Leigh Winstone

*************Warning******************** The following is an account of my dealings with a migration agent/company It had always been my dream to move to Australia and in 2014 I was granted Permanent Residency through the skilled occupations List (SOL) for my occupation as a teacher. A process which initiated in late 2013. Six months prior to my departure I met my partner in the UK and wanted to explore options of him moving with me to Australia. My partner is a Chinese national and not wanting to embark on a difficult visa application again I made the mistake of contacting someone who was not a ‘MARA’ registered migration agent! After speaking to her she recommended that my Partner apply for a 1 year tourist visa. I asked the cost of this visa and after checking her ‘system’ came up with a price of 280, which was way above what other agents were charging (I think she plucked the number from the air). But not wanting to delay I agreed and that’s when my problems really began. After sending her all the information she requested, two weeks later she e-mailed me a form to be completed. I was rather taken’ aback by this, as I was already aware that Chinese Nationals were not able to process their applications electronically and had to fill in paper forms. Also she had told me she had already submitted the visa. I took this up with her on the phone and she stated that her ‘system’ was telling her differently. A week later I telephoned her and she said she had submitted the visa but was unable to give me any reference numbers. I asked how long the visa would take and she said it would be through in days. The Australian High Commission stated the time frame as being weeks and not days! The next month followed a pattern of avoiding my calls and blatant lies. In the end I contacted the High Commission and they had never received any application. At this point I was already in Australia without my partner and the whole visa scenario had turned into a nightmare. she was not answering the phone and when my partner eventually got through her husband answered and told him to stop calling as he was blocking the line. Meanwhile, in Australia I took professional advice on my partners’ visa options. I was advised that it was very unlikely his tourist visa would be successful and a refusal would be very detrimental to any future visa application. The Australian Visa adviser couldn’t understand (or believe) how an agent in the UK had recommended this to me. I was strongly advised that the most successful option was a student visa. This agent, ruined my first month’s in Australia and turned what was supposed to be my ultimate dream into a nightmare. Under no circumstances should she be described as a visa ‘expert’ and I would strongly encourage people to get a MARA registered agent. The story does have a happy ending: my boyfriend was granted a student visa and arrives in Australia on 29th July. If we had received proper advice he could have been here sooner. The funny thing is,the agent never charged me a penny. But just wasted my time and very nearly prevented me being with the love of my life.