markyboy1969

Hi,

Apologies if this has already been covered. We are just starting the process of obtaining PR. What's peoples views on using a vista agency. They all seem to charge a lot, which I understand but have people done the application on their own? Is is advisable to use one? We are looking at State Sponsorship - 190

Any advise would be appreciated.
Thanks

ekhfaiz

Hi,

I would advise doing the application on your own if you have patience to read same text 10 times to understand it

Many times things are not clear because people don't read enough or discuss and that is when they get into troubles.

I applied on my own for 189 & I think one should have patience with such things.

markyboy1969

Hi ekhfaiz,

Thanks for the reply, I'm leaning towards that route but wanted peoples views who have completed it.

Cheers
Mark

old.sparkles

Everyone is different, but if the application is straight forward, then there is no reason why you can't manage it yourself.

I did use an agent for part of the process - obtained skills assessment but used agent for state sponsorship and visa application because there was a risk due to young spark having autism.

verystormy

I am generally a big fan of using agents. The reason being is that I have seen a LOT of people make errors that result in refusal (and loss of the fee - expensive mistake) or because people have an issue that they are not aware of. For example, I recently helped a guy on another forum who had done skills assessment and done ILETS twice, but actually had no hope of a visa - he was in his 50's.
Many others miscalculate points or go for a visa that may not be the best option. I have recently seen a number of IT management people go for 489's for WA and then are very upset when they find the chance of work in regional WA in their occupation is very slim.

Alborg

I don't like to pay someone to do something that I can do myself especially when we are talking hundreds or possibly thousands of £'s. The information is freely available on the internet and this site exists for the very reason to help people like you and me. So if you are of reasonable intelligence, happy to spend time researching, reading and understanding the visa process and take your time and ask questions in areas where you are not sure then I would say you do not need an agent

However there are situations where it would be worth paying. For example if you had a complicated case that couldn't be answered directly on the immigrations sites or on this forum. Or of course if money is no issue and you don't have the time or inclination to do the research.

I actually enjoyed researching and finding my pathway to PR. I did it myself, made some minor mistakes, corrected them and still got PR.

Mgb45

Hi ... My name is mark, I was born in 1969 and I emigrated on a 190 visa too.....creepy! Lol
My wife and I gave 3k to an emigration company in UK but they failed to get trade recognition. When we asked why it turns out they done some stupid errors. We could not trust them to file an application and they wouldn't give us a refund. We found out at that time about this site and when we told people on British expats how bad they had been, they got their lawyer to write to them and threaten them with action unless they agree to remove the posts about them. Unfortunately for us we gave them the money before we had even heard of this site.
After visiting we read about a guy in Sydney called George Lombard. To say he was highly recommended was an understatement. He was sympathetic and gave us a reduced fee which was quite significant because we had lost so much money. He is an immigration Lawyer. He knew all about the government goings on and he told us that by going state sponsorship, we would get our visas in two months. We told the original agents and the guy laughed done the phone saying that it could never be done. Guess what? It came in two months. I would not risk it by going it alone when there are people like George out there. He was our knight in shining armour that saved the day. I wouldn't recommend anyone else. That was ten years ago. It's hard to find good people you can trust. I would use his service but I would want to do it right first time so.....

Dorothy

How did you emigrate on a 190 visa 10 years ago?

Mgb45

Not sure if it was 190 maybe called something else....but it was state sponsorship for sure

spouse of scouse

If your application isn't straightforward (ie you have prior criminal convictions, have overstayed a previous visa etc etc), if you're not confident of your literacy skills, or if you simply don't want to do the application yourself, then by all means get the assistance of a registered and reputable agent.

Other than that, have a go yourself, I'm sure you'd be fine.

spouse of scouse

George Lombard has a great reputation on BE, as do Alan Collett and TeeTMI. If I was going to use an agent I'd definitely be looking for tried and true ones like these.

Pollyana

Having had professional advice from George more than once, he gets my vote any time