Agents - Worth it?

[DMWOZZIE]

Hi Everyone,

 

We're a couple from CT looking to move across to Oz within 12 months. It's a long process evidently but we're 100% committed to making it a success. 

 

I'm a former attorney, so paper-work doesn't scare me. I got a quote from an agent who quoted us R51k in professional fees, even though my cousin used them 18 months before and their family of 4 was R28,5k. 

It doesn't look like rocket science, just requires a lot of reading and proper understanding.

 

Questions 

 

1. Has anyone had success going their own route and if so, what tips could you give me?

2. When you submit an EOI, is it worth using the strongest candidate as the primary applicant rather than 2 separate? 

3. I am only qualified for a 489 but she is qualified for a 190 - if she is successful, will I get a 190 too? Talking about South Australia in particular. 

 

PS We are engaged but won't be married before we submit the EOI. Her skills are on the supplementary list of CSOL South Australia.  

[Mara]

If you plan to use your attorney qualifications to migrate, then I think you may have a problem. To my knowledge I think you have to be admitted in Australia, NSW, comes to mind from previous posts, before you can apply.

Edited August 17, 2016 by Mara

[DMWOZZIE]

50 minutes ago, Mara said:

If you plan to use your attorney qualifications to migrate, then I think you may have a problem. To my knowledge I think you have to be admitted in Australia, NSW, comes to mind from previous posts, before you can apply.

 

Thanks Mara - definitely don't want to use my legal qualification. Problem is I am now in IT after a stint in property, so I'm not doing what I am qualified to do. Finishing my MSc in Property but again, strictly speaking not operating within that industry. 

 

Luckily my fiance has marketing qualification with 5 years experience. 

Edited August 17, 2016 by Mara

[LouiseMark]

My 5 cents worth.....from this short conversation already it sounds like you might need expert advice. Agents are expensive and R51K does sound a lot but most of the agents recommended on this forum are REALLY worth it. They are professional and their advice is invaluable - they are experts in their field and know all the ins and outs if yours turns into a complicated story (you are not married to your partner, you are not working in the field that you hold a qualification etc etc). 

It can be done independently and many of our friends have done so and successfully, but they all had straight forward applications. 

Good Luck!

[Waylander]

My opinion is that if you can afford it then use them - extra peace of mind to reduce the worry that you might stuff it up.  If the money is a factor (it was for my family) - then you absolutely can do it on your own.  With an agent - they guide you but you do all the work and document collecting etc.  Almost all of the information you will need is either on the immigration website, on here - or you can phone up Dept of Immigration to ask them.  My application was not 100% straight forward, and I managed just fine on my own.  You just have to be more savvy as you do not have the agent as backstop.  

 

 

[JonathanR]

Hi @DMWOZZIE, to me your situation sounds more complex than mine. My biggest complexity was not having a degree. I feel my agent, who is one of the recommended agents on this forum and can be contacted as @SD_MOA, earned his full fee in the first couple of steps. He is really professional and although I am not finished with my process yet he led me through everything and saved me heaps of time. 

Remember as well that if you have been living with your Fiance for a length of time (I am not sure of the details surrounding that length) then Australia may see it as a de facto marriage (I think thats what they call it) 

Anyway, I whole heartedly recommend an Agent. There are good one's and bad ones, and there are cheap ones and expensive ones. Get a few quotes by shopping around. A good agent in my opinion will give you a breakdown of their fees and help you in specific processes, so for example if you feel you can handle the EOI and Visa application on your own then sign-up an agent for an initial assessment and skills assessment only. Your agent is a guide, ultimately the responsibility for this process lies on your shoulders and you maintain control through every step, including the decision to use an agent for that step or not.

[CableThief]

Hi @DMWOZZIE, I think the others have got it covered. I woild have gone withourt an agent because of cost but i had a few complcating issues which put some doubt over aspects of my application.

 

The agent brought certainty to the process for me, and they put up quite a fight on some topics on my behalf.

 

So from my perspective the certainty and support were worth the price. I was in for about R20k of professional fees, but that was a while back.

 

Good luck with your process further.

 

CableThief

[Geite]

@ DMWOZZIE,

 

We used New World Immigration Jonathan Pretorius 021 - 2500050, think we paid R15 000 last year. The was service great! No complaints at all.....

 

Good luck,

 

G

[DMWOZZIE]

Thanks so much for the responses everyone! 

 

Assuming my fiance is successful with the 190 application and we are regarded as a de facto partnership, does that mean I will get one too? Or do I need to qualify independently? I would assume that if one person is successful with the 190, the other will get it too UNLESS there are some good reasons for rejecting (criminal record etc)

 

[Deezo]

My 2cents @DMWOZZIE  

 

If your application is complicated due to your occupation, experience in the industry or you have any health concerns then i would say you can do it on your own.

The paperwork is not that bad, but its just a matter of checking and double checking that you have what they require.

 

We got burned R13k for an agent who really did nothing more that form a an extra step between us and the intended department/recipient and had such a bad experience from the onset that we chose to cancel the contract and do the balance on our own.

 

We are doing an application for our 190 and haven't lodged yet but i pray that i dont get anything wrong when submitting the supporting documents etc  

 

PS. Im not an agent myself but we were told de facto would also qualify for PR on a 189 or 190 but you would need to prove that you are dependent on each other and have been together for a minimum of 1 year from what i recall.

[RunningBanana]

2 hours ago, DMWOZZIE said:

Thanks so much for the responses everyone! 

