Under-qualified yet Granted Citizenship
I did not meet the residency requirements for citizenship but was alerted by the news on 18 April 2017 when the Minister for Immigration boldly announced that the citizenship laws will be drastically changed with retrospective effect. This means that any application that were made AFTER his announcement will be subject to those changes. When I first met with Agape, I was extremely skeptical with their advice. They confidently disputed every single news publication by explaining to me the basics of Constitutional Law, separation of powers and parliamentary processes. I discussed with family members of which were lawyers themselves but the main struggle for me was what Agape advised in writing versus what the newspapers were publishing directly from the Minister for Immigration and other articles by other migration agencies. It was also difficult for me to go with Agape even though they quoted me approximately three times higher than all the other agencies I know. It was a bumpy ride with Agape as I was not always satisfied with their service and have made several complaints during the period of my retainer. Though it was reassuring that the seniors would be prompt to step in, the uncertainty of how the changes of law would affect my unique situation was always a lingering worry. Despite the rough road, my citizenship application has been approved. In hindsight, I now understand that the lawyers at Agape are special, they have extremely high technical knowledge given their passion with the variety of laws surrounding Immigration Law. This gave them a leverage on being confident in what they say. They definitely have extraordinary technical knowledge to bypass residency requirements, they are strategic with a number of contingencies back-up plans, tactically positioned on Constitutional Law. They provide their advice in writing which is extremely in-depth like a thesis. They provide frequent updates on what happens at the House of Representatives and House of Senate. They review Bills put before the Parliament. There is room for improvement with customer service and I must say that their professional fees is not for everyone. I supposed that is where the saying, “you get what you pay” comes in.