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Hiya all, I am looking to send my boy out to work already lol. I am wondering if anyone on here has a child with a modelling agent? I have found a few on the net and one local in Torquay but it would be nice to find if anyone else has had some success.

Hi, Which agents are good? We've contacted the emigration group, but they are expensive. The whole process is expensive so we're trying to avoid extra cost if possible. Quotes are around £3000 Anyone found any cheaper than that, which are registered, and that you've been happy with?

Hoping someone is able to help me out and offer advice! Little bit of a different topic. So I've been over to Australia a couple of times and fell in love with it. And in typical British fashion, would love to up sticks and move there. I've got quite a lot of close family friends and school friends who live out there so luckily I wouldn't be completely alone over there. I'm currently studying a Masters in Professional Acting in London and for the last year, I have been contemplating moving after I have graduated. It's now or never right? But my main concern is my career choice. I'm well aware that the acting industry is tough and very competitive no matter where you are - however I was wondering if anybody on here knows a thing or two about the Acting Industry over in Australia - specifically Sydney, or even Melbourne? If so, I have a couple of questions. What is the industry like? Is it a good place to be for a career in Acting? How tough is getting an agent? And are the agencies good out there in terms of getting you auditions? Do you get many opportunities in terms of Film & TV? Is it possible to get representation if only on a Working Holiday Visa? Do they offer opportunities to audition for US TV shows & Films? Any advice would be amazing!! Would massively appreciate it as it is hard to find advice on this through google. Thank you, Zoe

Hi, I am currently in a de facto relationship with an Australian citizen and am looking to apply for the partner visa. We have been in the relationship for 3 years and have a 18 month old child together. We are currently living in the UK. I am wondering whether it is worthwhile paying for an agent to handle the application? My situation seems fairly simple so am not sure if its necessary and the fee of £1500 seems fairly high for help in filling out the forms. If people do thinks it's worth it, it would be great to have a few recommendations for agents.

Hi, I am currently in a de facto relationship with an Australian citizen and am looking to apply for the partner visa. We have been in the relationship for 3 years and have a 18 month old child together. We are currently living in the UK. I am wondering whether it is worthwhile paying for an agent to handle the application? My situation seems fairly simple so am not sure if its necessary and the fee of £1500 seems fairly high for help in filling out the forms. If people do thinks it's worth it, it would be great to have a few recommendations for agents.

Hello all Can anyone recommend a good MARA agent based in london that is reasonable? Just want to see what options are available. Is it really necessery to use an agent for a spouse visa? We have been together nearly four years. cheers :err:

Hi there! We are new to PIO and are aspiring migrants! I have now spoken to about 5 different agents, and the range of advice is quite staggering. Whilst there will always be differing interpretations on the law, I am amazed to hear such differing opinions! To put this into context.... i am a 34 yr old IT professional with about 5 yrs experience. Whilst I am a graduate, it is not in a subject related to my profession. I would be moving with my husband and 4-yr old daughter. We need to qualify for a visa on my skills, as dh is 45. One agent told me no problem with skilled visa with skills assessment, another said I would qualify for regional sponsorship (SA only) with skills assessment, another said regional sponsorship with no assessment required as my degree would get me in on its own merit. The final one said the only way we would get in would be thru employer sponsorship. I did speak to another one who would only have a serious conversation once money had changed hands! Have any of you guys had similar experiences? The agent who we would plan on using would be Concept Australia- any feedback would be most welcome!!! Any thoughts and feedback most welcome!! Rx

I am thinking that I will need an agent to help give advice and aid with the visa application. Any suggestions on who is good please?

Hi has anyone used Ambler Collins as an agent? i am having problems contacting them.

Hi Everyone, We moved from the UK to OZ three years ago. As part of our move we transported out little pug. I have noticed some people on this forum looking for advice on pet transport so I thought I'd join and tell my experience. In the end I did the whole thing myself. I did all the paperwork, booked the flights (Japan Airways for pugs), bought the crate, booked the quarantine. In total it cost (with flight) around 2000 pounds. That was still a big saving on using a transport company and it was very successful. Little pug is sitting on the sofa in Melbourne with me now. Before I decided to do this I looked for quotes from transport companies. I ended up emailing Airsupply Shipping Agents (or Passports for pets). The owner and manager there told me completely incorrect information. He told me I couldn't transport a pug to Australia as Australia only accepted pets from Qantas and BA (not true he was muddled with Heathrow) and they do not fly pugs. I told him that wasn't right but that's fine I would get a quote elsewhere. He then became rude and abusive in his emails. calling me 'little girl' and telling me to 'go back to Australia':eek: (I am British). It was a bizarre email exchange ( I still have it, it was so weird) and I became very greatful I did not inflict a man like this upon my little pug. So a word of warning, they do not know their stuff and they are a very strange company. If your airline won't allow you to do it yourself (some won't) or you are not confident to try, my recommendation is avoid this lot!

