Sonn

Is it better to have an agent or is the visa process easy enough to do alone??? Im thinking an agent would be good but they cost a lot of money and cant make the process any quicker but am worried i may miss something important when applying!!!! Suggestions most welcome!!!!!!

mary1967

Depends on whether your application is straightforward or not.

We did it ourselves and it was a lot easier than i'd previously thought. Saying that, although it was extremely time consuming it was also very straightforward. It was definitely a team effort between me and my OH, not forgetting all the help and advise i got off other BE members - thanks guys

Sonn

We are applying for a 175, does anyone know if thats a difficult one??? Also does the cost of the application include me and the children or just my OH?? Its soooooo confusing!

Alan Collett

An agent will make the process quicker if you "miss something important" ...

Best regards.

owenj

My response in a previous thread:

Re: I Think I need an agent...HELP!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mad_Mum,
It's not so hard doing a 175 application on your own. We did it online which I think is easier as it automatically helps you fill in the correct parts depending on the answers given. I would recommend this over a paper application.
Once you start the application you can save it and do a bit at a time within 28 days I think. If you don't submit it, it just gets cancelled. You don't have to submit it or pay anything until it is finished so you could always do a trial run while you await your Skills assessment to see how easy or difficult it will be for you? I think it took about 2 hours in total.
Gathering all the evidence and documentation is a pain but I imagine you still have to do all this with an agent.
I phoned DIMA both in Australia and the London embassy a few times to clear up certain things I was unsure of. This site is also very useful.
In summary its relatively simple without an agent once you get your head around it, but depends how good you are at that sort of thing.
Good Luck

Sonn

Thanks for the advice, i think we may go it alone and save the money. We have plenty of time, im just in my second year at uni and have another year to go so should be ok. Thanks for the advice....

username02

The best advice is to talk to an agent, whether you plan to use one or not. Most will give a free no-obligation consultation, and you'll get a good idea of what visa options are open to you, who will need to assess your skills, and how complicated your case might be.

I did lots of research myself but still spoke to several agents. Two who regularly post on here - Peter Chiam and George Lombard - gave me great advice, but on the strength of that advice I decided to go it alone as we had no real complications. It was just a matter of doing more research, gathering data and filling forms out. However I know some people on here who relied heavily on their agents, so there's no right answer anyone can give you.

Machiavelli

Hi!

We used an agent, PM me if you want to know who to avoid.

He 'offloaded' us onto a really good guy in Ireland, Tony Welsh, who posts on here as "Welsh Tony".

I would recommend him to anyone. Our ?agent? REALLY stuffed our application up, and Tony did an A1 job to get us here.

On saying that, I really admire the agents who come onto the site to offer free advice. Says a lot about them.

M

Alan Collett

Welsh Tony is actually Tony Coates ... I think ...

Best regards.

Machiavelli

I stand corrected, it was a while ago. Thank you for putting me right! I wouldn't want to send people off in the wrong direction.

M