agent or not

**rob dc** · 21-09-2011, 08:22 PM

well we have decided now on an agent, but the question was asked can we do this ourselves, i know the answer but does anyone have experience of doing this taaaa

**jamesnparry** · 22-09-2011, 02:43 PM

Hi
If your application is pretty straight forward I'd say save your money and do it yourself. We are. There's loads of info out there. Stick to the official websites such as DIAC and follow their suggested links. This forum is brilliant to get the hints and tips about the whole process. If in doubt - post a question and there'll be someone here who's done it before you!
The key is research, research and then research some more.
Good luck.

**jamesandstephcole** · 22-09-2011, 03:07 PM

We are going with an agent - and whilst their input has been very useful, they represent a delay in proceedings, our agent is still looking at our skills assessment application and they received it 4 weeks ago... this process teaches you patience if nothing else!

**Chardy** · 22-09-2011, 03:56 PM

I'll second jamesnparrys' post. If you easily reach the points, are good with form filling and copious research then have a go at DIY. Depends a lot on your particular circumstances and the type of visa you are going for.
There are some very good agents and if you have the cash and like to have things "managed" by all means give them your wonga !
Personally I like being in control of it all and not have to rely on a middle man.
Justin

**rob dc** · 23-09-2011, 06:34 PM

thanks for the answers, we have decided to do the application ourselves as ours seems to be (so far) a pretty straight forward one. looks like the first thing we have to do is the vetasses for my partners job as she is on the skills wanted list and we are doing the state sponsored visa application so lots of photocopying etc to do and pay the money and wait, the web site says weeks but one of the agents we spoke to said its taking 4 to 6 months, wether thats the vetasses or the agents delay we will have to see. Any info or insight into the process if you have been through this bit would be interesting, thanks again

**Heather Law** · 23-09-2011, 06:46 PM

Originally Posted by rob dc

thanks for the answers, we have decided to do the application ourselves as ours seems to be (so far) a pretty straight forward one. looks like the first thing we have to do is the vetasses for my partners job as she is on the skills wanted list and we are doing the state sponsored visa application so lots of photocopying etc to do and pay the money and wait, the web site says weeks but one of the agents we spoke to said its taking 4 to 6 months, wether thats the vetasses or the agents delay we will have to see. Any info or insight into the process if you have been through this bit would be interesting, thanks again

VETASSESS took forever with me and although there probably will be the slight delay because of agent workloads the actual stamp on my assessment was 12th August...i applied in March and they charged my credit card 9th March. so you do have to be patient! i was hoping to get it all done and dusted before the 1st July deadline.

**bensdad** · 23-09-2011, 06:56 PM

we did ours ourself, take your time when filling out the forms the worst part is the processing times, for us it was the state sponsorship we waited over 5 weeks for.

**nikkidel** · 23-09-2011, 07:31 PM

Originally Posted by bensdad

we did ours ourself, take your time when filling out the forms the worst part is the processing times, for us it was the state sponsorship we waited over 5 weeks for.

5 weeks sounds great - we waited for about 4 months!

We used an agent. Their customer service was pretty appalling, and often along the way we thought things would have been far easier if we'd just done them ourselves. However I do think that having an agent who knew the whole process was a good thing - just would have been better if it hadn't taken 2 or 3 weeks for them to get back to us every time we called or emailed them.

**EvieL8** · 25-09-2011, 08:58 AM

Hiya All!

I am having the same dilemma ... My application seems to be pretty straight forward, am planning on getting my skills assessed / IETLS test done myself before instructing an agent so have started to think that I might go it alone!

My concern is this, I would like to go to Perth as I have family there but my job (Primary School Teacher) has been taken off the 175 list. Is there a way around this? Is there a tick box on an application form asking which state you intend to settle in? So far, I have spoken to 2 agents, one said that she could get me an extra 5 points on my application if we go to SA and the other said he was confident he could get us into WA and that they would give us the extra 5 points too!

Friends of ours have just had their visa granted and they were told that they could only go to SA at the beginning of their application and have since been granted a visa going to WA. Too confusing!

I would really appreciate any advice!!

Eve xx

**Alan Collett** · 25-09-2011, 09:59 AM

There's going to be a lot of heartache in the middle of next year when a fair few of those who have had a go themselves find they need the assistance of an agent and don't have time to lodge an application before the Expressions of Interest model comes into effect on 01/07/2012.

Good luck to all who decide to progress unassisted on the basis of saving money. But if you are unsuccessful please don't say you weren't warned.

Best regards.