Nat Shriram, Founder & CEO In an interview with Manage HR magazine, Nat Shriram, founder and CEO of CANext Immigration Services, talks about how his experience as an immigrant influenced him to provide services beyond consultation to help clients settle comfortably.
CANext Immigration Services: An Overview
People immigrate to Canada aspiring for a better life or career opportunities. While many attempt to navigate the complex and competitive Canadian immigration processes, they face difficulties choosing suitable pathways and are unaware of how to choose the right program and how to draft and submit a convincing and complete application.
This is where we, CANext Immigration Services, can help. We are an immigration consultancy firm accountable to, regulated, and authorized by the Government of Canada. Leveraging AI, chatbots, Robotic process automation (RPA), CRM and associated technology, we efficiently serve our clients by making the application process more streamlined, enabling them to have an increased probability of getting either a permanent resident (PR) visa or any other temporary residency visas as need be.
My educational background in information technology and MBA from an Ivy League School, and the experience garnered from a career spanning 20 years working for tech giants, have influenced me to utilize technology to the maximum in the conventional immigration paperwork. My experience as an immigrant is also instrumental in the groundwork and mission of CANext.
I, too, have faced struggles both pre-visa and post-visa approvals. One of the challenges I faced during pre-visa approval is in getting the right professional and trustworthy guidance among an ocean of unauthorized consultants operating across the globe. In post-visa approval scenario, personal and professional networking needed to settle down in a new country could be challenging. This common problem with aspiring Canadian immigrants inspired me to establish CANext as a friendly company built upon trust and camaraderie, helping them clear rocks and thorns in their journey to settle in this beautiful country and make it their home.
The Complex Journey of Canadian Immigration
The first challenge clients face is the misguidance propagated by ghost or unauthorized consultants as they lure professional aspirants with false promises of a settled job. To ensure they don’t fall for attractive yet misleading baits, we make them aware that there are no easy pathways to getting a good job in a reputed company in Canada, and each professional aspirant must undergo the recruitment process. CANext also guides them in the prerequisites to get a good career opportunity in terms of visa and valid certifications and professional qualifications.
Numerous aspirants research how to immigrate successfully but lack the resources to see through the process. For instance, students wishing to study in Canada need more than a stamped visa and a college admission letter. They must also specify the statement of purpose, like their interest in the course subject, past educational backgrounds, and how the course will help them in the future. This is essential as approval and rejection are always based on how well the application meets the guidelines stipulated by the Immigration Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR). Especially since the COVID era, visa refusals are at a record high and that makes the case of a well-prepared application more important.
Our mission is to assist clients, irrespective of their categories - student, investor, business, or work, in drafting and applying, legally and persuasively, and resonating within the lines of what immigration officers expect in an application.
We also aim to combat applicants’ ignorance of the Canadian immigration process by simplifying it and introducing the multiple available pathways. We can introduce 60 to 80 pathways to successfully immigrate, with the country made of 10 provinces and territories and each province having sub-streams of immigration pathways requiring different skills. If a client does not make the cut to qualify for one pathway for reasons like low language scores in IELTS, CANext helps them look for alternatives focusing on their other strengths.
CANext’s Immigration Consultancy Journey
We initiate the process with a comprehensive consultation to assess and evaluate the candidate to understand the pathways open for them. Myself and other CANext Associates, operating in three different geographies of India, UK & Canada covering a 24/7 support, initially performs a comprehensive evaluation that iterates on what they lack and how we can help them get their visa stamped. Once they choose to engage with us, we give them a list of required documents and procedure checklists. This is where our services differ. CANext understands the processes of acquiring documents vary in different countries. We step in their shoes, and based on their current location and background, guide them on how to get the required documents according to their time sensitivity. We also provide them sample reference documents and templates for each category.
CANext was founded with ONE purpose. To help. To help our communities & families to move, settle and seamlessly integrate into a new country. . Because I’ve walked down the very same path they’re about to and don’t want them to face the same struggles that I did. Our solutions will always be practical
We offer transparency in the immigration process and consider aspirants our collaborative partners. No critical decision is taken without their consensus. Once the application is prepared to be submitted, we review the application through digital collaboration tools to ensure the information’s accuracy. The application credentials are also shared after an application is submitted so they can independently keep track of the progress.
Our employees, experienced in assisting clients from various categories, help them connect and network professionally and personally with different groups. I also offer my experience and connection so they can settle faster and more securely in the new country.
Success Stories
CANext assists clients with differing needs in immigration and provides complementary services to help them comfortably settle in Canada.
For instance, a highly skilled technology developer in the U.S. faced a situation where he was hired, but his U.S. student visa term had expired. Having a job but no legal status, the employer approached us to have him work remotely from Canada. We solved two problems at once; a) we helped the employer in setting up their nearshore location in Canada with all the necessary company incorporation needs and b) we processed required labour market clearance and work permit application, so the employee can work from Canada legally. This case opened up multiple opportunities for us, with various mid-size technology companies reaching out to us to temporarily and legally place their employees in Canada.
I would also provide another example, on how much we care for our clients beyond the immigration paperwork. We helped an Indian student in Canada who was abruptly cast out of her place of residency by the landlord. Having helped her settle earlier, CANext was called upon to help her find shelter for the night. She was immediately relocated to a safe place and we arranged the necessary accommodation in a short notice. The anxious parents and family, thousands of miles away, thanked us for the timely support. This experience is proof of the fact that CANext clients trust us beyond Immigration. Most of our clients choose to continue to engage us for other services, refer to their friends and family, or simply continue to become our good friends.
What Sets Ourselves Apart in Immigration Services
CANext was established with the sole purpose of helping qualified professionals worldwide immigrate and settle in Canada. To make the process more efficient and seamless, we employ a simple AI-based calculation matrix designed by me that tells us the percentage of getting their visa approved according to their credentials. Through this technology, we ascertain if they have a high or mixed chance of getting approved and what should be done to increase the chances of their visa getting stamped. We also use an efficient CRM system to keep track of each client, their consultations, and documents so they can rest assured of our accountability and quality of service.
CANext’s close-knit family culture also facilitates the staff’s keen interest in aspiring immigrants’ welfare and how well they settle with good accommodation and careers in the country. This, combined with the high level of transparency we offer, has enabled us to grow tremendously from assisting just one client to helping more than 2000 aspirants and their families.