 

Assuming my fiance is successful with the 190 application and we are regarded as a de facto partnership, does that mean I will get one too? Or do I need to qualify independently? I would assume that if one person is successful with the 190, the other will get it too UNLESS there are some good reasons for rejecting (criminal record etc)

 

 

As long as your partner add you as a dependent on the application, then you will receive a visa too.

[RedPanda]

It's difficult to say from the outside if a particular person should get an agent or not. The problem is that although the basic requirements are straightforward, and the steps can be read up, there are all kinds of exceptions to the rules, and this is where agents come in really handy, because they know all of these. I personally have found that although all the information is on the government website, you actually have to know what you are looking for in order to find it. ( I think this is a somewhat sneaky way of doing things, personally. Because they can claim it's all available, but you might miss crucial things simply because it's filed stupidly.)

So from what you have described so far my advice is pretty much what you have already received:
Your quote seems high- get some more.
Your case is not simple- get some professional advice on it

Best of luck!

[CazK]

My husband and I decided to use an agent for Aus, as he doesn't have a straightforward skills assessment situation. That is the only reason, otherwise we would have done this ourselves. Sorry to say, however, our agent has been nothing but a nightmare to deal with - forgetting to ask us for degree-specific information, putting down wrong information for the skills assessment application even though it is as clear as day on the documents we provided. Who knows what other problems we are going to have to deal with further down the track. Thankfully, I read up as much as I could before we started this immigration process and we keep pointing out their mistakes to them. We are so annoyed and frustrated at paying someone else to essentially push paper at this stage of the game and we have to keep peering over their shoulder to see if they've made yet another mistake. Our skills assessment would have already been submitted, paid for and potentially half way through the review process (fast tracked) if we'd done it ourselves. This isn't some fly-by-night crowd, some of you have recommended them on this forum. Think twice before using an agent!

[Deezo]

Sorry to hear @CazK  

 

Hope it gets better for your sake!!

[Theshi]

@CazK so sorry to hear about your ordeal. Can you not report him to his superiors and get someone else to work on your case? you need someone who knows what they are doing because this is you life at stake and you are paying so much money for this service!!!!i would be more than livid!!!

 

we were fortunate enough to use an agent who kept us up to date, once a stage is completed she would then tell us what to prepare for the next stage and she would give us a time frame by which to submit docs. it was easier to deal with n agent as we both have hectic work schedules so i would suggest you do what you are comfortable with.

[RedPanda]

On 10/26/2016 at 10:53 PM, CazK said:

My husband and I decided to use an agent for Aus, as he doesn't have a straightforward skills assessment situation. That is the only reason, otherwise we would have done this ourselves. Sorry to say, however, our agent has been nothing but a nightmare to deal with - forgetting to ask us for degree-specific information, putting down wrong information for the skills assessment application even though it is as clear as day on the documents we provided. Who knows what other problems we are going to have to deal with further down the track. Thankfully, I read up as much as I could before we started this immigration process and we keep pointing out their mistakes to them. We are so annoyed and frustrated at paying someone else to essentially push paper at this stage of the game and we have to keep peering over their shoulder to see if they've made yet another mistake. Our skills assessment would have already been submitted, paid for and potentially half way through the review process (fast tracked) if we'd done it ourselves. This isn't some fly-by-night crowd, some of you have recommended them on this forum. Think twice before using an agent!

 

 

Certainly complain to their superiors, that is not the kind of service that you are paying for! Please ask the forum admin about their rules, and according to those, share the names of the agents to avoid. At least then your experience will help the next guy.

Best of luck.

[DMWOZZIE]

Thanks all! 

 

So I did a ton of reading and figured out the process, so I decided that with my background I could lodge myself. We did the English exam (4 hour TOEFL - absolutely awful!) as well as criminal clearance. Next is Xrays then I think we are good to go - everything else is sorted. 

 

Definitely a pain but if you are reasonably smart and not intimidated by paper work, I think you can do it on your own. 

 

Let's see...

 

I'm going to be visiting Oz in December (Melbs and Sydney) to see what the lifestyle looks like. Looking forward to it! 

[CazK]

@RedPanda So a quick update...we spent a week emailing, phoning and having more trouble before finally our situation was given to a more senior consultant. Within a couple of hours, the EA application was filled in, paid for, and submitted...something which should have happened a week ago. But ah well. It's in and now we wait.

[Shaugn]

In my experience, the paperwork isn't really an issue, but it needs to be correct. I've seen so many people on this forum stumble a bit because they assume stuff. This can cost you money and potentially your visa.

My agent was happy to discuss our matter at no cost and probably most professional will. Gently said, this is not a time to let one's ego get in the way of how important it is to get it right. Border Staff assessing the visa application don't have the time or the need to try and interpret or hunt for the right stuff, so the application must be flawless. (I speak from experience)

We used an agent, and I will be forever grateful.

 

I would perhaps start with knowing exactly which SNOL/CSOL you partner intends to qualify for. Find out what the assessment criteria are and who will do the assessment - i.e. Australian Institute of Management for marketing etc. Get your docs together (check that the occupation number that you are applying for is on the list for the visa type you are considering) Doesn't help to get assessed for something that's not in demand so you may need to modify things a little i.e. Marketing manager may not be in demand but and advertising manager may be -  same qualifications slight nuances - you get my drift). Then discuss this with your potential agent and do a points check - realistically.

 

The rest is just admin..

Edited December 3, 2016 by Shaugn
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