fionaallan1 Posted January 16, 2017 Share Posted January 16, 2017 how many of yourselves went through an agent or done it themselves? is there a big cost difference? were going to do it on the skilled independent but unsure whether to just do it ourselves or go through an agent?? advice please! Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skal Posted January 16, 2017 Share Posted January 16, 2017 Hi, I did the visa myself. It was time consuming but not that difficult if you have all the evidence in place regarding qualifications and work experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fionaallan1 Posted January 16, 2017 Author Share Posted January 16, 2017 Hi, I did the visa myself. It was time consuming but not that difficult if you have all the evidence in place regarding qualifications and work experience. thats okay then, did you find a big difference in price? Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skal Posted January 16, 2017 Share Posted January 16, 2017 I applied for PR back in 2012 but didn't really consider an agent. Sorry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fionaallan1 Posted January 16, 2017 Author Share Posted January 16, 2017 ah no worries. thanks...be interesting to see what others have done Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beaty Posted January 16, 2017 Share Posted January 16, 2017 Doing it ourselves. If you are a straight forward case - I would say do your research, use PomsInOz and go for it. It's a bit of work and you'll need to drive it on yourself. B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fionaallan1 Posted January 16, 2017 Author Share Posted January 16, 2017 Doing it ourselves. If you are a straight forward case - I would say do your research, use PomsInOz and go for it. It's a bit of work and you'll need to drive it on yourself. B thanks Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaymzrsa Posted January 16, 2017 Share Posted January 16, 2017 (edited) It depends how proactive you are. My brother did the slog himself and got a grant, I used an agent (I had to do an RPL too which was not pleasant) and was an extra Aus$1600 for the 190 and state sponsorship. I had previously paid Aus$2000 for assistance for the RPL so all in this was an extra Aus$3600 and was well spent if you ask me. Edited January 16, 2017 by jaymzrsa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fionaallan1 Posted January 16, 2017 Author Share Posted January 16, 2017 It depends how proactive you are. My brother did the slog himself and got a grant, I used an agent (I had to do an RPL too which was not pleasant) and was an extra Aus$1600 for the 190 and state sponsorship. I had previously paid Aus$2000 for assistance for the RPL so all in this was an extra Aus$3600 and was well spend if you ask me. yeah we are proactive. how did he get a grant? sorry new to it all so what ia a RPL? Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaymzrsa Posted January 16, 2017 Share Posted January 16, 2017 My brother did a subclass 190 with Victoria sponsorship. He has set up a site called 190oz.com wth his experiences (not sure if it is finished yet). May help you if you are going it alone. An RPL is recognition of prior learning. It is an assessment of my qualification as they don't recognise my qualification (They being the Australian Computer Society). Unless you are coming under an ICT profession you probably won't need to deal with this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fionaallan1 Posted January 16, 2017 Author Share Posted January 16, 2017 My brother did a subclass 190 with Victoria sponsorship. He has set up a site called 190oz.com wth his experiences (not sure if it is finished yet). May help you if you are going it alone. An RPL is recognition of prior learning. It is an assessment of my qualification as they don't recognise my qualification (They being the Australian Computer Society). Unless you are coming under an ICT profession you probably won't need to deal with this ah okay. no we are going through with electrician skilled. thanks will check tgat web out Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saz71 Posted January 17, 2017 Share Posted January 17, 2017 We did it ourselves. I reckon we saved £2k at the time. We did state sponsored so that included the skills assessment for husband (chef) with TRA at the time, application for state sponsorship then the visa app itself. The skills assessment was the hardest part Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reubs2016 Posted January 17, 2017 Share Posted January 17, 2017 We have just started ourselves. Hubby is electrician. Skills assessment and gathering 10years worth of evidence is by far the hardest part for us. We nearly have everything together just waiting on a few things from old employers and tax office etc. Once we have all that it's pretty much just a case of lodging it. We used the downunder centre for skills assessment. Cost £250 and they check documents and arrange your skills assessment. We are going to apply for visa ourselves as with a family of 6 the visa itself is nearly $10k without fees for agent Sent from my SM-A300FU using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benj1980 Posted January 17, 2017 Share Posted January 17, 2017 I personally used an agent and I think this reduced the stress for us. Some people use an agent for everything and some for a part such as the skills assessment, we initially agreed to the latter but were so pleased with how professional our agent had been we decided to continue with her. It's good to have someone on the end of the phone and although PIO is great sometimes you do get conflicting information. I think I was too scared to make a mistake which would cost me hundreds of pounds! