graemestuart99

Hi folks
I would like to emmigrate to Aus and am eligible for the state sponsered Skilled - STNI - 137. I used one of those free assessments that the online emmigration firms offer. My quandry is do i go through the process myself with no agent (i have time on my side thinking of going in 2 - 3 years) or do i pay the £2500 to the agent ~(they want £1200 now to proceed). I dont mind looking through forms and getting my skills recognised seems fairly straight forward when i visited the web site.

I suppose what i want to know is are there many people out there who did not use an agent and how did you find it also will it hamper my visa application if i dont use one?

Ozzy7

Were applying for the same visa, its pretty straight forward, any problems you can always ask for help on here, if we have to apply again we wouldnt bother with an agent and would do it ourselves. Were doing all the paperwork ourselves our agent isnt doing a lot and not worth the money were paying him.

layla950

Hi there

We are using an agent just to make sure, but there are a lot of agents who will do your first consultation free. Our agent is charging around £1250 which i think is worth it for the peace of mind although a lot of people go it alone if your app seems straight forward enough. Well worth getting a free telephone assessment done though.

johnpod

HI we are applying for MODL136 visa ouselves with no help. Forms look like a nightmare but if take time are very straightforward. We took our time filling ours in (few days), got everything signed off by a Dr friend and paid less than £15 to post to Oz - much better than £2500. Applied mid march and have already got a CO (23rd May), all meds and PC's done so just kicking our heels and waiting for the yes or no decission.

My advice would be DIY, save the cash for other things.

Good luck, if you need any help its a great site to get all the info you need

Ali

DEEDEE01

Hiya,

Do what you feel, if you feel confident enough to complete the forms yourself, do it

My partner and me personally haven't got the bottle to go it alone, we're paying £1800 for an agent, hopefully it will be worth it in the end !

Thanks
Donna & Peter.

angeandchris

Hiya,

At the end of the day it's down to money, time and confidence. With a toddler and baby, work etc. we would rather someone else take the strain and do all the running around - but you pay for it. Our application was sent off by the agent at the start of the month, and all we did was have an initial face-to-face meeting, gather some docs, fill out their form, then check and sign the final application. We've only just stumbled across this website and have found it very useful so you can get a load of info from here - even so, with the hours we work, I'd have to say an agent was the right choice for us.

Good luck - Chris

graemestuart99

Thanks for the advice folks - i think i will go without the agent and save some money.

WS

I'd do it yourself. We did, and as you've already said if you have time to read everything and fill it all in you should be fine.

hantsfamily1

We used an agent because we wanted to make sure we got in as it was so important to us and did not want to get turned down due to an oversight.

£1400.00 well spent when my visa was granted.

Mick

eddie007

We didn't use an agent as we hadn't got the money... in retrospect it was a false economy as I have probably reduced my useful lifespan by 2-3 years due to stress of going it alone...

If you have the money then treat yourself to an agent... you're worth it!

the greens

If you are not rushing do it yourself. An agent does not 1, gather all the evidence for you 2, (IMO) make the process any less stressfull 3 guarantee you a visa. Applying to emigrate is expensive enough. Save your pennies for the airfare and other moving costs.

trainee_pilot

hear hear!

You have to do most of the running around for the agent anyway (bit like Estate Agents in UK IMHO) and once you start the process then BE is a goldmine of information, especially if your application is pretty straight forward. If you're in no rush like you stated then you can learn a hell of a lot from people on here, I for one can vouch for that.

Good luck and don't be scared, the new look DIAC website is a lot easier to navigate around these days.

TP

Jojo11

Hi there,

Personally i wouldnt use an agent (unless you have a complicated TRA case which would benefit the experience of one) They are expensive and i know some people end up doing a lot of the work themselves anyway. Save the money for meds, pcc's and certifying docs etc.

We didnt use an agent and were granted our 136 modl visas yesterday!!
I feel that if you collate all your evidence and documents, set it all out in a methodical manner and work through it slowly, you shouldnt have a problem.
These forums are a hive of free advice and you can normally find the answers you are looking for by scanning thru.
I would suggest that you download the forms and look through them, then you can see whats invloved before making your decision.


Good Luck to you

Kind Regards

Jo

Cindyloo

I have just completed my forms but not so fortunate as your self to have found this great bunch on here at the time.

You will get the support you need and questions answered, so have a go.

I printed off two sets of forms but worked on just one as if it were for real,allowing for mistakes ect,sooooooooo take you time and ask for help when you need it.

Best of Luck


Cindyloo

s-jmelbournewannabe

JOJO, Congrats on the visa,

To the op, check out the timeline on my profile, no agent, 4 kids (3 under 3), husband who did squat and worked away everyweek, very dark eyes from the late nights and all nighters,

buy hey got the visa in less than 3 mths, saved a packet and yep, i want a medal!!!!

Seriously, it's timeconsuming but i did it at night when kids were in bed, i was a bit knackered for a while, but Expats was fab when i was in a pickle... TRA was the hardest for me, but still managed that too.. Go for it!! You'll feel really proud of yourself when you get the Visa.