Australian Dream - where to start...

My husband and I are about to embark on our dream of moving down under and looking for recommendations for registered Mara agents. Does anyone know of any? We are right at the beginning of the process having made the decision to follow our dream - is it better to use an agent or can it be done without one? Thanks :wink:

Hi and welcome to the forum

Some people do the process without one and the forum can be excellent for advice on the process, though personally, I recommend using one as it is very easy to make a simple error.

There are a number of excellent agents who are members of the forum such as Go Matilda and WRUSSEL

Great! Thanks very much will check those forums out. Our preference is to use an agent as the process sounds quite confusing.

Thanks again!

Most good agents will be able to provide an initial consultation, which might signal if you need full agent support or can go it on your own.

I was part way through the process and then had a consultation. Wish I had done it earlier, and good money spent. However, I did not need full agent support for the whole process. Good to have some validation though!!

The above agents are a good place to start, good luck!

There is an 'Ask an Agent' subforum so have a browse there and you will get a feel for the professionalism and knowledge of the agents that post on here.

Consider whether you want a face to face service or are happy with phonecalls/emails. We opted for someone local preferring the personal touch but ended up moving to Australia on a 457 before our application was submitted and it didn't really matter.

We decided to use an agent. It is quite a complex process unless you've been researching for a long time and your application is fairly straight forward. Lots of people hVe done it on here alone, I wouldn't trust myself it would be an expensive mistake if I entered something wrong or overlooked something. We had a free consultation via Skype with Emergico who have come very highly rated on another social media page where lots of people received visas. What's your plan? Which visa? Which skill?

Hi,

Me and my wife considered an agent and went to a couple of shows where we met various ones and the one that we considered strongly was immigration2oz. The guy who did the talk at the Birmingham down under live was called John, very friendly and explained things in a very easy way. In the end due to finances we opted to go it alone and sought help and advice from this very forum which was priceless.

If you are going to use an agent, ensure that they are MARA registered and reputable as there are stories of people losing a lot of money in 'agencies' going bust. The website for the one we considered using is http://immigration2oz.com/

Best of luck

Tom

Hi there. I'm using Go Matilda. Been all pretty plain sailing and very stress free but obviously you pay for the service so it should be easier. I've sent final application for 189 visa. Waiting to hear back. Been 2 months now but in no particular rush as not looking to go until this time next year.

Hopefully will hear soon. I would say with determination and plenty of research and obviously this website you could do it yourself.

ive had friends just been told after 2 years of trying that it's a no go. They never had agent and crossed many different paths before hitting a huge wall.

Everbody has a different story/situation.

ive done all my medicals /police checks and skills assesments etc.

me the wife and 2 boys 8+ 5. Happy to chat or help in any way.

good luck. JAMIE

I cant recommend Veronika at sortoutmyvisa.com enough. She has helped our family and two of our friends emigrate and its just her, so is very personable and frank. She replied within a day to any of my queries and made the process so much easier... worth every penny!

I think we will use an agent - after doing a bit more research I think it would be sensible to. I have heard of Emergico and Go Matilda so will look into them - thanks for the recommendations. We are hoping to start the process soon so that around this time next year we can move across. I am a fully qualified carpenter so looking at skilled migration visa options. It is a daunting process as my wife and I have a little one.

I think we will use an agent - after doing a bit more research I think it would be sensible to. I have heard of Emergico and Go Matilda so will look into them - thanks for the recommendations. We are hoping to start the process soon so that around this time next year we can move across. I am a fully qualified carpenter so looking at skilled migration visa options. It is a daunting process as my wife and I have a little one.

Hi Potters. I'm also Carpenter so if I can help in anyway. Please Holla. The economy out there is struggling in certain cities/states.

ive done my skills test/English test etc so have advice to help.

I had technical interview after supplying all relevant info before hand. I would suggest s a start getting a few references and if been self employed you will need few years of bank statements. Need to get lots of documents certified. Passports,trade papers, references, bank statements etc etc. inbox me any questions.

Cheers jamie

What do you class as the "Australian Dream"? The definition I have in my head is slowly disappearing, and will probably not exist in the coming years. Australia is turning into a high cost centre for companies, which is such a shame a great location for multinational's to take advantage of the the time zone, but far cheaper to hire in SE Asia

My husband and I are about to embark on our dream of moving down under and looking for recommendations for registered Mara agents. Does anyone know of any? We are right at the beginning of the process having made the decision to follow our dream - is it better to use an agent or can it be done without one? Thanks :wink:

We used Visa Bureau when we applied and they were great. We have now been here 10 years and life is good.

