For those who applied for visa without a migration agent: Were you successful and pitfalls?

[Alena Cliss]

Hi

 

My husband is organised and excellent at paperwork (he's meticulous) so is keen for us to do the visa application without an agent. I am understandably nervous because that majority of people use an agent (and once it's submitted I know that you can't revise/refund). Has anyone out there applied for a visa without the help of an agent, and I would be forever grateful to know any pitfalls/ advice! :wacko:

 

Many Thanks

Alena

[Adam Grey]

Which visa are you applying for? Some are considered 'easier' than others to complete without professional assistance.

[GiveAGirlShoes]

Also i believe your own circumstances can play an important part in such a decision.

For instance I am a type 1 diabetic, and think I would be advised to use an agent.

I 'probably' wont, but I can understand why it might be advised.

 

I think with a straight forward enough case going alone is fine as it has worked for many, but I suppose you're idea of a straight forward case and an agents idea may be very different due to their knowledge and experience?

 

I'm sure you'll get some real examples of success and pitfalls soon xx

[Mark 1234]

After 20 years of marriage to an Aussie, my spouse visa was simple enough. But if I were applying for a work-related visa, I would definitely go the agent route.

[Moobobs]

We applied for the 190 and I am glad we used an agent. The things they are aware of and know are invaluable when putting in your application as nothing can be changed/revised once submitted and I would never of imagined we would of needed half of the amount of things we had to supply. Even down to references! They're not just simple ones, they want extensive info!

 

 

But everyone's different! Good luck

[vickyplum]

I applied for the 309/100 defacto partner visa and did the paperwork myself. It was filling in forms, writing stuff about our lives/relationships and gathering together various pieces of evidence and getting some of them witnessed by a solicitor. All pretty easy in my mind (if not time consuming) but it helped that I am well organised and do that sort of thing for a living!

[Jojo29]

We, well i, completed the 190 visa without an agent, found it very straight forward, if I was unsure I asked on here and got the answer I needed, personally I think agents over complicate so you use them, understandable but definitely not the case for us. Got he grant with no questions asked. Save your ££££ for moving!

[flatpack]

We, well i, completed the 190 visa without an agent, found it very straight forward, if I was unsure I asked on here and got the answer I needed, personally I think agents over complicate so you use them, understandable but definitely not the case for us. Got he grant with no questions asked. Save your ££££ for moving!

 

 

This is some of the best advice I have seen written on here and is exactly what I decided to do. After speaking to a couple of agents they talked themselves up too much and one went as far as said I had no chance of a skilled visa without his services! He was very diplomatic about it but I'm a Yorkshireman I see straight though BS.

I promptly did my IELTS, VETASSESS and applied for my visa, I then emailed him to let him know how VERY EASY and straight forward it was.

[oppyddrum]

I completed a 175 PR visa on my own without an agent, and my parents did completed a 186 ENS PR application without an agent as well. both went well, we just made sure we had all the documents required, and probably even more than they needed. and once it was all submitted, it was a waiting game.

But like others have said, ours were straight-forward cases. no confusions about requirements and such. we knew what we needed and we had everything uploaded on the day of application.

[Adam Grey]

We, well i, completed the 190 visa without an agent, found it very straight forward, if I was unsure I asked on here and got the answer I needed, personally I think agents over complicate so you use them, understandable but definitely not the case for us. Got he grant with no questions asked. Save your ££££ for moving!

 

I did notice that you made a last minute update of your EOI after submitting it and there was some confusion over how many points you could claim for. If you had been invited at a points total that you weren't certain of meeting, paid the visa application charge and then were assessed as not being able to meet that points total, you would've had your application refused and forfeited $3,520.

 

Would that count as over complicating or would it be highlighting potential risks?

[MaggieMay24]

I think it really depends on the visa and your situation. In my case I applied for my 186 on my own. My situation was pretty simple - it was transition from the 457 I'd had for 2 years, and the 457 was an intra-company transfer so I think that may have also smoothed the way. I was applying as a single applicant from a low risk country. The most complicated thing about mine was the fact that I'd married an Australian resident since arriving so I was mentioning a partner who wasn't included in my application, but obviously that wasn't as confusing as I thought it may have been.

 

If you're comfortable doing a lot of research and are organised, and your situation doesn't have complicating factors such as potential medical complications or police record, you'll probably be fine. There's a lot of valuable information here on the forums (keep in mind that much of it is provided by people like you who are going through or have gone through the process and aren't professional migration agents). Good luck!

[Jojo29]

I did notice that you made a last minute update of your EOI after submitting it and there was some confusion over how many points you could claim for. If you had been invited at a points total that you weren't certain of meeting, paid the visa application charge and then were assessed as not being able to meet that points total, you would've had your application refused and forfeited $3,520.

 

Would that count as over complicating or would it be highlighting potential risks?

 

I did make a change, I could back up my points with a work reference, the confusion was with vetassess, obviously if you claim points you can't substantiate then you'll come unstuck, I didn't so I was fine. Imagine paying £10k and getting refused..nothing is guaranteed..

[Adam Grey]

I did make a change, I could back up my points with a work reference, the confusion was with vetassess, obviously if you claim points you can't substantiate then you'll come unstuck, I didn't so I was fine. Imagine paying £10k and getting refused..nothing is guaranteed..

