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Migrant agents scammers


Biltongboer

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Marcodasilva, have never hear of them, but please, if you wish to have a great agent, use one of the following:

Stephen Dickson of Migration Outcomes Australia. You can PM him via the forum SD_MOA
Tee Taylor of Taylor Made Immigration. You can PM her via the forum TeeTMI

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Yep, lots of scammers out there, take your money then ignore you, go with a forum agent or a known well vetted agent

Edited by Nev
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Thanks Mara and Nev. I already paid $ 1500 professional fees for prep and submission of skills assessment. But will contact one of the recommended agents to discuss further.

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Great idea!

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Not if the skills assessment came back negative. I'm trying to work out next step. Really stressed now.

Sorry thought u said great deal ?

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Phew, that would have been bad on my part. Glad you noticed it was idea and not deal!

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  • 4 weeks later...

I have decided to try the application on my own. Skill assessment was a breeze, took 11 days from submission to getting results back. Will be doing english tests soon and can then submit EOI. So far the process is easy. A lot of reading up but that is part of the fun

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  • 1 month later...

Hi Mark

Yes, we used Reuven from Migrate to Oz. He is legit, and we got our 189PR Visas within 6 months from start to finish (started 14 Nov 2014, Visas granted 8 May 2015).

The contact info I have for him is:

Reuven Abeshouse

BCom, LLB (Australia) | Registered Migration Agent MARN 0854073

Member Migration Institute of Australia MIA 3635

Supreme Court of NSW (AUS) & NY State Bar (USA)

Tel: +27 11 453 1229 (Intl) | 0861 GO TO OZ

Fax: +27 11 453 6449

Skype: reuven.abeshouse

www.migrate2oz.co.za

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Hi Mark

We used migrate2oz as well very happy with them too. We dealt with Andrew and Reuven.

Lisa

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Hi

I have not used them, but i heard a great story

We attended the WorkingIn expo in Johannesburg earlier this year. Migrate2Oz was there and Andrew gave a presentation. He told the story of a couple that made use of their services. They were so impressed with the service from Reuven, that they even named their baby Reuven when it was born in Aus. That must tell you something.

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Hi

I have not used them, but i heard a great story

We attended the WorkingIn expo in Johannesburg earlier this year. Migrate2Oz was there and Andrew gave a presentation. He told the story of a couple that made use of their services. They were so impressed with the service from Reuven, that they even named their baby Reuven when it was born in Aus. That must tell you something.

WOW!!!!!

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hi. I used Migrate2Oz when I applied for my visa and find them very helpful and efficient. An application can be stressful and there are a lot of things to think about. Especially due to certain procedures that have to be met at certain times and changes in legislation. I know of people who applied themselves without an agent but it took them a bit longer. See agent fees as an investment in your future rather than an expense.

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  • 1 month later...
On 11 October 2010 at 6:32 AM, Biltongboer said:

Scammers offer ‘guaranteed’ Australian visas

Read alert online.

Added: October 2010

SCAMwatch and the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) are warning people who wish to visit or migrate to Australia to be cautious of people offering ‘guaranteed’ Australian visas.

These scammers contact you out of the blue by post, email, or phone offering a visa in return for payments, personal details and identity documents. They may claim to be a ‘registered provider’ or ‘Australian visa application service’.

Scammers may try to trick you into believing they are genuine by posing as staff from an Australian Government department, or by using websites which look like official Government sites.

Other migration scammers operate illegal, unregistered migration agent and advisor services. In Australia migration agents must be registered with the Migration Agents Registration Authority.

Illegal operators often give incorrect advice, steal your money, encourage you to lie on your application and don’t deliver the services promised.

Warning signs

* You get an offer out of the blue for a ‘guaranteed’ Australian visa.

* The offer comes via email, post, over the phone or on a website.

* It claims to be a ‘once in a lifetime opportunity’, or your ‘only’ chance to travel or migrate to Australia.

* You are asked to pay the scammer upfront to ‘register’ your interest in getting a visa. The scammer asks you to pay them directly rather than paying the government department and claims that only they can pay the department’s fees.

* The scammer claims to have a special relationship with the Department of Immigration and Citizenship.

* They tell you they need to keep your original documents.

Remember

* There is only one official Australian Government provider of visas - the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC). DIAC’s official website is www.immi.gov.au.

* DIAC charges a one-off fee at the time you lodge your visa application. You can pay the fee directly to the department and do not require an agent to pay this fee on your behalf.

* No one can influence the outcome of a visa application or the visa decision making process. Only authorised officers from DIAC can issue you with a visa and only if you meet all the visa requirements.

* DIAC does not have any special relationships with outside agencies and doesn’t give preferential treatment to anyone.

