Migration without an agent

[shanti]

Hi can anybody help? My husband is going to try for migration without an agent has anbody done this ok and how much did it cost etc? He is a qualified CIMA accountant and he can apply for a professsional skills assememnt via the Australian charted accountants(approx £165) and it looks like you can apply to the immi.gov.au after that??
Any help would be welcomed

[a&s]

Hi,
Can't help as we used an agent but plenty of people on here haven't so i am sure they will be along to help.. Just wanted to wish you and yours GOOD LUCK..

[IAN NINA & GEORGE]

Originally Posted by shanti

Hi can anybody help? My husband is going to try for migration without an agent has anbody done this ok and how much did it cost etc? He is a qualified CIMA accountant and he can apply for a professsional skills assememnt via the Australian charted accountants(approx £165) and it looks like you can apply to the immi.gov.au after that??
Any help would be welcomed

hi we r off to perth gone it alone no agent found it ok up to now only cost us about £1000 up to now but we still got meds and police checks to do yet
we are being sponsored by wa gov

[kimdownie]

hi There

we are going it alone, and not had any problems so far. The hardest part was the initial skills assessment. The visa application is a doddle from there on, and if you do have any problems there is always someone here to help. Failing that you can ring the embassy direct if you have any problems.

The comforting thing is that if there is anything missing from your application they will contact you. It is not a pass or fail for innadequate information provided.

good luck
kim

[Tom the Pom]

I am going it alone after being charged £150 + VAT for a dozen badly photocopied sheets and a few 'standard letters'.

It was at that point I realised I could do it all on my own.

Don't get me wrong it isn't as easy as I'd like it to be - but it doesn't warrant spending thousands on an agency doing it for me.
You still have to get all the info and documents anyway and pay all the fees involved (aswel as the agency fees if you stick with them)

My advice is - find a person who has done it all already and get all the info you can out of them.

Most people I've spoken to are happy to tell you how they 'did it' and help you to get there too!

If I can help please contact me via PM - I'm in the construction industry (sparky)

Good luck
Tom

[kazzy01]

Hi Shanti

I'm a CIMA accountant as well and did all of the immigration by myself. There is really no need to spend thousands on an agent if your case is straight forward.

I sent my skills assessment to CPA two years ago and they took 4 months to approve my skills, as they had such a back log. At the time NIA were turning around skills assessments in under 2 months, so it might be worth checking which body is turning them around quickest.

I submitted my visa application last Feburary and the visa was granted in November (I was away overseas travelling so this was delayed by 2 months as I was not in the UK to apply for the police checks etc).

All in all, it costs around 1500 pounds to do it yourself including the cost of the skills assessment and medicals etc.

[Gollywobbler]

Hi All

I would just sound a mild note of warning, here. A big shake-up of the various skilled visas is due to come into effect on 1 September 2007.

Unless the DIAC website is already providing the detailed information and readers are sure that they understand it fully, relying on the forums might not be of much help. Today's Hot News is tomorrow's fish & chips paper with these Australian visas because it s a FRIGHTENINGY fast-moving body of Law. Also, there could be loopholes in the new stuff which the average individual is unlikely to find but the Immi Law specialists WILL find them if there are any and they will figure out how to use thm for the benefit of their clients.

Come September 2nd. I predict a spate of posts asking, "How does the new subclass 175 visa work?" and the rest of us saying, "Derr. No idea, frankly."

I'm not saying, "Rush to an Agent." I am saying, "Just watch the situation and judge accordingly as you feel in a couple of weeks' time."

Best wishes and good luck, everyone

Cheers

Gill

[Alan Collett]

Originally Posted by shanti

Hi can anybody help? My husband is going to try for migration without an agent has anbody done this ok and how much did it cost etc? He is a qualified CIMA accountant and he can apply for a professsional skills assememnt via the Australian charted accountants(approx £165) and it looks like you can apply to the immi.gov.au after that??
Any help would be welcomed

Yes, the skills assessment process for accountants is not overly challenging. We lodge applications for our accountant clients with the ICAA, and for UK professionally qualifieds (eg members of CIMA) we tend to see classification letters through in about 2 to 4 weeks presently.

That done you are looking at lodging your visa application with the DIAC's Skilled Processing Centre in Adelaide, probably under new subclass number 175 given that your husband can attain the required visa points pass mark (120 for the 175 visa).

Best regards.

[Alan Collett]

PS. In response to one of the above postings, we don't "charge thousands" for assisting with skills assessment and visa applications ... unless you are working in a currency other than GBP's!

Our fee for assisting accountants lodge their skills assessment and visa applications, and managing the same through to a decision is £1,050.

[Helaine]

we to are going it alone...or should i say that i am OH is just standing back and waiting for me to tell him when to pack....Bless !!! , defo check up on the immi web site for the new changes but having looked my self its nothing bad more in our favour.....just make sure you go through everything loads of times and grab a beer and sit in front of the PC and go through all the IMMI , workplace and DIAC web sites and make sure that you have enough paper to print everything off as theres loads, the reason we are going it alon is that we were quoted £4500 to use an agent paided them some and then found out that there wer not MARA reg......so we are using the money we save to ship the pooch ova as that will be £2500 at least !!!!

If i can help at all just let me know, as load of people have helped me here at Poms