charlene Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 I have had a job offer and the company have said yes to a regional sponsored visa. I had my letter of offer through today and my agent has spoken with them and all seems great. My agent has just sent me through a Schedule of Costs. Agent fees are $4,500 plus gst with the application costs on top of that. Basically we are looking at about $9,000. :arghh: We are undecided whether to keep with our agent who we have used twice before, once for my student visa, once for my graduate visa, and have been really happy with them - but we are running on empty money wise and we also have to relocate from Gold Coast to Bundaberg for this job so we have moving costs on top of this. The company who has offered me the job have sponsored on this visa before so they know what they need to do. What I want to know is how easy or difficult is it to do the RSMS application without using an agent? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blossom Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 If they have done it before then I would save your money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rammygirl Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 Is the $4500 just for your visa application? If so that is rather a lot. On the other hand if it is for all parts of the application including the employers then it is good value. Will the employer have an agent as they may also help you with the visa part? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blossom Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 Rsms agent fees are generally for both sides. I know my agent said that is the only way they do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sussex boy Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 Depends, we did ours, then paid an agent to check the application before submitting, all medicals etc allready done. It wasnt that hard to be honest. Good luck either way you go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlene Posted June 6, 2013 Author Share Posted June 6, 2013 The $4,500 is just the agent's fees - as I said we are looking at about $9,000. We just don't want any hiccups and I can imagine getting everything together and doing all the paperwork is quite a stressful thing. So Sussexboy you paid an agent just to check everything? - how much did that cost if you don't mind me asking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonicBlue82 Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 My instinct would be to do it yourself and save the $4500 that the agent is charging for their service. Although you have used their services before and have been pleased, at the end of the day, it comes down to what you can afford. And as yo said, if your company is familiar with the RSMS visa application process and has had successful applicants, then I would rely on your employer and that they know what they are doing. To be honest, if I had to do this all over again I would probably choose to do it myself rather than pay an agent. You just need to read Booklet 5 thoroughly and be familiar with all of the guidelines and requirements and as long as you follow everything to a T then you should be fine. Plus I'm sure your employer would review everything as well. It is interesting that Sussexboy mentioned that they paid a migration agent just to review everything though. If that is an option and the cost is reasonable, it might be worth exploring. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlene Posted June 10, 2013 Author Share Posted June 10, 2013 Thanks for all the advice - we will be speaking with our agent tomorrow and see if we can get the cost down - if not we will ask about them checking through the application and what that cost would be - failing that we will do it ourselves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Collett Posted June 10, 2013 Share Posted June 10, 2013 Remember that using an agent should allow for a Decision Ready Checklist and the resultant fast tracking of your application to permanent residency: http://www.immi.gov.au/gateways/agents/resources/ens-rsms-decision-ready/ At a time of weakening employment in Australia it may be wise to get that p/r status soonest? Best regards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blossom Posted June 10, 2013 Share Posted June 10, 2013 Although it seems drc doesn't really mean much nowadays. Immigration hasn't done agents any favours as for many that was the reason for using one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Collett Posted June 10, 2013 Share Posted June 10, 2013 Although it seems drc doesn't really mean much nowadays. Immigration hasn't done agents any favours as for many that was the reason for using one. => Au contraire! We have recently seen DRC lodged applications moving to decisions in a few weeks again, which is great news for those who choose to lodge using an agent and a signed off DRC. And for agents too! :-) Best regards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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