Migration Agents
 

Hi all,

We are looking to start our application to migrate (To Oz) at the end of this year/ start of next. I am getting as much information as possible. Our application may be quite difficult as we are hoping to migrate under the CIPFA qualification (Partially Recognised), we may run into problems so we are looking to use an agent.

I am thinking of going with either Ian Harrop or OE Visas, what does everyone think of these two or would they recommend another?

Could anyone recommend an agent who they used to migrate as an accountant?

Thanks

Gethy :D

we used Ian Harrop can highly recommend him

Ian Harrop were very good when I went through 4 years ago. My particular agent was Zeno Bolzicco and he was a top man.

Due to being in the RAF at the time as an engineering weapons technician my case was very difficult to get across into civvy terms for TRA. Zeno got it sorted though and I got my PR.

Highly recommended.

Re: Migration Agents
 

Hi Gethy
We're using OE visas. Just at the start of the process, but so far they have been great. I'll let you know if we have any problems with them as the application Progresses.
If you do a search of the forums you will find alot of references to agents and recommendations. As with everything, we all have diferent experiences, some good some bad.
Best of luck with the application

Re: Migration Agents
 

Hello Gethy
We're using OE visa too, and they've been excellent so far.

Andrea

Positive ACS Assessment
 

Well I'm very pleased with my Agent. I've just had a positive result come back this morning following a rather difficult RPL (Recognition of prior learning) for the Australian Computer Society. My agent (Ray Terry) at Ozmigrate has been really helpful. I would definately recommend them!!

Thanks everyone,

Good to hear (so far) that most people have positive things to say about agents. I think for our perspective application we are best to use an agent as it could get messy.

Much appreciated.

:)

TRy searching for "runt" on the forum. Seem tio remember He was an accountant using OE visas. PMed once but I deleted it.

Good luck!

We used Annie at Global Visas....couldn't recommend her enough, she helped me write an RPL and I'm sure I wouldn't have got through first time without her!:D

Stewie and co..

you have nothing to worry about with OE..We used them and absolutely spot on!!!!!3.5 months from lodging aplication to visa in passport..!!

Top Notch!!!!!:beer:

dobbo

We initially used Ian Harrop but for us they were the pits!!! :mad: Now with GoMatilda and cannot praise them highly enough.

Re: Migration Agents
 

We are using oEvisas - they are excellent no complaints so far.
In fact they are on the phone to hubby right now!! We had our meds today as well - scary or what??

Highly recommend any of them from OE

Another vote for Ian Harrop - excellent service - no worries!

Ian dealt with our application - but we spoke to Zeno (excellent) and Dave Clifton - if we rang - the calls were dealt with immediately & really professionally - but with friendly service too!

No hesitations recommending them - in fact we have recommended 3 sets of people & they are all delighted. My brother will also be using them if he decides to apply (after visiting us Xmas 2005.

cheers

pockygoes

Hi guys,
3.5 moths for a visa is fantastic what catagory have you gone under,
regards hch.:)

You've been rumbled Ian - you're that Hans Blix bloke, really, aren't you?

;)

Anya.

hi


139 skilled area designated sponsored....couldn't beleive how quick!!!!!Now if only the house was sold!!!!

LOL

Cheers

scott:beer:

I am looking for a UK based one. I know OE Visas have offices here. Emailed them 2 days ago about my options but havent heard anything yet.
Do they charge an initial consultation fee or is the 1st one free.:p

Re: Migration Agents
 

I am thinking of going with either Ian Harrop or OE Visas, what does everyone think of these two or would they recommend another?

We went with Ian Harrop, Burford. Got our visas after only 8 months (hubby is a goldsmith). He also managed to get my sister and family a visa too.

Brill service and very professional. Worth the money for us - emigrating in Nov this year- whey hey...........

Cheers

Jules :p

OE charge around £45.00 but its free if you go ahead!!!!LOL

They are dead cool and gave us tons of info on phone and we briefly outlined our case......Phone them at Edinburgh..Really helpful..i do know they have the odd e mail prob!!

Good luck

Scott:beer:

Hi again,
did you send your medicals and police check with the application, we are going stni and have sent everything together hoping that we will get a result a bit quicker,
cheers hch.

Amongst all the euphoria about agents, and probably not for those who have a complicated application, there are many of us who have had very negative experiences with some agents!

For a straightforward application with no real problems, using an agent can hold things up and can also cost a lot of money.

Homework, especially on this forum, can save a lot of heartburn!

As Rog knows I agree totally with him.Personal feeling is that at the end of the day you , the applicant, has to gather all the paper work together,get references ,get the certified copies etc etc and forword all of this to the agent who looks over it and pops it in the post to Dimia.No agent can get you a visa faster -if they could then everyone would use that select few agents.

