toon williams

We were talking the other day we are in the process of trying to obtain a visa and using a consultant wondered how many people do use consultants to get their visas and how many people go for it alone??

Just wondering what the ratio is!!

chaval

to tell you the truth its a unquantifiable amount

tabby

We did, coz we were so unsure what ACS expected and coz I am getting on a bit , had to make sure our application was in before I hit 35....

They were great and gave us loads of pointers. At the end of the day we were willing to pay the money for help.... and were so busy with work and childcare that to find it all out may have meant missing out completely due to my age.

Good Luck!!

lilstewie

try this thread
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?p=2706810&posted=1#post2706810
There haven't been too many voters at the minute, but it should give you a rough idea. Personally, i am using an agent for the TRA, and more than likely DIY'ing the visa application and getting an agent to look it over before submitting it.

coxfamuk

Our agent came highly recommended and started off being brilliant - he is based in Adelaide and gave us the exact information on what we needed to get the assessment, which we did. However, of late, he is being a pain in the backside. He has been in possession of all the documentation for the main visa application for over a month and in possession of the assessment results from the ICAA (accounting body) for two weeks and still hasn't lodged. when we ask when he intends to lodge, we just get 'these things take time and have to be done exactly right to avoid delays later'. When we (or rather I) tried to press him for how much time, he basically told me to bugger off, that we weren't his only clients and when he has lodged, he will let us know!! We are on the MoDL and would have liked to have been in Oz by January (about 20 weeks from now), but that seems very unlikely now. Our house is sold, everything is in place for us to go except the lodging of the visa.

The worst thing is that we had our medicals done yesterday and our doctor said he would send them straight to Sydney for processing, and our visa hasn't even been lodged yet. We emailed our agent in the hope of some reassurance that he would have lodged by the time the medicals arrive, but no, he just said 'thanks mate for letting me know, that's all ok!!'. I am tearing my hair out. Our case is very straight forward (we are below 40, hubby's skill is on the MODL, have family in Oz) and am now wishing we had either done it ourselves or at least engaged someone a bit closer to home. As it is, we have just paid him our last instalment and we are at the mercy of him. hubby has begged me not to pee him off any more as he is afraid ours will just get left at the bottom of the pile and never lodged. Personally, I want to go over there and rip his head off!!

SuperSeagulls

I used an Agent (ASA www.australia-migration.com) for both my skills assessment and visa application and was very glad that I did. My application was quite straightforward but I paid to use an Agent for added peace of mind.

SS

toon williams

I would be the same as you, wanting to go over there and give him a HUGE kick up the Bum!! How strange that he hasnt done it yet and there is obviously no reason!!

lovealot

We used an agent, I have a form phobia and did not relish the thoughts of this so I opted to use Global Visa's.
The girl we dealt with is called Annie Weir. She is Australian herself and was very professional in her approach.
We now have our visa's in our pockets and could not have done it without her.

BettyBoop

our story is similar to that of Tabby's above and we also used A.S.A. the same as Superseagull's..We highly recommend them....steered a path through the Dimia maze for us and let us get on with Uni and work etc.

Simoned1

We didn't use one and had no probs at all in getting our visa. However I think it very much depends on your circumstances, we have everything they are looking for as we are married with no children, in our 20's, my husbands occupation is on the MODL list, no health probs. You also need to be good on the internet as you can't just ring someone and ask questions like you can when your with an agency, so alot of research needs to be done.

AnitaB

Hi

My hubby did his skills assessment with ICAA using BE when he needed help. If we had needed TRA I think we would have used an agent.

The main application he did himself.

I would recommend downloading the 47SK form and spend some time looking through it. There really is nothing particularly difficult about the form although being able to photocopy everything is essential.

We spent about 3 days carefuly going through the form, filling it in in pencil and making sure we answered the appropriate questions. It is all pretty straightforward.

Good luck with your application whatever decision you make!

AnitaB

PINOYAU

Your best strategy is to email, telephone, or write to your agent and find out approximately when your matter will be finalised, or ask your sponsor to do it. Tearing your hair out and threatening to rip his head off [and stick it where it fits] will probably not be productive. Panic is always undignified and usually unnecessary.

I do not know why you undertook medical examinations at this stage; it is usual for applications lodged with ASPC to wait until your case officer invites you to do so. You will not be granted visas that are valid beyond the 12-month currency of your medical examinations. In circumstances where you have undertaken medical examinations it is essential to lodge your visa application as soon as possible.

In our consultancy when we have fully prepared a visa application package we put it aside and have second person review it before we lodge it. We have had numerous case where clients have taken a year or more to send us the documents we needed and then they were jumping up and down because we did not lodge the application immediately. A Registered Migration Agent does an enormous amount of work that a client does not know about, for example making certain that a copy of EVERY relevant document is on file, checking whether there have there been any last-minute changes to fees, forms, regulations, DIMIA policy, and whether there have their been any changes to client particulars, employment, address, contact details and so on. Sometimes urgent matters arise, that must be given priority over cases that will not be adversely affected by a short delay. Your representative might very well be acting in your best interests without explaining to you all the minutiae of the migration regulations. I can think of several reasons why it might be in a client’s best interests to defer lodgement of a sponsored MODL application for a time.

This is not legal or professional advice; I know nothing about your case, but it might assist you to resolve your apparent issue with your representative. It is seldom a good idea to hire a dog and then bark yourself. If you think you know more than your agent does, instruct him to lodge the application as it stands within xxx days and he will do it.

With all that if you feel that your case has not been properly handled I suggest that you go to www.themara.com.au and read the Code of Conduct, in particular 2.18:

2.18 A registered migration agent must act in a timely manner if the client has provided all the necessary information and documentation in time for statutory deadlines. For example, in most circumstances an application under the Migration Act or Migration Regulations must be submitted before a person’s visa ceases to be in effect.

and

2.8 A registered migration agent must:
(a) within a reasonable time after agreeing to represent a client, confirm the client’s
instructions in writing; and
(b) act in accordance with the client’s instructions; and
(c) keep the client fully and regularly informed in writing of the progress of each case or application that the agent undertakes for the client; and
(d) within a reasonable time after the case or application is decided, tell the client in writing of the outcome of the client’s case or application.



Best wishes

Westly Russell
Registered Migration Agent
Number 0316072
www.pinoyau.com