Carlos Sellanes, CEO & Co-FounderWith his family, Carlos immigrated to Australia as a youth. He experienced, first hand and from multiple perspectives, the intricacies and frustrations of immigration laws and there’s little doubt that these personal encounters ultimately influenced his chosen career path. Upon completing his formal education, Carlos embarked upon an acclaimed twenty-year tenure with Australia’s Department of Immigration and Citizenship.
It was during these twenty years, as he guided countless people through visa application processes, that Carlos recognised the system’s shortcomings; general difficulties in comprehending individual plights, overall workflow issues and more. So, in 2003, he joined forces with another like-minded industry stalwart, Kevin Clark, to lay the foundations for a new and entirely focussed immigration consultancy, Sellanes Clark.
Over the following years, Sellanes Clark prospered and grew, initially serving as a compass to guide individuals, families and businesses through the immigration landscape, later engaging with large corporates to procure visas for their teams of workers. Many experts from the Department of Immigration recognised the positive philosophy and joined the firm; today’s Sellanes Clark emerged, to set an entirely new benchmark in immigration law.
Aligning Services with Evolving Challenges
Immigration has always been a sensitive area, its host of underlying nuances exacerbated by a pandemic which has created a vast number of roadblocks for individuals to navigate. However, rather than following the “reactive” example of so many immigration consultants, Sellanes Clark has subscribed to a program of proactivity.
By keeping clients continuously updated regarding changes to immigration law and by pre-emptively undertaking appropriate precautionary measures, Sellanes Clark is able to assist them in remaining one step ahead, prepared and ready for almost every contingency. As Carlos confirms, “Even in the case of non-employed immigrants, seeking Australian residency or intending to reunite with family, we have frequently been able to find a way through which they can stay in the country longer; at least until we can secure them a more permanent solution.”
Carlos further explains how Sellanes Clark has been able to adopt a more affordable stance which particularly benefits immigrants who have been severely impacted by the pandemic. “We recognise that many clients have lost their jobs and that others have had their wages reduced,” says Carlos, “So we are offering distributed payment plans, either monthly or fortnightly based upon each individuals circumstances, to supplement our fixed payment system. Clients always know exact costs up front.”
For corporate clients, the firm has devised an optional range of flexible payment options, based upon a monthly subscription service. These subscription plans cover immigration advice, candidate assessments, free consultations to discuss strategies and more, whilst also providing for the firm’s legal services, in relation to employment disputes, unfair dismissal claims, breach of contract matters, etcetera.
Clients may also access ‘readiness health checks,’ where a team of experts at Sellanes Clark examine and analyse their individual immigration workflow, to ensure that their foreign worker policies, documentation, and employment contracts are in perfect condition, as required under the regulations.
By keeping clients continuously updated regarding changes to immigration law and by pre-emptively undertaking appropriate precautionary measures, Sellanes Clark is able to assist them in remaining one step ahead, prepared and ready for almost every contingency
Facilitating Seamless Visas for Overseas Employees
Although historically wary of immigration agencies and lawyers, Human Relations divisions across a broad range of significant companies and organisations have come to trust Sellanes Clark, totally relying upon the firm for swift appropriate attention to their crucial processes.
Today, Sellanes Clark plays an important role in the training of HR personnel and management of immigration paperwork and workflow.
“We also ensure that HR departments, in the many companies and organisations with which we partner, have robust policies in place; policies expressly designed to foster the fair treatment of migrant employees,” says Carlos, adding that his firm makes every effort to stay in touch with those employees it helps, ensuring that they remain fully informed regarding possible future immigration pathways and that they are advised of any relevant changes which might impact their status in the country.
Successful Immigration Stories
“Our sincere dedication in ensuring each client’s immigration journey is as seamless as possible is also the key to our steady growth,” says Carlos. “Some of our largest clients have come to us, not through advertisements but from word of mouth or positive referral.”
This simple statement speaks volumes about the firm’s reputation and its recognition in the market.
Carlos recalls an instance where his firm was approached by two representatives from a significant Indian IT company with offices in Australia. The Managing Director and his associate, the Business Development Manager, sought the firm’s assistance regarding the visa application process for onboarding ten employees from India. Even though they had applied for sponsorship, they had found the Department of Immigration somewhat reticent in granting the required permissions.
After looking through all information and providing assurance to the representatives, Carlos and his team managed to formulate a game plan, specifically for the case. This enabled them to schedule a meeting with one of the government officials, where strong reasoning and domestic benefits were outlined. In just three days permission was granted; not just for the initial ten places but for an anticipated twenty admissions.
The Indian IT company subsequently merged with another organisation then moved on to acquire additional businesses, growing into one of the top five global IT companies with in excess of 1000 employees. It did not however, forget Sellanes Clark and even to this day, Carlos and his team assists the organisation in processing over fifty applications per month; a key player in a story of phenomenal growth.
Despite the fact that compelling dedication to exceptional service has cemented Sellanes Clark’s position as a leader in immigration services, the firm has not forgotten its roots. “We’re especially proud of an ongoing process, where we are helping a skilled migrant from Zimbabwe to reunite with his family,” says Carlos.
It seems that the client had already been granted a visa but due to miscommunication from his prior migration agent, he had overlooked additional processes required to obtain residency for his spouse and children. Then, at a point when he saw no way of bringing them to Australia, he turned to Sellanes Clark. The firm’s skilled experts swiftly assessed the situation and assisted the client with an application for partner visa, which was promptly approved.
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We always ensure that HR departments, in the many companies and organisations with which we partner, have robust policies in place; policies expressly designed to foster the fair treatment of migrant employees
His family is currently in the process of moving to Australia for a very happy reunion.
Innovating and Evolving – Staying Ahead of the Game
Recent success stories notwithstanding, the core function of Sellanes Clark remains as the provision of industry-leading immigration services. To that end, the firm continuously researches, redesigns and innovates its workflow, to the benefit of employees and clients alike.
Carlos showed foresight when he initiated steps to digitalise, then migrate workflow to the cloud, cautiously augmented with robust, state-of-the-art storage and security features. During the recent pandemic this move proved its worth ten-fold as, even when forced to work from home, staff members were able to interact remotely through the cloud. It was business as usual for Sellanes Clark.
Consistently going at least one step above and beyond, in assisting its valued clients, Sellanes Clark has earned its enviable reputation as an unwavering compass, courteously assisting people seeking to build livelihoods in Australia. The firm recently launched its ‘pro-bono’ program, where it annually selects a worthy candidate from its client base (assessed upon personal circumstances and/or financial position) and as a gesture of goodwill, provides a refund of all professional fees.
Looking towards the future, Sellanes Clark plans the launch of its own YouTube channel; a means of providing free guidance through interesting case studies. “Our goal is to keep moving forward and never stand still,” says Carlos. “We will always strive to improve our services, streamline our workflow, and enhance our value offering to clients.”