I can see the point of using an agent in the case of
a)certain skills that may need more work to get the assesment i.e TRA ,ACS etc
and b)cases where you *know* there may be complications.
There is enough information on this site to cover every single type of application if you research fora few hours/days.And if you cant find the info then ask.Also the first thing you should do is read the basic FAQ at the top of this forum by PTLABS.

echo'ing Rogs point many of us have had very negative experiences with agents.

Is that not fairly standard timeline for that kind of application. As someone else said, agents cannot speed up your application. If your application is particularly messy or complicated, they may be able to give advice.

But for most standard applications, they are not necessary. They are an extra layer between you and the DIMIA, and delay applications.

Way back at the start of our application process (April/May 2003) we were investigating agents, because we assumed that was the way to go. But after numerous calls to agents who could not explain what value they could add to our application, we came to the conclusion that we'd save the few thousand and do it ourselves. One agent got particularly upset when I kept asking exactly what it was he could do for us, he exclaimed 'I've never had to justify the service I provide before!'. That was the clincher, he couldn't justify his service or cost for our case.

As has been said, the real donkey work in the application is getting all your references, assessments and details together. The agent can't do this for you. If you are going to go to all that effort, why not go the last mile and do the research, form checking yourself. Its not as time consuming as getting references, skills assessments etc.

A bit of research, using sites like this and the immi.gov.au site, and being methodical can save a few thousand,

Cheers,
JTL

Depends how you look at it.

For us, it was absolutely critical to get everything right first time. If anything had been wrong or missing or needing re-submitting, we would never have passed all the milestones in time. Therefore we used an agent as an intermediary, not only to find out more quickly exactly what we needed to gather together, but more importantly to submit documents etc to as a trial run in order to cut down the feedback time when we got things not quite right. Obviously this was far quicker than submitting stuff to DIMIA/ACS/whoever in Oz, so in that sense the agent did speed things up.

Essentially we were paying someone else (more experienced) to hold our hands and proof-read every step of the way, as a mental insurance policy. In our time-critical position we felt this was important; not everyone is in that position.

Re: Migration Agents
 

Hi Gethy,

I'm a CIPFA accountant and didn't use an agent - did it all myself!

Why do you think you'll have problems due to CIPFA?

I had no problem due to the CIPFA qualification, though I did have a family crisis while the application was going through and had a lot of moral support both from the immigration forum and a couple of agents - JAJ and Alan Collett in particular were really helpful. In the end I worked out what I needed to do and the visa aplication went through with no problem. (Skilled Designated Area Sponsored class 139.)

I think if you are under time pressure, your situation is complicated or you're applying under a less common visa category you really need an agent to ensure you've covered everything, but if you're methodical and do your homework it should be possible to do your own application if it's straighforward.

It also depends on how confident you feel that you understand what you need to do- there's always people on forums who will advise but you need to check what we say as we are not experts, just experienced!

You can PM me if you want to discuss outside the forum.

Good luck,

Elaine M

Ok. How about this statement:

"Agents cannot speed up your application, but they can prevent delays.

But they can also create delays."

Hows that?

Luckily we were able to do the whole application process from getting ACS assessment through to visas without ever getting anything sent back, or queried. I understand that we were probably lucky, and some peoples applications are more complicated, but our situation wasn't exactly straightforward either, but the info is all there on the immi website (we didn't even know about the British expats website during the process, this would have been a godsend).

If you've got spare money, and you know a good agent, and you want peace of mind, then by all means use an agent. Just don't think they are going to take any of the donkey work out of it. YOU still have to get all the docs and fill in all the forms. The agent will just charge you a couple of thousand to make sure you have done it right,

Cheers,
JTL

Thanks everyone for posting response's, the comments have given us a small insight into peoples dealings with agents and it will help us to decide either way.

Elaine I have PM'd you.

Cheers All

I'll go with all that!

pockygoes

couldn't agree with you more, we used Ian Harrop no problems what so ever, would recommend him to anyone who wants to get a visa.

Good luck

HK

Agreed. I'm happy to have saved a couple of thousand pounds not using an agent, which I can put towards a house in Oz, and your happy your agent was value for money.

We're both happy :D

Cheers,
JTL

Just means I'll have the bigger house in Oz;)

Well done

Good luck

HK

Thanks:D

HI People
Here's a little story to help you decide... are we sitting comfortably?... good!...then I'll begin...


As we mentioned before we used OE Visas. This was our third attempt at getting that elusive PR visa. In 1990 we applied SAS and failed because we were too naive and the www did not exist. In 1995 we applied Distinguished Talent and failed..political reasons really. So we were NOT going to take any chances again.
We researched and assessed our situation...and Yes...even with a degree and some work experience we still had 'complications'!
We also knew we had a better chance using an agent than going it alone. Every situation is different and you have to fully evaluate your options.
OE Visas believed in us when every other agent said we had no chance and we saw them all. We're not knocking the others they were very good but our case wasn't that simple!
We decided rightly or wrongly, that an agent is like an 'endorsement' of your application which may help DIMIA see it as a worthy case, and went ahead with them.
In the end OE Visas got my qualification recognised and my nominated occupation. They also helped me obtain the 'right' reference that I needed to prove my experience in an occupation on the SOL. I got my 60 points!! and we passed with flying colours...115 points! Only needed 110 SAS.
They have helped and are still helping advise us through the next tricky steps.
We have got out PCCs and now completed our meds..though we are waiting on some results still bu hopefully thats just a formality.
Only need to prove our sponsors income and pay the bond and ....
BINGO!