Protect yourself

* Be suspicious if you are contacted by phone, post or email about a visa you did not apply for. Hang up immediately or ignore the email/letter! The Government does not contact people out of the blue offering.

* If you wish to use a migration agent, check that they are registered on the Migration Agents Registration Authority website.

* Never give or send anyone your original identity documents. Government departments may wish to view your original documents in person or may ask for certified photocopies but should never ask to keep your original documents.

* Never provide your personal, credit card or banking details in an email or over the phone—scammers will use your details to commit identity fraud or steal your money.

* If you think you have provided your bank account details to a scammer, contact your bank or financial institution immediately.

Report

You can report a scam to the ACCC via the report a scam page on SCAMwatch or by calling 1300 795 995.

You can report an unregistered immigration agent/advisor under “Unregistered Agent activities†on the DIAC Feedback form.

More information

The Department of Immigration and Citizenship provides further detailed information on how to Protect Yourself from Migration Fraud. They have also issued a media release on migration scams.

Stay one step ahead of the scammers. Explore SCAMwatch for more tips on how to recognise and protect yourself from scams.

 

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Hello everybody. This is my first time in so be gentle. 

Has anybody heard of KLD Visas? They or she rather, operate out of Cape Town.

I've been dealing with her for a little over a year and I thought I would be much further with my application. I've found a few good reviews about KLD Visas on the net, but also come across some negative ones too. So just wondering if anyone has had success or do I need to pull the plug now before I invest anymore money. She talks a good game, so I want to give her the benefit of the doubt, but it's often difficult to get a reply or response out of her. 

Any help will be greatly appreciated. 

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Gaza82, firstly welcome to the forum. You will find a lot of help and opinions here....

 

Although I cannot remember ever hearing KLD Visas mentioned on the forum, we have had reports of some very shonky agents out there.

 

Our suggestion on this forum, is to always only use a MARA registered agent (that is not me it is actually Migration Agents Register Australia).

 

Our next suggestion on this forum is to go with one of the agents that assist our forum members on this forum or who are highly recommended by forum members.

 

A year does seem to be a long time, so if you are thinking of pulling the plug on your present agent, then by all means, come back here and ask for recommendations, you will get plenty.

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9 hours ago, Gaza82 said:

Hello everybody. This is my first time in so be gentle. 

Has anybody heard of KLD Visas? They or she rather, operate out of Cape Town.

I've been dealing with her for a little over a year and I thought I would be much further with my application. I've found a few good reviews about KLD Visas on the net, but also come across some negative ones too. So just wondering if anyone has had success or do I need to pull the plug now before I invest anymore money. She talks a good game, so I want to give her the benefit of the doubt, but it's often difficult to get a reply or response out of her. 

Any help will be greatly appreciated. 

 

Can we ask what visa you applying for and how much have you paid this agent?

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Thanks Mara, thanks Jordy. 

From what I understand she is trying to apply for a 189 visa for me. I am a Trade tested Diesel Mech, (however I don't have much bench time, that's another story) so she has submitted all my credentials to EA. I think my girlfriend will piggyback off me, (both her siblings live in Melbourne by the way) 

The problem is we are still submitting letters of recommendation and the likes of. I thought I would at least at the point of completing an assessment, I don't think she has even submitted an EOI as yet? I will ask her today for a summary. I have paid her R15k so far. It's not a lot in the greater scheme of things but I don't want it to get costly before we realized we've been had. 

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Is she registered with Australia, does she have a MARN (registration number). This usually helps, but it's not a watertight guarantee.

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Hey RedPanda.

She says she is and I have given her reg number and the details of her colleague in AUS to a MARA Agent. So just waiting for a reply.  Hopefully it's s positive one,

otherwise it may be game over. 

Again, it's an odd one, because I have seen a few good posts, but at the same time some negative ones too. I may just be a but foward and ask her for a few of her clients details and check with them. If their are any. Let's hope...

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But you can check these things yourself, on the internet, it's publicly available information.

 

Mara Offices

 

If you are thinking of going to Australia you will have to increase your internet savvy, because they have all the rules and reg's online, and therefore don't accept ignorance as an excuse for any transgressions. Also just about everything that you want to do with regards to drivers license conversions etc, all the requirements are online, and they are correct and the actual offices do what it says online. (I know in RSA it's a hit-and-miss thing whether the information online can be trusted, but in Aussie it can.)

Good luck, and good reading!

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Cheers thanks. 

 

I might be ignorant with this thinking, but I do know and have been told by an Agent at MARA that so-called Immigration "specialists" don't necessarily have to be registered with MARA. So I guess it's a risk we take. 

Will do some more research this weekend. Have a poke around on the immi.gov site too. 

 

 

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