can anyone tell me a good reason why we cant do our visa 136 application ourself. is there any advantages on using an agent,as all i have heard is how things seem to take twice as long.

Our agent was really fast, sorted loads of niggly bits out and double checked everything. Peace of mind was well worth the cost although I do think you could easily do it yourself if you have the time.

You can but youve only one chance to get it right. we didnt take that chance because we needed it in before my 45 birthday.
we have used www.australian-migration.com they have been great double checking everything. total cost including DIMA costs and skills assessment £ 2300.
only other cost is postage to them in WA and medicals.
keeps us updated by e-mail CO only 2 weeks away, medicals / police checks done so not long now . thats from Dec 05.
sharon

hi will keep you posted i am just going to have a sift through the visa application and see what is involved. i have done the skills assesment already and its all ready to go thanks to the help of others online.. lets just keep our fingers crossed and by the looks of it everything else.

if you've already done the skills assessment i`d carry on and do it yourself mate
the visa application was way easier than the TRA application

my opinion

regards Steve

personally, after using an agent for my 136 visa, i'd say it's a waste of money

i was lazy and didnt believe that I could fill the forms in.

actually, all that happened is that the agent just checked stuff and passed it on

they literally do NOTHING other than forward bits of paper

you have to organise (and pay for) all the certified copies, medicals, etc, etc

save your cash, do everything yourself and go through someone like alan jones (i think) who's an agent in Oz, or someone here to double check your forms before you send them

I agree with the last do it yourself mate. It will save you about a grand and i think you end up being more thorough than an agent because you are so paranoid about missing something. All the help you need is online but don't expect any help from immigration themselves!

thanks to everyone for their advice, i think with all that in mind i will try and do it myself and heres hoping, will let you know of the outcome.

if you have done the skills assesment then the application will be a breeze. We did the whole lot ourselves and saved a lot of money. The agents don't do anything you can't do yourselves and just seem to be middle men. They are probably very useful if you don't have a straight forward case, but otherwise save your money.

Search on here and you will find quite a few threads from people who are fed up with waiting for their agents to act.

If you have a straight forward applcatuin, go for it! An agent can be invaluable though in some cases - if you have a criminal record, medical problem, kids from previous marriages, anything which may cause a hitch, then it is more worth your while to pay an reputable agent.

[QUOTE=bleugh]personally, after using an agent for my 136 visa, i'd say it's a waste of money

i was lazy and didnt believe that I could fill the forms in.

actually, all that happened is that the agent just checked stuff and passed it on

they literally do NOTHING other than forward bits of paper

you have to organise (and pay for) all the certified copies, medicals, etc, etc

save your cash, do everything yourself and go through someone like alan jones (i think) who's an agent in Oz, or someone here to double check your forms before you send them[/QUOTE

Totally agree with this-we did it ourselves after seeing what Agent was going to charge :scared: very time consuming but saved a lot of money in the end

You tight Scottish git!

I heard someone say that if you use an agent your application is processed quicker, is this true?

By the way I am using an Agent, purely beacuse of peace of mind and the double checking - however if you are sure you have got everything right then do it yourself and save loads of money.

You can actually use an on-line agent costing abt $300 dollars. They ask you to fill in a long form and then send you advice (abt 50 pages worth). You can then put questions to them and they reply, all by e-mail. Its another option and not too dear. Its like being led by the hand. Just google liveinaustralia and you'll find what you want. Check it out. Good luck

yep i can vouch for them too
helped me no end with my application