patrickgoldsmith

Hoping to move to sunshine coast asap should we use an agent which would use some of our funds or go it alone, about how long would the process take either way what are the costs andcan you recommend agents north west england?
Thjank you for any help you may give

MrFlibbleUK

Personally I would suggest that if you have a relatively straightforward set of circumstances and there is nothing 'dodgy' i.e. health, job etc then would be tempted to go it alone..thats what we did, as long as you take your time with the application and make sure you dont make any assumptions...prove everything!! there are plenty of people who can help you.

If you think though that there may be some issues with your application then go with an agent there are some fine fine agents on this group!

Shellfish

I agree. We have 5 groups of friends who have all come over the Australia and they all did the process on their own without any problems. If it's a straightforward case then I think you are better off doing it yourself.

spalen

Hia

I too did it myself its not that hard - it appears it when you first download the jigsaw of documents but read them and it becomes clear.

First you need to see if youve got enough points to get in , you can do that with a page in booklet 6 from the www.immi.gov.au website. There is a points test in there that will help you see what the criteria is.

Next you need to get a skills assesment if you're on a visa that requires it. That takes the longest now of all the visa process.

then you are ready to apply for your visa that will be 3-6 mths after you first started (today!) Your visa grant will typically take 3 mths after that if its all straightforward. Most peoples are. This is significantlly faster than pre-july 04 when it was taking 12-24mths to get visa.

If you are not 'typical' or have a recognisable trade, then you might want to see an agent who are the people who know all the types of visas and can guide you on which options you may have if you are not typical (in skills, age, etc). There are business visas (build a business plan and get a visa based on that business) which might suit you but are more complicated and would probably warrant agents advice.

If you know family in Aus there are other options or have someone in Aus who will 'sponsor' you you have options too. (Unless you've got like 2m£ to invest or are internationally recognised sportsman or actor but i guess not

good luck.

Rabc

All sound advice. We did it all ourselves and it's not hard at all. Just look at what is required on the checklist on 47SK and gather it togther. if you have done an NVQ it's a breeze. As for timescales, I don't know about agents, compare timelines. In our case our application waslodged in late December and we lodge the bond last week.

Rob

JackTheLad

If rab c nesbitt can do it on his own ... and get accepted! help ma god :scared:

Cheers,
JTL

island.girl

oh my god! we still thought we would be waiting about 18months but you say 3-4months is this the case for independant skilled?if so im well excited!!!!!also do u know once your visa is granted how long do u have untill we have o go as we need to sell house first?

taylors244

hi
not too sure, but heard somewhere along the line that you have 12mths from when your medicals are accepted to validate your visa
keith

bloofox

DIY.
If you can use a computer like you are doing now, and have time to kill (don't worry there's a lot of time to kill...............................) you can do your own paperwork and import your own belongings/vehicle while you are waiting. It's frustrating, and not cheap but the savings are there if you need them.

Few people going out there have money to burn and that's what agents fees amount to in many cases. You have so many different types of agent but none of them can make much difference if you encounter a medical nightmare like we did ( Child's medical returned for NHS confirmation that nothing is wrong with a female child of 11 passing protein in urine...2 tests, one letter but if you're in a hurry go private at this stage, our hospitals are in a mess and you will feel angry at this government for allowing the chaos. But then again, you're leaving this behind too. )

I think an average agents fee is also enough to buy a reasonable first car when you arrive (I'm not too fussy about what I drive) and don't see how any promise of faster processing can be guaranteed. Most of them ask you questions and effectively forward the answer to DIMIA, the good ones are busy and the others can be quite unenthusiastic...either way you already speak the language ( if not - you're buggered for even longer) and have an idea what you're trying to do.

I reackon you should give it a go yourself, save a few $ and call proffessional for help if you do get stuck, unfortunately if it's a medical issue you'll be in the NHS hands and no agent on earth can help you there...

This is just my opinion, I'm not an expert - yet.
See you over there.

JackTheLad

Most give a free half hour consultation anyway. Use that free half hour on the phone to ask them what 'value' they can add to your application. We were quite stunned by the agents responses. One in particular got very upset and whined that he had never been asked to justify his job like that before.

I thought it was a genuine qustion if you are going to be forking out a few thousand squid for a service, what does it add?

Needless to say we went DIY. And believe me, our application wasn't straightforward, but without the extra layer of an agent in between, we got things sorted quicker.

Having said all that, lots of people on here have used agents, and swear by them, so, tis up to you, do you have the time to research yourself? One common myth is that agents will get all the required info for you. They wont. YOU have to do it anyway, letters from previous employers, police checks, health checks. They just collate it. You can do that yourself. Up to you.

Cheers,
JTL