Hi All, I've been enjoying reading some of the posts here and thought I'd post to see if I could also get some advice. My wife and I (including 2 kids; 6 and 3) are seriously looking at emigrating to Australia and would like to settle in either Perth or Melbourne. We've got friends in Sydney, but we stayed there for 3 weeks a few years back and it was so expensive that to get reasonable property for a family meant a large commute. I'm an Oracle Database Administrator (Schedule 2 - 262111), with over 10 years exp, and my wife is the same with more exp. We're looking at applying for a 190 visa to Victoria as I saw they still accept visas for this skill. However, I also spoke to a UK emigration company "The Immigration Advisory Service", and he mentioned that as a British Citizen, we don't get any points for the language stuff. Is that true and would I therefore need to sit the language course to ensure I get tons of points? I seem to get 25 for age, 20 for language (one would hope i score an A!), 15 for job, 15 for a BA(Hons), 5 for the wife, and perhaps 5 from 190 support. So, without the language test I would score around 60-65 points. Do I need more to have more chance of acceptance, and therefore would the language test help? Also, the company I was speaking to is based in the UK, so I was wondering about agencies. Is it easier to deal with in Aus or here? I asked him lots of questions, like their costs, timelines, associated services, and finally (as I've read everywhere on these forums) whether they were MARA agents. He said he wasn't as he was British, but there were MARA agents in his team. Do I continue with this kind of service (around £1200) or look for others that people recommend? Thanks and Best Regards, Stephen.

Hi all, its been a while since I was on here but my husband and I have decided to give it a bash and go to Oz (hopefully if we get our visa) so we are starting on the long journey ahead of us. Last week we completed an online assessment through the Emigration Company and they have now sent us a form for us to complete so that they can carry out a full visa assessment and tell us our options etc, which is going to cost £95 which is fine but I was wondering if anyone has heard of them, used them, are we doing the right thing going through this company............. it's all so confusing :confused: Thanks for your help guys :wink:

Hi Just wondered if any of you out there had dealt with Concept Australia Migration Agents? My OH and I have recently been in touch with them and they've given us hope of passing a skills assessment despite not thinking we'd be able to (I've got a 50 point occupation but not a degree) They think I might be able to chose a 40 point occupation which I'll pass because I've got the equivalent of a diploma which I wasn't told about before. Anyway - just wondered whether anyone had found them good/bad? Any help or advice anyone could give would be great. Thanks Em

does any of you over in perth have any web address for estate agents,please send links if poss many thanks neil:wubclub:

I was wondering if anyone can help. Me and my partner enlisted the help of a migration agent to help us complete our application. After the 1st couple of months we noticed that the service we were being provided was getting increasingly worse and our case worker, who is based in south africa even though im based in the UK and used a UK company an my partner is based in Australia, was very difficult to contact. She did not seem to understand the reason we got the agent on board was to make the process easier for us and instead of making the information simpler for us to understand insisted and copy and pasting the information either straight from the internet or a script and not adding and personal touch. After making a few complaints we were simply finding that we being ignored and that the people who had promised us so much at the start were not concerned by our disappointment, and that our case worker in south africa was either too busy to managed our case as we needed or was not qualified enough. After having several discussions with the agent and our complaints being ignored again we decided enough was enough and that we would sent the application directly to Australia House in London ourselves. We made that decision in Feb 2012 and to this day we have only been contacted once by our case worker by email to ask if we had sent her the documents ready for her to post the application. We have since found out from another couple who used there services that we made the right decision, because they had the same problems with this agent and it took almost 2 years to get there application aproved and in that time had to have there medicals done twice as the 1st set had expired. Now is the tricky part. We are trying to get some advice on getting a refund of our money. We both know this is going to be a long process and most likely unsuccessful but would be much happier knowing that we tried and failed rather than them to think they have made easy money by just waiting for us to get tired of them. We have contacted MARA who said they are basically powerless as they are not based in Australia so are not governed by there rules and have also tried the UK immigration ombudsman who said that they could not help as im not seeking entry to the UK. Has anyone been through this before and can you point me in the right direction, or give me any info or contacts that might put us on the right track. many thanks carl

