Using an Agent....Is it advisable?

[Alan Collett]

It's a bit disingenuous to portray applying by yourself as 'rolling the dice'. Paying thousands of pounds to an agent can be seen as rolling the dice as well - is that agent up to scratch? You'll only find out they're not when they mess up your application, as many do. Is that agent worth the considerable expense? Ultimately they're managing a process any applicant can manage themselves.

 

=> If you choose your agent wisely you will reduce your risk. It is clearly nonsense to suggest that an individual who is involved in his or her first visa application can have the same depth of knowledge or understanding as an experienced advisor of many years standing.

 

In that context I stick with my observation that lodging an application without the assistance of a competent professional is a rolling of the dice.

The application process isn't some indecipherable mystery you need to be a registered agent to understand. The guidelines and instructions are all publicly available to anyone and awesome forums like this can be used to check for things which are harder to understand.

 

=> I appreciate you want to assert the simplicity of the process to support your contention, but the reality is that the ease with which a person can handle such an exercise on their own is substantially contingent on the abilities and comfort level of the visa applicant and his or her immediate support network.

 

=> For the benefit of users of this forum please let us know where we can find DIAC policy guidance in the public arena.

 

Best regards.

[Alan Collett]

Fortunately the visa application process is not a competitive game, it is a simple pass/fail threshold. The forms and process are not intended to trip people up, they are simply a means to gather information to assess whether applicants meet the specified eligibility set out in the law.

 

 

If it is that simple a process why does the Department of Immigration have pages of policy material on just the subclass 189 visa? Policy - while not the law - deals with DIAC's interpretation of the legislation.

 

If we were dealing with a simple pass/fail there would be no need for policy guidance.

 

Best regards.

[Anthony Green]

On a related issue, my family and I are going to be using an agent. However, we have been put in contact with a Immigration Lawyer based in Canberra through a lawyer friend of ours. Is it advisable to use a UK or Aussie based expert?

[Alan Collett]

http://migrationalliance.com.au/home/different-skills-standards-for-different-assessing-bodies.html

 

An example of how the skilled visa application process is an art, not a science ... the issue of what constitutes skilled work experience continues to evolve.

 

Best regards.

[CollegeGirl]

This is not really true. The mistake would have to be so fundamental that you'd have to write demonstrably false and misleading stuff all over the application. The reality is, people sometimes make mistakes like not including enough information or missing out questions. In this case, DIAC will simply contact the applicant and ask for more stuff.

 

Wouldn't it be nice if this were always true. On another forum, we've seen a few users applying onshore come back and say "The officer at DIAC told me to go ahead and apply with just the forms, and I could send in the supporting evidence later. Then they rejected us because we hadn't provided the information!" Of course, two people out of so many is not a huge percentage - but you can't count on DIAC *ALWAYS* asking for more information. They have the right to decide a case simply on what's in front of them. They aren't required to ask for more if you haven't provided what you needed to.

 

I'll absolutely 100% admit some bias since we used an agent (health reasons), but... there are stupid mistakes that can potentially cost you (both in money and in time away from your partner). JMHO.