RheaMARN1171933

From my personal experience of my journey to Australia many years ago, I was faced with the same dilemma. I ended up engaging a migration agent to handle my case after realising how confused I became with information I got from different people and through internet. It was a decision well made because it gave me the peace of mind with knowing that an immigration expert is backing my application, I was well guided. Fortunately, I found an agent who only charged me A$1,000 from start to finish. Now that I'm an agent myself, understanding how it is to be on the other end, I encourage clients who may be on a tight budget to discuss what the exact services they may require to fit their budget so as to somehow support them. In saying this, I'm pretty sure other migration agents can also offer such flexibility so don't hesitate to ask. After all, engaging an agent doesn't have to be expensive, it has to be fair for both parties. You can find out more about the average fees agents charged on the MARA website.

Getting an agent is like lodging your tax, you can lodge it by yourself or get an accountant to do it for you. It's also a matter of how much you're willing to spend for one. Mostly you'd be quoted more than £2K to spend whilst, if you're lucky you'all find one who will charge less than the average (like we do!). At the end of it all, it's a matter of choice. Find someone who's MARA registered -definitely! and who you think could act to your best interest. No natter how much the cost, once you speak to someone, just be in tune with your gut feeling as normally it will guide you in choosing who to really trust your future plans with.

Unfortunately, even if you get an invite before the 25th May, I'm afraid you will still need a few months to wait to have your visa granted.

You will need to notify your case officer that you are pregnant. Your application will then be put on hold until you've given birth and have provided your newborn's birth certificate, passport and a completed Form 1022. From there, you'll be given information about health information for the newborn so that all of you can complete the health check requirement. Rhea

From my personal experience during my journey to Australia over 10 years ago, it really all depends on what visa you are applying for. I first came to Australia on a student visa which I applied by myself and my visa was easily granted as the requirements and process was pretty much straightforward. When it was time to apply for a permanent visa, I tried to get as much knowledge as I could with the process and the rules but ended up getting a migration agent because I realised it wasn't as simple. Immigration rules are so complex and ever so changing and I was scared of missing out on one simple rule which might mess up my application. I thought hiring an agent was worth it in exchange of my peace of mind. The end result of this was I became an Australian citizen eventually and my personal journey inspired me to do further studies to qualify as a Registered Migration Agent. I've now been assisting people live the Australian dream since. With regards to fees, go to the MARA website and refer to a list of migration agents in your area, I'm pretty sure you'll find someone within your budget. My migration agent back then only charged me A$1,000! I honestly think getting assistance doesn't have to leave you with an empty pocket. Fees should be reasonable and payment plans should always be made available. Rhea

Hi Jonno, your visa option would all depends on your Points Test score. How you do it will depend on a lot of factors. Definitely you can be successful by your application by yourself. It saves you money for sure but be mindful that it can be time consuming as you need to put a lot of effort into researching and making sure you're on top of the ever so changing immigration rules. Usually, the more information you gather, the more confusing it gets that's why some resort to just using a migration agent to guide them. That's if you have a budget for it. A lot get put off with using one as usually agents charge a lot of money but if you try to contact as much as agents through the MARA website, I'm pretty sure you'll find someone who wouldn't charge too much. Aim to make it right the first time as that's the only way you can save time and money. Good luck!