Hi, I have been in Sydney since Feb 2nd this year. Up until the 25th of Feb the company I am working for paid for my hotel stay in the CBD. Every weekend since I have been here I have been looking for a place to rent. It has been one of the most demoralising experiences in my life. The system here is appaling - it lags way behind the system in UK. First thing you realise is that you get very very little for your money. My job pays $50,000 plus overtime per year so I cannot afford much. I am looking at places between 350 - 400 per week. Considering my house in the UK has a mortgage of £400 per month for a 3 bedroom with a large garage, paying $1600 a month here (£1088 approx) gets me the equivalent of just my garage. Secondly, the 'open house' system is very poor. You get a 10 minute chance to view a place. Don't get me wrong, you don't need 10 minutes to look at a place, I usually know within 10 seconds if I like the place or not. It's just that getting to several places on a Saturday (which is when most viewing are) is very difficult. eg, I find a few places I like the look of on the Domain website/app. First one is open at 9.00am - 9.10am. Second place is 9.15 to 9.25 but it takes 20 mins to get between them so you miss the second viewing. Each weekend I have had to miss at least 3 viewings due to this. To make things harder, several times the agent has turned up a few minutes late, which obviously has a knock on effect meaning that I have to abandon my plans to get to the next viewing. The 'agents' that turn up are really just people with keys and application forms - no skills needed. When I have asked them questions before they open up the property, the reply is often "I'm not sure - I haven't seen the property myself yet". This is usually followed by fumbling as they try to find the entrance to the building. I travelled 20 mins to one place and when I got there the agent apologised because she was unable to get hold of the keys and that if I was still interested I could come back the following Saturday. Another situation was where I paid $20 in a taxi to get to a place because the previous agent was late, and when the agent arrived he apologised to everyone waiting that he had just been informed that the property had already been leased. More time and money wasted. Yesterday I waited outside a place with about 10 other people - and when the agent hadn't turned up after 10 minutes I decided to phone them - they told me that they had no idea about a viewing on the property and that the picture and address on the website were wrong. In the words of Peter Griffin "it really grinds my gears". Everyone always mentions about the pictures on websites for the properties....it really is true. Don't believe them, what looks like a sparkling new kitchen often turns out to be a pic from 7 years ago. A lot of the pics don't show inside, just a shot of the building and a view from the balcony - there is a reason for this which becomes apparent when you enter. Some of the photos on the website look like they have been taken by a child - so bad it's laughable. It makes me wonder what estate agents actually do to earn their keep. There are a lot of good things here however the real estate system is shockingly bad. I had read posts for months before I came warning about the system - but I never imagined it was this bad. i am sure something will turn up eventually, but at this point it has me questioning my decision to come here. Here's wishing y'all better luck than I am having. Take care Stereo

Hi All Me and my partner are at the final stages of applying for our prospective marriage visa. We have paid for the services of a migration agent, however we are both extermely unhappy with there performance and after weeks of being constantly ignored which keeps delaying are application we have decided that we want to finish the application on our own. As we have received some advice on the best way to put together our application from an agent over the past couple of months do we still need to declare on our application forms that we have had help even if we decided to sent the application in directly ourselves? Will it jeopardise our application at all? Will the agent be within there rights to tell the immigration department that they have helped us along the way? Are we putting ourselves at risk of failure? Its been a very frustrating month, especially the last few weeks and we just want to get the application in, as the waiting time at the moment another 6 months thanks

Hi, I was wondering what the average costs of using an agent for a 176 state sponsored (ACT) visa are? I have been quoated AUS$7,500 in three installments or AUS$7,000 in total. The agants cut is just shy of AUS$3,000. Is this reasonable? Thanks, Stuart

Hi There, I know it is ages off yet, but I want to make sure that everything goes according to plan. My husband is due to start work at the beginning of February and his employers are providing temporary accommodation until I arrive early April. We have two small dogs, they will be out of quarantine mid May - can anyone recommend any good agents in the Bundy area? We will be looking for unfurnished 2 to 4 bedrooms, the less bedrooms the better. Modern property, preferred no pool, something nice. Budget around 350 maximum. Also if people can advise me as to what we need for a rental, I.e., passport´s, previous land lord´s reference, bank statements, (blood test, and police checks!) the last two were hopefully a joke! Kind regards Any advice that anyone has is more than welcome.

