LongHaul Posted October 17, 2014 Report Share Posted October 17, 2014 Hello,I just got off the phone with an agency who reckon it will cost between 100k and 120k to apply for a 189 Visa for a family of 4. I was wondering what the savings would be if I cut out the middle man, anybody have any figures for me.Thank you, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HadEnoughofJuju Posted October 17, 2014 Report Share Posted October 17, 2014 Wow that sounds a bit rough. Who are the agents if you don't mind me asking. According to the cost estimation calculator on the immi site (http://www.immi.gov.au/Visas/Pages/Pricing-Estimator.aspx) it will cost R72600.00 for a family of four with 2 adults and 2 kids under 18. Also remember that there will be additional costs over and above the visa application fees like skills assessment, medicals and police clearances, which will also be over and above the agents fees if you choose to use an agent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LongHaul Posted October 17, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 17, 2014 Thanks HadEnoughofJuju, the agency was migrate2oz, but in all fairness it was a rough estimate over the phone, they will contact me on Monday to give me a breakdown of their fee structures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PTLF Posted October 17, 2014 Report Share Posted October 17, 2014 I used Migration expert and their fee 2 years ago was R35 000 for me and husband for 190 visas. Cost of visas was R52 or R54k. This is excluding other costs mentioned above like skills assessments. Very costly but I found it was worth it because husband working 2 jobs, me working full time and studying for australian exams (to register in my healthcare field to work in aus). We didn't have any extra time on our hands to do the research. It you have the time and enjoy reading skip the middle man. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LongHaul Posted October 17, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 17, 2014 Thanks for the response PTLF, I am trying to make the time currently between writing exams, but I think I will make a decision on Monday once I receive the fee structure from Migrate2Oz. Funny you should mention Migration Expert because I have also contacted them at the beginning of this week, but still waiting for a response.In the meantime I will try read up as much as I can, this site is also a great source of information and help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbop Posted October 17, 2014 Report Share Posted October 17, 2014 Our total cost for a family of 4 in 2012 came to roughly R100,000.00 and that included a trip to Dubai of roughly R20,000 for a skype interview and skills assessment of about R30,000.00. I found most agents charged an arm and a leg for their services and you still need most of the work your self in anyway. Do lots of homework first before excepting any agent. Our agents fee was around the R14,000.00 mark back then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mara Posted October 18, 2014 Report Share Posted October 18, 2014 Please make contact with SD_MOA on this site via PM. His name is Stephen Dickson and his company is Migration Outcomes Australia http://www.migrateaus.com.au/He comes highly recommended. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donovan83 Posted October 18, 2014 Report Share Posted October 18, 2014 I'd strongly recommend doing it yourself unless you have a complicated case - for example, if someone has an unusual medical condition or if you think your skills assessment might be on the borderline. Rather use one of the agents like SD_MOA who is on the forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monsta Posted October 18, 2014 Report Share Posted October 18, 2014 To help you understand the system a bit better...VISA applicants (not applications) differ wildly. My application was relatively straight forward. I got my application in with only using up a two or thee days of my agents time. There was probably 10 e-mails back and forwards. But there are may applicants who use up a lot of their agents time. They do things like fail their English test several times, they call the agent daily and freak out over every little detail, they have complex Recognition-Of-Prior-Learning applications, etc... So, most agents will give you a price somewhere between what they would want to charge a difficult client and what they would charge an easy client. They usually don't know for sure which category you will fit into.That's just what some agents have said told me, it may not be everyone's experience.Donovan83 gave you some good advise... if you know you are a simple case, then do it yourself. You could land up paying a lot because the agent needs to cover himself in case you are not straightforward.Mara also gave you something to think about. That is to use an agent based in Australia. In Australia, agents have to be registered with a governing body. So, a "dodgey" agent won't have a job for long in Australia. The downside to an Aussie agent is they may prefer to deal with you mostly via e-mail. And if you e-mail them today you will get a response tomorrow (due to time zones).The governing body has a website explaining when you use an agent:https://www.mara.gov.au/using-an-agent/using-a-registered-migration-agent/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PTLF Posted October 18, 2014 Report Share Posted October 18, 2014 Thanks for the response PTLF, I am trying to make the time currently between writing exams, but I think I will make a decision on Monday once I receive the fee structure from Migrate2Oz. Funny you should mention Migration Expert because I have also contacted them at the beginning of this week, but still waiting for a response.In the meantime I will try read up as much as I can, this site is also a great source of information and helpOops! I meant Network Migration. Nesreen worked on our case and was excellent. We asked her tons of questions that we should have just looked up ourselves and she did the research for us (poor thing, I think we were the "difficult" clients. Not in terms of throwing tantrums but in making her do all the research). Good luck in your decision. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LongHaul Posted October 18, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 18, 2014 (edited) Thanks so much for all the response and advice. I believe my application is straight forward or so I hope. My occupation is listed on the SOL and to date the quota has not been filled. So I assumed that I need to apply for a 189 Visa, get my skills accredited by ACS, start the EOI process and everything else it entails and then see all of you next year in Oz .I have just one question, I see as part of the skills assessment I need to get references from the various companies I worked for, unfortunately one of the companies no longer exists and to make matters worse that company was owned by my father, so my concern is that if they see a reference from a family member they may find it suspicious.Cheers, Edited October 18, 2014 by LongHaul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigvan07 Posted October 20, 2014 Report Share Posted October 20, 2014 (edited) Longhaul,That estimate to me sounds pretty spot-on, the amount the gave you was with their fees and everything that you will need to pay included(IELTS, Medicals, Skills Assessment etc.)We paid our last money not too long ago, apart from the actual flight tickets, and we ended up on R115k. Granted that my wife had to sit the IELTS 3 timesWe went with M2O and couldn't have been happier with the service received.Good luck and see you next year! Edit Note: Just fixed all the horrible spelling mistakes. Edited October 20, 2014 by Bigvan07 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SurferMan Posted October 20, 2014 Report Share Posted October 20, 2014 This is a tricky one, like the forumites have said, if you have a complex case, spend the cash on an agent. if not, and you can read and follow a checklist, do it yourself. While I have not used an agent, just the support I have received from Stevo of SD_MOA fame, I would endorse him without a blink of an eye. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LongHaul Posted October 20, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2014 Thanks for all the responses, will weigh up my options chat to some agents and then make the call. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SD_MOA Posted October 20, 2014 Report Share Posted October 20, 2014 Hello Longhaul,You have been given some good advice in this thread. Basically I always recommend you get a few quotes from a few reputable agents and make an informed decision from there.Regards 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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