Hi there. Hubby, son and I have just decided Australia is the place for us, so we have completed the appraisal on a webiste called Live In Australia. Has anyone used them for the whole move, using their premium service?? Their responses are very quick and concise.

We are looking at the skilled migrant Visa as I'm an accountant, but there seems to be so many agents out there it's very scary!!!

Any advice really appreciated, or anyone in our area going through the same process.

Thanks
Judith

Hi Judith,

I don't know anything about the website you're referring to, but you'll definitly find loads of advice on here about agents.
Two that I know of are;

www.gomatilda.com
www.austimmigration.com.au

Try doing a search on the forum for immigration agents and that should bring up lots of discussion. Here's some links to start you off.

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...gration+agents
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...gration+agents
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...gration+agents

Good Luck

thanks so much....it seems to me that Go Matilda is the one that has so many possitive comments. I think I'll contact them for a quote.
J

I used the web site...I paid about £100 at the time 2 years ago and got a very precise report on just what i needed to do and what the areas of concern were and what to concentrate on. I think it saved me heaps of money...I am just at the final stage now...my brothers been asked to lodge the bond today...so I would recommend them...they can answer all your questions quite quickly and easily and save you forking out hundreds on a agent....

Do they look over your documents prior to sending them off??Or do you do everything your self and just use them for advice...it appears there is a huge difference between companies acting as agents and those just giving advice via e-mail, but I guess if you have the time you can do it yourself.

thanks,
Judith

No i didnt get them to look at what I sent I purely used them for advice...Im not sure if they offer that service I would assume they do but it costs more money i would imagine...Reference your mentioning "doing everything yourself" I think or should I say its my opinion that you do anyway agent or not...they dont do the running round getting references etc for you...you do. I guess another reason I opted out of shelling out all that money...I dont think its worth it...they basically tell you what to go and get and then check it...big deal...big con...but thats only my opinion im sure there are many who would dissagree...and i have to say on the plus for them there are some agents who help out loads on this site....for nothing....

I honestly dont think an agent would have saved me any time,not unless they can do all your certified copies or something like that

Hi Judith,

I am an accountant going through the process. I did not use an agent. The process of collating and arranging for notarising documents is time consuming, but no big deal (in most cases). The forms are a little scary at first. Apart from one blip (I applied for police checks to early and have now updated them) it has gone quite smoothly. I expect to hear in the next month or two whether I have been successful.

I applied last March and sent back medicals requested early December. As an accountant it could be pretty straightforward if you are right age and have experience. Although, if you want piece of mind agents like Alan Collett and George Lombard have very good reputations on the forum.

Welcome to the forum

Cheers


Mark

Thanks for the advice, this forum is great for us newcomers, I already answered so many questions we had just reading through the threads. The acronyms are a bit difficult to work out sometimes, but it is fun trying.....

Hi Judith

I am also an accountant and there are a handful of others on here. Feel free to send me a personal message (PM) if you want any specific advice or just start a new thread. Pre-visa stuff tends to get asked on the immigration forum by the way but it is far from a rule.

Hi Judith
My partner and I are moving out to Sydney at the end of March. He works for one of the 'Big 4' accountancy firms and we were lucky enough to get a transfer with his employer, which has taken away a lot of the stress of visas, relocating etc..
Not sure who you work for or if you've tried to do this already but the likes of PwC, Ernst & Young and Deloittes seem to be really agressively recruiting in Oz and NZ at the moment and I know you don't have to already be working for them to get a job in another country with them (another friend is an accountant and her and her family have just gone to Barbados with Deloittes on a 2 year contract and she was working for a small independent firm of accountants when she applied).
Could just be an easier starting point to get over there quickly and see if you like it for a couple of years, then decide if you want to apply for permanent residency if you do.
My partner and I aren't married but I get exactly the same working rights as he does and we're both effectively given temporary residency so we can buy a house if we want to, that sort of thing.
Might not be right for you as I obviously don't know the details of your situation but food for thought anyway...
Good luck!

Thanks for that. I work in industry rather than in practice, but will give their websites a look.

J

I can also recommend Peter Elliott at Wessex Migration. Very thorough and alwasy at the end of the phone/email to answer any questions/queries quickly and efficiently.

[email protected]

www.wessexmigration.co.uk

Do they sponsor for a permanent visa or a temporary one only?
If just a temporary visa, make sure you fully understand all the issues and risks in the 457 visa versus permanent residence:
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=266447

People with school age children in NSW get stung big-time for school fees if they only have a 457 visa.

A lot of people come to Australia with this in mind, and then something intervenes to stop them getting permanent residence in the end (employer can't or won't sponsor, they've lost their job, they've become sick etc), and much as they want to stay they have to take a one-way trip home.

And even if you do manage to get PR in the end, you'll then have to wait much longer for citizenship - if you get PR at the start, you may find you're a citizen before some of your friends have even got their PR sorted out.

As far as DIMIA is concerned, partners of 457 visa holders have full work rights, but you may find employers unwilling to hire you for any kind of long term, career-orientated job (ie the better jobs) as you don't have PR.

Subject to FIRB restrictions as you don't have PR - http://www.firb.gov.au


Jeremy