Cal x

We in the sense of partner, done it ourselves. Easy. Migration agents a product of more recent times.(in these business induced times) Depends I suppose on the OP's comfort with form filling and complexity of individual situation.

What do you class as the "Australian Dream"? The definition I have in my head is slowly disappearing, and will probably not exist in the coming years. Australia is turning into a high cost centre for companies, which is such a shame a great location for multinational's to take advantage of the the time zone, but far cheaper to hire in SE Asia

Quite simply it means our dream of going to Australia.

Yes I like this comment as some people like to dream. My kids dream of going to legoland. We took them last wk to start our bucket list uk b4 we leave. Lots of people like to on here seem to try and knock peoples confidence.

Keep dreaming and have to ignore some peoples negativity.

Obviously some people like to give opinions and really try and help. Love that. Good luck.

I dream for a lay in 2moro , not had one for about 5 years but I do dream.:smile:

Yes I like this comment as some people like to dream. My kids dream of going to legoland. We took them last wk to start our bucket list uk b4 we leave. Lots of people like to on here seem to try and knock peoples confidence.

Keep dreaming and have to ignore some peoples negativity.

 

Obviously some people like to give opinions and really try and help. Love that. Good luck.

 

 

I dream for a lay in 2moro , not had one for about 5 years but I do dream.:smile:

Couldn't agree more Jamie! Great idea to do a UK bucket list for your kids - love that. Thanks again for all your help so far and if its okay with you I may get in touch for further advice once we are further down the line.

Good luck with the lie in - also dreaming of one of those!

Yes I like this comment as some people like to dream. My kids dream of going to legoland. We took them last wk to start our bucket list uk b4 we leave. Lots of people like to on here seem to try and knock peoples confidence.

Keep dreaming and have to ignore some peoples negativity.

 

Obviously some people like to give opinions and really try and help. Love that. Good luck.

 

I dream for a lay in 2moro , not had one for about 5 years but I do dream.:smile:

Ah, but there is just a single breath between a dream and a nightmare!

People are likely to get better quality "support" if they can actually ground their goals in reality. I dream of winning the Premium Bonds but I have a bucket list which includes that I am going to the Edinburgh Wool Festival - can you see the difference?

I dream to look over the big city, my nightmare is hanging off a cliff with the city lights behind me knowing the branch will def snap.

I just like positivity. It's got me thus far. I will agree so it doesn't start a debate.

if someone is going for an interview...............

i would say try your best,be positive and I hope it goes well for you. Rather than, you will probably fail if you say or do the wrong thing or your just not good enough. Good luck to everyone.

My wife and I travelled and ended up living in Wellington(NZ)10 years ago. 1 day we said shall we go home. We returned to uk. Timing wasn't right.( Couldn't get another visa for Aus as I had already used my Working holiday visa.) We had and adventure, came home, learnt,lived ,gained a family. Life is strange , these adventures make us who we are. You will gain more from lessons/mistakes than 10 years of routine .That's only my opinion.

I hope hope my Dream is a good one, if not i did try and will always follow my dreams.

My ultimate dream would be premium bonds win the day after my lotto tickets came in. I would never stop travelling and would want my kids to see the world and be happy ever after...................... and then have a lie in and realise, damn it was another dream.

Some of us dream't and realistically researched and do you know what? It turned out better than even expected! Research, research and research some more but dreaming is good too. Life's there to live.

Jamie, dream on mate. Lots of negativity on here of late,and not unfounded. Oz ain't the land it used to be where housing was cheap and they were screaming out for tradies to build more..............but.............if you're a gambler, and aware of the risks of gambling, then have a bet mate. If you don't like losing, then don't gamble, it's as simple as that in my book. I got in at the right time.......exchange rate was favourable, housing was cheaper, but we came blind with no jobs and little capital.............we gambled..........and yes, the odds were more favourable, but we'd still have gambled, even with shorter odds, simply because "we dreamed"..................and sometimes.................especially when you're older................you thank your God that you ever had the balls to dream.

And a big part of the research, could well be to take note, of those relating present day conditions, found on the ground in present day Australia today. Whatever was the case several years ago is increasingly irreverent in today's Australia.

All very well having a dream. Fine to come as a back packer on a WHV. But caution if uprooting a family on the pure gamble of a 'better life'.