Arunb]

There might be a professional business consultants organization in Canada (or in each province) where you could find more information, though I don't know.

You could also try a small business or entrepreneurship forum to see if anyone has a good idea of what it should cost for your size business. Sorry I cannot help you with this, it's well outside of my knowledge area.



Is this from a lawyer or from a business consultant? That is a massive difference.

This quote is from a lawyer, and it is only the lawyer fees, charges for business consultant and auditor are extra. The difference is indeed massive, and the terms are mostly same, nothing special. Now I am wondering if this is normal

 

[Riley Haas]

It probably is.

In our experience, with general immigration lawyers (who do not specialize in business immigration) you do not want the cheapest lawyer (as you get what you pay for) but you also don't want the most expensive lawyer (as you're paying for the name brand). If you can find someone in the middle somewhere, that is your best bet. No guarantees, of course, and ALWAYS, check the online reviews. (My personal strategy is to read the bad reviews. If the complaints are unreasonable, hire the lawyer. If the complaints seem really reasonable, don't give them your money.)