Didigriff

This my first post so please bear with me if the terminology I use is incorrect or complete gibberish

My family and I (includes husband & 2year old) want to move to Perth we have been trawling through the various web site for ages trying to work out exactly what to do. We want to apply on a skilled visa but hubby doesn't want to use an agent (thinks we can do it ourselves) I'm not so sure don't want to waste time sending incomplete info etc - any advice from anyone on the pros and cons of using an agent would be great.

Also I have randomly been applying to employment agencies regarding potential opportunities in my profession (environmental scientist) and have had some really +ve reponses....now the dilema of what to do. Is it worth persuing on the employer sponsored route? My profession doesn't really fit in any of the SOL categories (infact it doesn't fit in any catergory ever - car insurance quotes etc) can I still go down this route???

Also reading previous threads there are some dodgy employment agencies out there. We are out in Perth this August (part holiday part fact finding) it would be a good opportunity to meet up with prospective employers....sorry for the ramble just trying to get my head around this...

Has anyone else been through this? Need to be grounded a little I think

Thanks in advance.

Watty'n'Arls

Hi

You didnt mention what your hubbie does. If you are able to go out on a independent skilled visa then this is the best option (it gives you more choices and less restrictions). Got a friend in the medical profession on a sponsored visa in Melbourne. He doesnt like the hospital he is at (hates it infact) but is tied in for a period of time ( a couple of years) and cant get out of it.

Personally we used a migration agent and it cost £1500 for their fees but this was the best for us as we were scared of messing it up. Alot of money i know, but we still feel it was a good option for us still. We have since met lots of people who did it themselves and they have had no problems. (we are not married and we had to prove our de-facto relationship and I dont think we would have got our paperwork right). Waiting to hear about medicals/police checks any day now.

We want to go to Perth also and have just returned from our fact finding holiday. We liked everywhere North and South but have decided that Mandurah in the south is for us. Hope you have a fab time in August. I would recommend going the Perth for newbie meet every Thursday 12.30pm at the Dome Cafe, Hillary's Harbour. The ladies that go there are all expats from this site and are lovely and helpful. They will answer all questions willingly.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

Cheers

Watty'n'arls

Didigriff

Thank you so much for your advice...it's great to know that there are loads of people in the same /similar boat.

My hubby is a primary school teacher so we are not anticipating too many problems there (I hope).

I think our biggest problem with using an agent is the amount of £££ it is then not getting in. I suppose its the gamble we will have to take.

Thanks again

Downies

Hi

With regards to agent or no agent - we decided to do agent and we have not regretted this decision, even after finding this helpful forum.

Applying for Skilled Independent MODL visa as OH is plumber and I must admit the agency where great in breaking down the instructions into bite size pieces, they reviewed all letters prior to sending them to previous employers, checked out all declarations - give full list of acceptable evidence and alternatives if mainstream ones not available - answered email queries overnight (and some sameday), put the whole kit and caboudle into the correct format required - and that is just the TRA application stage.

It helps that a friend of ours already in Perth knows our agent personally.

The costs were either $3600 in one single payment or $4000 to be paid in two installments. You do of course still have the cost of application fees, medicals, police checks, courier charges, cost for certifying all copy documents etc. etc.

If you are a very organised person, who is good with paperwork, and no difficulties with searching out details then why not give it a go yourself, from what I can see the immigration part of this forum answers pretty much every query within minutes!

Also, my friend in Perth said that employment agencies/employess prefer contact when you are physically in Oz and have visa rather than respond to what if queries.

Good luck!!

Paula

suzimc

I would also advocate using an agent - I know many people manage fine without, but personally every penny has been well invested particularly for the reassurance of knowing that you are completing the process correctly.

chopper boy

We used an agent who was useless.
Poor comms. not up on Migration legislation changes etc etc

If you can find one to help you do the skills assessment bit, do the Visa application yourself it's not as hard as people make out.

With hindsight (great that) we would have done it all ourselves and kept £1500.00 in our pockets!

Cheers.

heading south

As I've posted before, we've not used an agent but we had a pretty straightforward story to tell. My thoughts on using agents are in another thread:

http://britishexpats.com/forum/show...655&postcount=8

Based on what you've posted, here's a few thoughts:

Your OHs occupation is on the SOL, so he should get his skills assessed and if successful (that's 60 points for starters), he'd be the primary applicant.

If possible I'd consider the 136 visa first: it doesn't tie you into an area or an employer. If you work through the points test and get enough then you're home and dry. If you are a few points short then there's five on offer for your skilled occupation. You noted that your skills not mentioned on the SOL, my OHs wasn't either but after some thinking we found one that we thought would suit and worked on that one. We worked on that application, submitted and got a positive assessment. My suggestion would be take a look at the SOL and see if there's any related areas (Environmental Research Scientist?) that might suit. In my view this is where agents earn their money and if you're unsure about this stage get a good agent and they can help select the one that offers the best chance of sucess.

There's also another five points on offer for capital investment, if you still far short of the pass mark then consider one of other visa types. Again, this is were you can seek advice from this forum, or get yourself a good agent.

All the best

Heading South

furkew

I would agree with this.

Although I am applying for a 457 sponsored visa, if I had the opportunity for 136 I would definitely take it. It is less likely to cause problems as to where and what work, a sponsored does have quite a few limitations.

Plenty of people have applied without the use of an agent, without major problems. Read plenty on the forum, ask even more, and you should have no problems.

TheAshleys

We used Global Visas, and they were superb. They have done everything, and I would never have achieved what we have had we not used them.

It cost £1500.00 and worth every penny. They dont charge for certified copies etc, makes it so convenient.

Didigriff

Thanks everyone you have all been really helpfull. Will post and let you know how we get on. Hope I can be as helpfull to other newbies soon!

suzimc

We used them too.

martin102

I totally agree with your hubby.
We applied for a 136 visa, Had to go through Tra process, then visa application. We decided not to use an agent after reading through the documents on the Australian government website. To be honest if you can read and write the process is very easy to do yourself, just a case of collecting information and collating it(which you would have to do if you used an agent anyway) They just check it and stick a stamp on the envelope. Not a bad days work for £1500. As long as you go through the checklist they provide for you, you will be fine.

sa2oz

We did it our selves after speaking to an agent who told us that an agent is good if you have complications in your application. We did not
What I did was use the checklist, then numbered every document and included a list. When pages got misplaced at DIMIA, I could refer to the index and then the page number (birth certs and passport cert copies were misplaced).
Also keep duplicates of everything youy send

Wol

We used an agent who almost bankrupted us (Yes, he is registered and one of the establishment). He was effectively useless and we got rid of him halfway through. After that, going it alone went swimmingly.

It depends how complicated your application is I suppose, but if you can read all the bumf and double-check everything it shouldn't be beyond most people.

One problem that is intrinsic with an agent is the necessity for everything to go through a third party, back and forth. When deadlines are involved it can make it complicated.