Quill82 Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 Hi all, I'm new to this forum and the girlfriend and I are looking to emigrate with a 190 visa. We are currently looking into going it solo without an agent but want to try and find out how much time we would need to dedicate to researching and completing the documentation. Does anyone have experience of going without an agent?? We have spoke to a few agents who have said our circumstances are very straightforward which makes us believe we can do it alone. Our main concern is the time taken to complete the application ourselves against paying an agent to do it and whether the time saving outweighs the cost. We both work in the pharamceutical industry and therefore dont think we'll have any issues dealing with documentation or regulatory bodies as we do this day to day. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveandKirsty Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 What state are you going for the 190 in? We have just started the process (for SA) and have too decided to 'go it alone' having initially been pointed in the right direction by an agent. If things are straightforward it can be a 50% saving as far as we could make out. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jersey2Sydney Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 We used an agent. We are a family of 5, my husband works away and we have 3 small children. We decided that the prospect of getting together all the documents, remembering all the timelines and getting everything right was too much to juggle! The consequences of a wrong box ticked or deadline missed cab be big in time and money (fees are not refunded) The cost was worth it and we judged it as an investment in our future life. If you can justify it as that, as something you really want and so are investing in then I believe it is the best way to go. The entire process took less than 1 year. We received our visas on 1Nov13 ) I will happily recommend our agent. i can PM you her details. She gave us a lot of information before we even paid a penny. Have you decided which of you will be the lead or are you both applying for a 190? Whoever is the lead applicant is the one who sits the IELTS, the other person does not have to. Best of luck whichever route you take x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ryan the wizard of oz Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 Hi all, I'm new to this forum and the girlfriend and I are looking to emigrate with a 190 visa. We are currently looking into going it solo without an agent but want to try and find out how much time we would need to dedicate to researching and completing the documentation. Does anyone have experience of going without an agent?? We have spoke to a few agents who have said our circumstances are very straightforward which makes us believe we can do it alone. Our main concern is the time taken to complete the application ourselves against paying an agent to do it and whether the time saving outweighs the cost. We both work in the pharamceutical industry and therefore dont think we'll have any issues dealing with documentation or regulatory bodies as we do this day to day. Thanks There are clearly more pros then cons for using an agent but it most definitely can be achieved without specialist support. The most important thing is *if you're going to invest in an agent; make sure they are fully accredited by MARA (ie the actual person acting as your case manager.) Many companies can have contractual agreements with a MARA agent but when it comes to who actually processes the visa application it's (so and so with no immigration experience.) There are so many agencies hiring basic admin staff to process visa applications to maximize profit and it just results in stress and refusals for their clients who placed their trust and hopes in them. Even as an agency ourselves we respect people who would like to "go it alone" but at the same time, if you had a life changing court case coming up; you wouldn't represent yourself in court, you would hire a lawyer..one could say the same applies here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calNgary Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 Lots of members have applied 'DIY' and been successful, personally i was a chicken back when we applied and didnt want to risk doing anything wrong and have our application returned or refused so we used Visa Bureau and they were fantastic. Go Matilda is another company who get good feedback on here and have helped lots of our members. At the end of the day its a personal choice and there is plenty of help out there if you do go it alone. Lots of luck with everything Cal x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Collett Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 There are clearly more pros then cons for using an agent but it most definitely can be achieved without specialist support. The most important thing is *if you're going to invest in an agent; make sure they are fully accredited by MARA (ie the actual person acting as your case manager.) Many companies can have contractual agreements with a MARA agent but when it comes to who actually processes the visa application it's (so and so with no immigration experience.) There are so many agencies hiring basic admin staff to process visa applications to maximize profit and it just results in stress and refusals for their clients who placed their trust and hopes in them. Even as an agency ourselves we respect people who would like to "go it alone" but at the same time, if you had a life changing court case coming up; you wouldn't represent yourself in court, you would hire a lawyer..one could say the same applies here. Hello Ryan. The migration agent referred to on your website - and to whom you allude in your posting - has no reference to Expert Visas under his MARA listing. Can you clarify please? Best regards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrussell Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 Hello Ryan. The migration agent referred to on your website - and to whom you allude in your posting - has no reference to Expert Visas under his MARA listing. Can you clarify please? Best regards. Happy New Year Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Collett Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 Happy New Year And to you, Westly. Best wishes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rossco1974 Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 hi mate ive just completed my own visa app and seriously theres nothing to it, we were going to use an agent but after speaking on the phone for half an hour to one they basically told me what to anyway so happy days saved some serious money, I would advise to give yourself a few months and try not to do it all at once because it does take time but worth doing for sure good luck if you need to ask me any questions ill be willing to help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quill82 Posted January 13, 2014 Author Share Posted January 13, 2014 Hi Thanks for the advice. I think we are going to go solo and try it without an agent!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lillypad Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 Hi Quill82, I got my 190 without an agent. Main reasons were to save about $4000 and had no time to lose waiting on an agent to do everything for me. I am unemployed and was in a rush to lodge my visa before my previous 457 was going to run out. I was able to dedicate my time to researching and getting all documents together and filled out and sent outside of the usual office hours 9-5 Mon to Fri. I needed to do this to hand in my application before my visa was to expire. However I will tell you it was highly stressful at times worrying if I made any mistakes as I was rushed. If you're in no hurry it won't be stressful, you'll just need to be thorough and very patient waiting on the government who are restricted to office hours. The worst part for me was Vetassess this seemed like forever, several people have waited for months. Depending on your skilled occupation you may not need to use Vetassess to assess your skills. The Immi website should let you know. I had close friends in the same situation as me and they used agents, one lodged their application a week before me and are still waiting, and they've had to wait until their agent was at work to lodge their visa after getting an invite. However I don't believe the visa will be granted sooner or later if lodged with an agent or not as it is all dependent on your case and your Case Officer. This forum has provided me a lot of support and advice for me I also have some links that will help below. In the end it did take up quite a bit of my time when it came to Vetassess and lodging my visa (several days) and only about 2 hours for filling in and triple checking my EOI, after that most time was spent waiting. http://www.bobinoz.com/blog/9810/australian-visas-and-expression-of-interest-eoi-caution/ http://pr4oz.blogspot.com.au/ http://www.immi.gov.au/Visas/Pages/190.aspx http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/booklets/books6.htm Lillypad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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