Has anyone used Pathwaytoaus.com migrating agent?

We are a family of 3 (2adults+2years old child) living in UK. My husband wants to come over to Australia to study and gain a qualification. I would be added onto his visa together with our son.

We have come across Pathwaytoaus and so far they have been excellent with info provided, reply times etc. I have checked the MARA website to search them out with the mara number shown on their website,but nothing is coming up??? The agent I have been talking to is on there as an individual and linked to a different company name? It has just confused me a bit , am I missing something?

They said their service is free and they are getting commission from the college instead, but we still dont want to waste any time...

I would appreciate to hear about any experience anyone has with them.

Thanks!

The MARA number Pathway to Aus display on their website belongs to a woman (not Nicholas Yock, Pathway to Aus agent who claims to be a registered MARA agent). See below from MARA website:

Registered Migration Agent Details
Yoland Amanda Swasbrook
Migration Agent Registration Number: 1278493
Current Status: Registered
Business: Inbound Migration Pty Ltd

Please exercise extreme caution Huske

Thank you Spouse of scouse for the info...I am confused about the fact that he is registered as an individual migration agent on mara website, but not linked to pathwaystoaus?
Something not quite right there me thinks and that is why I am questioning it...

Hi Huske - in your situation, you may be better looking at retraining while in the UK to hopefully move at a later date. It is probably something he could do alongside his current job - or indeed something you could do.

In response to the info above, I sent info to MARA who will check the legitimacy of the company.

Thank you Old.sparkles! We have considered retraining in UK, but it is not something we want to do. We want to move soon ish. Unfortunately his current job is not on the Skillselect, therefore we have to go down the retraining route.

Although we could apply for the visas ourselves, we thought finding an agent would save us time as there is lots else to organise...

As an international student, fees will be higher, you have no access to government support so will need to pay fees in advance - and only have emergency medical. All GP visits will need to be paid for, etc.

In the UK, your partner or yourself can carry on working while retraining. There is access to government funding, benefits, etc.

You may want to move soonish, but student visas only allow you to work 20hrs week - it will be hard to earn enough to cover fees let alone living costs for 3 of you - and that is if you can find work. Retraining in the UK may not be what you want to do, but it may still be the best long term option.

What is your husband hoping to train as?

What is he going to study?

You need to be aware that a student visa is not generally considered a pathway to Australia. It is extremely difficult to progress from a student visa to a permanent visa. I would only be considering this myself if I had plenty of money behind me and was mentally prepared to come back to the UK at the end of it.

He wants to retrain to become a carpenter (certificate III in Carpentry). We have looked into the course fees and other info, so we are aware of the cost. We are hoping that once he has gained this qualification as well as the required 900 hrs of work experience , he will be able to apply through Skillselect for a permanent independent work visa.

@Bermudashorts, what do you mean by " It is extremely difficult to progress from a student visa to a permanent visa." Could you please explain that a bit more?

We have looked into the cost and it will by no means be a cheap option, still it is the one we want to go through with. we will obviously have a medical insurance cover for emergencies too..

Please let me know if MARA gets back to you regarding the pathwaystoaus .

Thank you!

I mean just that. The chances of progressing to a permanent visa after taking a carpentry course are very low as the student to permanent visa route was all but closed some years ago.

You should be aware that when you come on a student visa it is a requirement that your intentions should be for a temporary stay too.

Why do you think he would be able to get a permanent visa? How would he get the relevant experience to pass a skills assessment?

I think you have been sold a dream here.

Given that carpentry requires apprenticeship and those are hard to come by, not sure if that would be even possible without a PR or citizenship?

It is not just medical emergencies that need cover. Visiting a GP or dentist for regular treatment costs.

A trade apprenticeship is 4 years, at which point your OH will be qualified but wil no experience dor a skilled visa. It may not be possible to pass the points test depending on age. And I'm not sure how possible it is to study a trade on a student visa since there is a requirement to pay apprentices, but students are limited to only 20hrs week paid employment (and partners on this visa will have the same restriction). How old is your OH currently?

Depending on what state you are in, you may need to pay for education of your child when they reach school age.

Again, the best route would be to retrain in the UK where you have government and family support. There is nothing to stop you holidaying in the meantime.

The problem with this route is that if you want to stay in Australia afterwards, he would need to pass a skills assessment. The assessment requires a combination of qualification and POST qualification experience - usually several years. So, he would find himself in the catch 22 that most students do - cant get the visa without experience but cant get the experience without the visa

A common misconception is that an agent makes the application easier/quicker. They don't. All they do is advise you what you have to do, how to do it and then check what you've done. You still have to do all the leg work, get the info together, chase references, fill in the forms etc.

Disclaimer: I say 'all' with no disrespect to any agents, many people are more than happy with the service they get from their agent and they obviously (if MARA registered) have a great deal of expertise which is necessary if your case is complicated.

Huske

I am going through a similar process to yourself at the moment and am managing fine without an Agent. My husband and I will by arriving in Melbourne in Jan 2017. We are currently living with my parents to allow us to save as much as possible to cushion the fact that we can only work 20 hours a week whilst I study. I am aiming to study for 2 years then hopefully apply for the temp graduate visa (somebody may tell me that route wont be possible but that is the plan for now!)

The college have been brilliant in helping me with my application. I now have my Confirmation of Enrolment and OSHC and now I am just waiting to apply for a student visa (you cant apply before 124 days before intended arrival) in the meantime I have all of my paperwork ready to go. The visa for my husband and I is working out at about £500.00. The process is really easy to navigate yourself and I can see no benefit of having an agent in this type of scenario. We did consider applying for skills select but I was shy of points due to not having a degree, if we had pursued this route I would def have used an agent as it was a minefield!

Hope this helps!