Hi, we're in a similar situation - wanting to emigrate but not chosen a consultant yet. According to the Canadian High Commission (on their website), going with a consultant / lawyer does not improve your chances of getting your visa in so much as they get no favours, however they do at least ensure that your application is filled out correctly and they will co-ordinate it all for you. This is the main reason we are probably going to go with someone, as I'm not the most organised person and will just get really stressed trying to work out what stage of the process needs to be done at what time!
Top of our list is "Hand-in-Hand Immigration" as the guy is very friendly and answered all my questions (some agencies get funny and won't answer questions as they think they're giving away info so you won't need to go with them (how stupid!) and only send out brochures). I rang "Visa Plus" (
www.anewlilfeabroad.co.uk) yesterday and they were extremely arrogant, rude and unprofessional so - though it's obviously your choice - I personally wouldn't recommend them purely because of their attitude.
The visa process can be long so you need to ensure you get on with your agent, if you choose to use one.
Hope this helps!
![Smile :-)](./images/smilies/icon_smile.gif)