Here is the official sites of MIA and MARA registered agents http://mia.org.au/search-agent also check https://www.mara.gov.au/ Just search the name here for a MARA registered agent and soon u will know whether he is real or fake.If he is on the list, his MIA no and MARA number will appear . I just found this useful hence i posted it over here Beware of fake agents who can cheat you in the name of immigration. Regards, TIJO MATHEW

Can anyone please recomened me a good agent to use for migration purposes. Thankyou Gary Oliver :goofy:

Anyone else experienced this sort of rubbish? We have just left our grotty smelly house in Greensborough which we treated with respect in spite of the fence falling down, a large collection of wood being left in the garden for a year, a leak in the hallway that was never fixed, a leak in the garage that leaked constantly and ruined all our stuff that was in there, a garage door that was falling off, ineffective heating, a urine smelling kitchen cupboard and numerous other ailments. We always paid the rent on time and never caused any issues. On moving out the agent has decided we need to pay for a cleaner, a handyman and a gardener to get the place "up to scratch" (a bulldozer would be more appropriate). She expained we needed to do a "a bit of weeding" and pointed out there are scratches on the polished living room floor. My argument is that we have lived there for a year, a carpet would get worn and it is surely understandable that a floor will become marked, were we supposed to float around for a year? We just found out today the gardener has quoted $385! To pull some weeds out! It seems the landlord/real estate agent treat our bonds as a Christmas bonus. On top of this, our new house (which does not smell of urine) was advertised for $440 a week and an invitation to call the agent for an appointment (ie not an "open house") I did this, arranged my appointment, and to my astonishment they then decided to advertise this time as a time for any other potential tennants to have a look. We got the house and were about to sign the contract when the agent decided they would actually charge us $450 a week!! If we refused to pay then we would lose the house! Having moved in I put the key in the shed lock and it broke (thats my fault and I have to pay to repair it). the airconditioner does not work (we reported it and its like talking to a wall, they sort of listen, and then do nothing), the blinds dont work in any of the bedrooms, you have to physically pull at them (which breaks them which will presumably be our fault and will result in the landlord getting new blinds at our expense). They have not even bothered to replace light bulbs that have blown! Overall renting over here is a thoroughly awful experience.

We are trying to find a half decent migration agent that will help with questions before we submit our application. Every time I think we have found a half decent one that starts to answer questions we suddenly get an abrupt e-mail saying they will not answer any more questions till we submit our application. I realise we might have to pay to get some answers. But does anyone know of any half decent one's that are helpful that are either based in the UK or Australia. I just need advice before we go through with our application so I know what kind of information they are going to want & I have ready, save wasting time. The Visa we are looking for is 457, in agriculture. I really hope someone can help us!!:arghh:

Hi me and my partner want to do a prospective marriage visa and are considering a agent, spoken to Global visas and go matlida, it seems like they just help out with paper work and dont get you back any quicker? Our case is very straight forward I guess and I can fill out paperwork myself, our main thing is I will be sending off visa in Jan and we want to get married in october/november ....I want it done asap really so any advice there? migration agents help you get back quicker? I've heard Global do. Its just a lot of money so I want to be sure. Spoken to them but would like other views from you guys it so hard cuz how do you book a venue and get things sorted if you dont even know when you'll be back!? Heard it generally takes 7 months? I live out in the counrty in the UK so I dont really wanna be stuck there for 7 months, its hard enough to get a job in the uk let alone without a car waiting for a visa lol I have thought of returning to aus on a tourst visa (3montsh) telling my case agent this is what il be doing then just leave the country when the visa will be granted, go to NZ? Has anyone done that??? Any advice on this or just PMV or migration agents to use! Any advice is good help to us so let me know your thoughts! Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! x:Randy-git:

Hello again!! We are still in Bali but trying now to complete our application to estate agents remotely before we arrive in Canberra early december... the tricky thing is we have no idea where is best to concentrate our search and which agent to choose! We only know that we will be looking to live nearish the french/ australian school of Telopea, or at least on the right side of town to the school. Any advice on areas down south? Any big and busy estate agents you would recommend?? Is Red hill good, very expensive? Our budget, probably around the 600$ a week. We chatted to Peter Blackshaw on Skype, nice guy and seems busy but i know he has a lot of people on his books... Can't wait to actually see the place. sophie.