The moral of this story is that what ever you decide and who ever you decide to go with, consider your own situation on its own merits and decide for yourself...how much do you want this.....really, really want this????

Then you have your decision!

Good luck & hope this little saga helps...
:D :cool:

Well there's certainly a lot of cynicism out there about the competency of agents. My thoughts:

- The quality of the work delivered by agents varies from the very good through to the downright questionable. This is a challenge that faces the DIMIA and the regulator of the profession, and as JAJ knows I feel strongly about better efforts being required to improve standards and fleshing out the incompetent.

- Agents are there to add value, to improve the prospects of the intending migrant, and maybe simply to give comfort to the migrant. Some intending migrants will be able to research all they need to know through their own efforts. Others would have no chance unless they engaged a competent agent. And others simply have to get it right first time because their application is time critical. Each intending migrant has to assess their own abilities in this regard - personally for a life changing decision I wouldn't want to take any chances, but that's my personal view, albeit one that is open to the charge of bias.

- Agents should also give structure to the paperwork that is lodged with a visa application and (more importantly) skills assessment applications for those who are applying for a skilled visa, particularly for those with trade skills or who are lodging applications to the ACS or the IEA under the RPL pathway. These applications are not for the faint hearted, and although much information has to be prepared/provided by the applicant it is the assimilation of this information in a coherent manner that is more likely to generate the desired outcome.

- Can an agent reduce the time taken to obtain visa grant? Once the visa application is lodged there are some time efficiencies that I like to think we as a firm can bring to bear. For example, in today's post I might receive requests for medicals, or the lodgement of Bonds for 138 or 139-applicants. As I am in Melbourne I will receive these letters a day or two after they are sent from Adelaide; they would probably take a week reach the UK. On receipt of such correspondence I send an email straightaway to our client. He or she can then take the necessary action (eg arranging the medical examination, liaising with their assurer, etc). My colleagues in the UK can also liaise with the client as required if they have any questions. For some clients this might mean lopping a couple of weeks off the overall processing time, which isn't a lot in the overall scheme of things, but as most want visa grant ASAP this can be an important element.

Best regards.

Also ... we complete the forms for our clients to sign using form filling software. Clearly not all agents approach applications in the same manner ...

Best regards.

I don't think that's quite right. It's more like doubt about the agents' ability to "add value" in all cases. I don't recall seeing any postings accusing any agent of actually cocking anything up, at least not on this thread.

From above:

"many of us have had very negative experiences with agents ...."

Best regards.

Well that was a general statement, not backed up by any instances of what went wrong. Maybe people are just trying to avoid accusations of libel, but I would like to see hard evidence of which agents have done what wrong. I'm sure you would too!

The same agruement could be put about any sort of agents...
estate agents, employment agents, etc... as to value for money.

I still stick by what I said earlier that each case is individual and you have to weigh up how much you really want your application to succeed, or can afford for it to fail!

Our hearts are certainly set on settling in OZ and we just cannot face the prospect of failing..again! So we wanted to be as certain as we could be. Nearly all Migrant Agents claim a near perfect success rate so there must be something in that.

If it was that simple to do for everybody then everybody would be doing it themselves and the agents would go out of business. They are there to help you and it also gives you a sense that you're not in it on your own.....much like this forum really.


:D

We're not here to discredit the good work of many migration agents, especially those often mentioned and praised in this forum.

The problem is, as Alan Collett says, there are good and bad agents out there. Some of us who weren't fortunate to have come across this forum and read recommendations before approaching any agents.

In our case, we spoke to an agent in Scotland and an agent in Melbourne. Neither of them was able to tell us how they could actually help us. And neither of them had the honesty to say to us that our application was straight-forward enough to be lodged by ourselves. We even paid the Melbourne agent a small sum for an initial on-line assessment and a half-hour consultation, only to find out that our "best chance" was to apply under the "Skill-Independent" subclass. That we had already figured out by going through guidelines on the DIMIA site.

I am sure both agencies we spoke to were competent in their work, but they weren't adding any value in our application because it was so straight-forward.

Question for any migration agent: Have you ever told a prospective customer, when you knew that he/she had a very straight-forward background for immigration, that he/she could possibly lodge the application himself/herself without agent? If you have, you have all my respect and admiration.

Cheers,
Mrs JTL