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fionaallan1 Posted January 17, 2017 Author Share Posted January 17, 2017 I personally used an agent and I think this reduced the stress for us. Some people use an agent for everything and some for a part such as the skills assessment, we initially agreed to the latter but were so pleased with how professional our agent had been we decided to continue with her. It's good to have someone on the end of the phone and although PIO is great sometimes you do get conflicting information. I think I was too scared to make a mistake which would cost me hundreds of pounds! yeah think thats my worry too. which agent did you use? Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Macca84 Posted January 17, 2017 Share Posted January 17, 2017 Hi guys, just after some advise if you don't mind. just started my visa application and am worried about the skills test (I'm also an electrician). what should I expect from the skills assessment day? Also where did you do yours? im using an agent and have been told it has to be done in London and will cost around £1500! any help would be much appreciated. thanks steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frank3 Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 Hi, we did it ourselves however, whenever we were unsure, we asked the Australian Migration Agent and Immigration Lawyer Association for advice. That was an easy and straight forward process. We felt we could save the complete fee for an agent but relied on the Associations advice. Good Luck. Frank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackMagic Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 how many of yourselves went through an agent or done it themselves? is there a big cost difference? were going to do it on the skilled independent but unsure whether to just do it ourselves or go through an agent?? advice please! Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk Hi, I did my application processing from the scratch by myself. VISA-190/NSW/Computer Network and system Engineer/Skilled State Sponsored Yes it saved lots of bucks. But the most valuable thing was clarity and 100% control on my application progress. I did not need to wait for agent's comment or feedback. But to do that, i read every single rules and requirements from the gov websites. Prepared my documents with no gaps. Here is my Summary: 1) Skill Assessment from Engineers Australia (Took about 3 months) 2) Skill Assessment from ACS (Took 2 months) 3) Applied for NSW state sponsorship (Took 6 months) 4) Finally applied to Immi.gov.au (Took 5 months) Am am not a native English speaker. It was bit challenging for me to read and follow all rules and regulations. But i was able to make it. I am sure you can do that as well... The gov websites are too good and enriched with information. You can also call/email for help. Note: Everybody's case may not be simple like mine. In some situation agent can help better. It depends on the actual scenario cheers, Wish u good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fionaallan1 Posted January 18, 2017 Author Share Posted January 18, 2017 thanks everyone for your thoughts Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ABG Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 I did it without an agent. Provided you read all the regulations and your case is straightforward then it is not difficult. As Jaymzrsa (my brother) said, I've chronicled the steps I took in some detail on my blog. It's obviously specific to my case, but at a minimum it maps the steps needed to be taken and the order to do them in Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
christopherj Posted January 20, 2017 Share Posted January 20, 2017 We went through an agent and awaiting the final stage outcome... although the agent has been helpful, all the information is online so if you have the time to go through the Aus immigration site and prepare your documents...etc .... I'd recommend you do it on your own and save the cash. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fionaallan1 Posted January 20, 2017 Author Share Posted January 20, 2017 We went through an agent and awaiting the final stage outcome... although the agent has been helpful, all the information is online so if you have the time to go through the Aus immigration site and prepare your documents...etc .... I'd recommend you do it on your own and save the cash. Thanks and hope all goes well Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 20, 2017 Share Posted January 20, 2017 yeah we are proactive. how did he get a grant? sorry new to it all so what ia a RPL? Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk He meant he got a visa granted. An RPL is recognition of prior learning, it is where you have experience but not the required qualifications - this is common for IT roles, I don't know if it's used in other occupations too. We used an agent, we definitely could have done it ourselves but it saved my husband and I arguing about it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrussell Posted January 22, 2017 Share Posted January 22, 2017 all the information is online No it isn't, unless you pay a substantial subscription for the policy documents - PAM 3, similarly there is a fee to access the CEP for assessment of qualifications and the information in DIBP publications (including their website) is simplistic, incomplete and sometimes wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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