mutang

Hi all , newbie first time ! I'm trying to get an idea of rough costs for a skills independant visa from start to finish . I have the points required ( if i pay the bond ) , and expect no major problems . From the agents fees + visa application + medical fees + etc ... Is it worth paying more for a good agent or should they all do they same job?
Thanks guys!

Peter

http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/990i.htm for the official fees.

Medical fees are a big variable obviously and re: agents, the consensus seems to be that they can definitely help. Like any other service, you get the good with the bad.

Alan Collett and George Lombard seem to be the two most favoured around here.

bondipom

Agents can help save you time and help you create a well laid out application that will not get delayed for requests for more information. DIY is perfectly possible if you have the time the application has just as much chance if you meet the criteria. An agent can certainly help with borderline cases.

What visa class are you going for and with what skills?

mutang

I'm going for a Skills independant visa , with my skill being an aircraft engineer ( which is on the SOL list ) . I realise the fixed costs are ' fixed ' ie. agent fees , visa application , skills assessment , i was wondering about the other non-fixed fees like medicals . Can i get them done with my local doc or do i have to go elsewhere ? Also , i'll have 3 kids , 2/4/13 will they require the same level of medical as me and my partner ?
Thanks...

bondipom

There is a list of panel docs on www.australia.org.uk . Costs vary and with some you can get your X-ray and meds together. I did my meds at the Knightsbridge which was just over 100GBP in 2001.

markeh

Hiya Mutang,

I'm a firm believer in DIY and saving money. If it's going to be complex or you don't have the time then use an agent.

Cost wise it's;
@ 800 for the application
@ 100 for the assessment - depends on assessing body!
@ 138 for each medical
@ 25 courier fees to Oz
@ 10 for each police check



One note about the doctors & meds, you have to use a recognised doctor from the doctors list. (I think it's best to get one that is in with an X ray,so it c\an be done in one visit, particularly if you have children.)

You can front end load the application, depending on how good at aranging it all you are in the hope of not having a delayat the back end. An alternative is to have the meds & police records done 5 months in & keep them in your back pocket untill they are requested.


In the end you talke your choice of how to do it.
I hope it goes well for you.

Bye
Mark

flying dutchman

Hi Mutang,
Having just come to the end of the whole process, I would recommend you do it on your own and save the agency fees IF you have the time to do a good job. We couldn't have done it without this forum as an information source.

I would also say that it has been the hidden costs that have pushed the costs up. Especially couriers! As the UK post is currently less than reliable, I have couriered everything and each time it has been between £30 and £50. Also, don't forget the costs associated with skills assessment, document certification (sometimes £5 per document).

I haven't worked out the total cost yet (including what the bond is costing me). Perhaps I will do that one day.... Bear it all in mind though.

mutang

Cheers for the help so far , the DIY option is rather tempting ( the £800 saved is always tempting! ) . The process doesn't seem too bad especially as my case is not borderline . Is there any other DIY pitfalls i should expect ?

Rosie n family

My husband is also an aircraft engineer (helicopters) We did our application ourselves (but not on skills as Im Australian by decent) He will probably look for work out of Bankstown Airport, Sydney - be warned wages are quite a bit lower!

mutang

Hi Rosie , thanks for the reply . I more suited to 4 engined tubes than whirly 'copters , however i know what you mean about the wages ! However , i guess the whole wages issue is relative to where you live . Living and working at Heathrow is expensive , i'm hoping to move to Melbourne and work from there . Hopefully the wages will reflect the standard of living . ( and i won't have a mortgage either...yipee! )

sj oldfield

Hi,

I would have said I was more than capable of putting the application together, however we chose to use an agent, mainly because of their experiance and knowledge.

arlene

all inclusive (sound like a holday rep!) not much change out of £12 grand

but that was for tarting the house up, solicitors, estage agents, shipping, flights, application and assessment fees etc

arlene

Salli

Hi there,

We used an agent, Global Visas, and they were fantastic. I had to do an ACS RPL and we went for Skilled Independent which isn't the easiest route. The agents checked each thing through for us several times to make sure (as sure as they could be) that the application and RPL would be accepted first time (it was!).

The whole process was made much easier by using them, they have huge amounts of experience at getting people their visas, and they also have contacts in the various organisations so could find out where things were and chase things if necessary (which was for the RPL acceptance letter which had 'gone missing' at the Australia end!).

They let us know when to get things done (medicals and police checks) so that we didn't waste time once they'd be requested, but didn't get them done too far in advance either.

I know it's possible to do all this yourself, but we decided for the small cost (relative to what you actually spend in the whole migration process) it was well worth it for our peace of mind.

Their web address is www.globalvisas.com

Can't recommend them enough!

Salli

walaj

IMO the hard bit is getting the positive skills assessment with early enough deeming date to claim the work experience points (not sure if deeming date applies to your skills assessing body).

If you somehow fail then you could seek an agents help, otherwise age/english ability points are easy to prove and from what you say you should get the 120 points required.

One difficult point could occur if any of your children are fathered/mothered by someone other than you and your partner, as you would need the other parents permission to either leave the country or have medicals if they are staying.

More money for an agent does not always equal better service. For instance 4 corners has not always had good feedback, & I if I remember right they can charge £4K.

You have found this site which is of a great help for queries or just reassurance. Some agents do visit the forum, but some only post on the immigration forum.

best of luck

Salli

I agree with this 100%. By getting the agent to check over the RPL and confirm that it was of a suitable standard (this took a couple of gos as I didn't really appreciate to begin with the lengths you have to go to for an RPL!) we managed to get our application into Oz before they upped the points. As it is, we had enough points to get our skilled Independent...had we taken longer, or had an RPL rejected and had to resubmit we would have ended up having to put in the £40,0000 bond money due to the points level being increased. I know we would have got that money back, but having it in our pockets to begin with is going to make moving much easier.