jaxowen

does everybody use an agent to sort their visa out?

how much should we be paying????

is it worth it?????

bundy

Need more details to answer that!

What kind of visa are you applying for?

Al H

Welcome to the forum

Lots of people don't use an agent, if their case is relatively starightforward, and there is lots of advice on this forum (especially in the immigration part) that will help you enormously. I will add that we are using an agent.

Depends on the type of visa and complexity of your case, but £1000-2000 plus official fees, medicals etc is about the norm (I wait to be corrected!)

It is worth it if:
1. Your case is complicated
2. You want peace of mind that you are answering all the questions correctly
3. You are not sure the best route for you to take
4. You don't have the time to do it all yourself (because you are always on this forum!)

Alastair

jaxowen

i think 'skilled visa' as i am a teacher, we do have family in brisbane but apparently this is not a useful area for them to live with regard to the points system.

bundy

I'm not much help with this stuff as I'm going down the spouse visa route (no agent required ). But there are plenty on this part of the forum, and on the immigration section, who will be able to help.

Come on guys, anyone give some advice?

elksa

Alastair got it pretty much spot on. We are also using an agent and have paid A$3500 for there services, which is about the norm I think. Very good and I don't think we would have been able to complete the process without the agent, even though the expats in this forum are very helpfull. Our skilled ind subclass 136 application was a little more complicated than usual though which was the reason why we decided to go with an agent.

Remember though that the agent costs aren't all thats involved as Alastair mentionned. There's an additional A$1845 charge to lodge the application in Australia (if your going in under the visa we are) and the medicals are also very expensive. For me, partner, and 2 sons 12 and 2 to have our medicals done has just cost us £550.

So it's all worked out rather expensive. But we think it's money well spent if it get's accepted.

Choi, let us know what you decide.

Grayling

If you do a search for agents on here you will get some idea of who is recommended and what it may cost.

I did not use one as our application was pretty simple and my wife is a civil servant and is used to bureaucracy.

Have a good think about your own case.

Then decide

Good luck

G

threlly

i live in manchester and used an agent, just because i wanted it done properly, i have just applied for the skilled indep visa and have my medical next wednesday, i am also a teacher, if u have any ? i'll help. have you got your teaching skills assessed yet with NOOSR, that is the hard part, getting all the paperwork sorted. u could easily apply without an agent. i used an agent in manchester and paid £950. what 'family' do u have in OZ and how many points do u have?

jaxowen

we have cousins - but they don't live in the designated areas. without family we have 110 points which i am told is enough for adelaide. I think we probably will use an agent - have looked at prices and they seem to vary from £400 to £4000!! it's all a bit of a mine field but this forum has been a good help.

elksa

If your going to use an agent make sure that they are registered with the DIMIA. There are a lot of unregistered agents out there and although some might be very good some are also cowboys. £400 seems very cheap for the service, if it's to good to be true it often isn't true.

I think your right 110 points is the points pass mark for the new regional skilled ind visa catorgory. Give it a go without an agent, it's not rocket science, some of the form can get a bit confussing but I sure you canm get all your questions answered here if your applications fairly straightforward. The immigration forum has some migration agents that provide advice free of charge which might also be usefull.

Hels

The cheap end (£400) would usually only apply to the "easy" applications, like spouse visa...We are only paying £450 for my Husbands spouse visa application + AHC charges.

We only decided to use the agent as we were procrastinating putting the application in and thought it would put the pressure on us to get everything together.....It worked!!

going4it

We used an agent and I feel it was worth every penny. We got peace of mind, someone to answer our queries and doubts and most of all our visa granted. We went over on skilled migration with a defacto application for my other half.

jaxowen

would you recommend your agent?

Jaj

People in Brisbane can sponsor for Skilled Australian Sponsored if they
meet the usual requirements. They just can't usually sponsor for
*designated* area sponsored unless they live in outlying areas of the
city.

Skilled Australian Sponsored still offers advantages over skilled
independent - 15 extra points, and a pass mark of 110 rather than 120.
But it has it's own traps that you need to be aware of.

This is all
explained in the Skilled Migration Booklet.

You've perhaps just
illustrated why a *good* agent could add value to your application -
simple misunderstandings like that can sometimes make the difference
between visa application success and failure, or a significantly longer
delay.

Jeremy

Originally posted by jaxowen
i think
'skilled visa' as i am a teacher, we do have family in brisbane but
apparently this is not a useful area for them to live with regard to
the points system.


--
This is not intended to be legal or professional advice in any jurisdiction


Posted via http://britishexpats.com

Beano

We were going to use an agent util we found out how much it costs to take the dog!

Now my wife has read booklet 6 from cover to cover and has taken up surfing the net.

The dog may yet get to come!!!

Woof woof!