 

So would you not say that with large sums of money at stake, not to mention time and emotional investment, it can give an applicant peace of mind to hire the services of someone who makes these applications on a daily basis and has extensive knowledge of the system?

[Guest]

Lots of people on here applied for their visa themselves without an agent.

 

I don't know it's true the majority use an agent.

 

Do some reading of past threads on here and you'll see plenty go it alone.

[Jojo29]

So would you not say that with large sums of money at stake, not to mention time and emotional investment, it can give an applicant peace of mind to hire the services of someone who makes these applications on a daily basis and has extensive knowledge of the system?

 

It's a service, we are a service economy and there's demand so you supply, nothing wrong with that, however for me and in my opinion the cost is too high for this service, a service which does what I could do myself, that's it. Also this site is full of people who also have extensive knowledge and who are willing to impart.

[Gary and Jenny]

Hi vickyplum

 

filling out the forms now for a defacto partner visa doing them online have you been granted the visa yet or still waiting I can see you have had police clearance I was granted my PR visa a few of weeks after I sent off the police clearance cert

 

Regards

 

Gary

[TeacherBen]

For what it's worth I did my 189 application on my own. I used this forum for a lot and so many people on here were incredibly helpful! There are agents on here who give advice on PiO for free and they're brill! My application was very straightforward though - it was just me and I knew the points I had were certain. I also knew Police certificate was going to be clean and my medical was all spot on. If I'd had a family I'd probably have used one...

 

A lot depends on finances I guess, but you need to be in a good financial place to be emigrating anyway!!

 

cheers

 

teacherben

[Marisawright]

Long ago when I applied, agents were practically unheard-of so I can't comment on how useful they are. However a couple of points occur to me.

 

One - unless you can get a personal recommendation, it seems to me that using an agent has more risks than benefits. Every service industry has its good and bad operators - whether it's hairdressers, real estate agents, mechanics, doctors - so there must be good and bad migration agents too. Size is no indicator (for instance, Chubb is one of the biggest security firms in the world but stories about its poor customer service are legendary). How will you identify the right agent to use? Do you want to entrust such a vital process to a total stranger?

 

Two - A correct application by an individual has exactly the same chance of approval as a correct application through an agent. Applying through an agent gives you no advantage in that sense. If you're not confident in your ability to do it right, then an agent makes sense - but it sounds like your husband is the methodical type who will cross his i's.

 

Three - there are so many different visas now, I can see how an agent could help work out which visa to go for. However if you already know that, that's not relevant.

 

Four - I've heard people claim that agents know how to present your situation in a favourable light, so you can get approved when you otherwise wouldn't. If that's true, it sounds like a good (though possibly illegal) reason to use an agent - but I'm not so sure. The rules are there for a reason. If you manage to scrape in by the skin of your teeth, then it's more likely you'll struggle to survive or to find a job when you get here, so maybe it's better to give up the dream?

[abz123]

Did our 175 by myself. Never even considered using an agent as the DIAC website was pretty clear as to what I needed to provide.

 

Again, depends on your own situation but there are lots of successful applications from people who have done it themselves and saved a lot of money by doing so.

[Adam Grey]

It's a service, we are a service economy and there's demand so you supply, nothing wrong with that, however for me and in my opinion the cost is too high for this service, a service which does what I could do myself, that's it. Also this site is full of people who also have extensive knowledge and who are willing to impart.

 

I just found it curious that you said your application was straightforward but yet you had a number of posts along the lines of "Help", "It's confusing" and "What do I do". I would never dream of telling anyone that they HAVE to use an agent, but by the same token I take issue with the opinion that the system is easy and that agents deliberately give the impression that it is more complicated than it is to obtain business. We don't even know what the original poster is considering applying for after all and your experience in a straightforward 190 Visa application may be very different from their potential application.

[PeterJa]

Hi

 

My husband is organised and excellent at paperwork (he's meticulous) so is keen for us to do the visa application without an agent. I am understandably nervous because that majority of people use an agent (and once it's submitted I know that you can't revise/refund). Has anyone out there applied for a visa without the help of an agent, and I would be forever grateful to know any pitfalls/ advice! :wacko:

 

Many Thanks

Alena

 

I'm in the process of applying for a skilled independent visa without an agent. I was about to pay an agent about £5k then I noticed their service was going down the pan (previously they had returned all my emails very quickly) so I changed my mind. A few days later they went bust.

 

Anyway, one MAJOR pitfall is I spent ages doing my proof of skills then as I filled out my Expression Of Interest form I found out I needed to sit an IELTS test to get more points. I guess an agent could have told me this and I could have done the IELTS test as I got my skills together, but "no drama"... I'm just behind schedule.

 

This is a silly error btw, but hey, I made it.

[Adam Grey]

Long ago when I applied, agents were practically unheard-of so I can't comment on how useful they are. However a couple of points occur to me.

 

One - unless you can get a personal recommendation, it seems to me that using an agent has more risks than benefits. Every service industry has its good and bad operators - whether it's hairdressers, real estate agents, mechanics, doctors - so there must be good and bad migration agents too. Size is no indicator (for instance, Chubb is one of the biggest security firms in the world but stories about its poor customer service are legendary). How will you identify the right agent to use? Do you want to entrust such a vital process to a total stranger?

 

Two - A correct application by an individual has exactly the same chance of approval as a correct application through an agent. Applying through an agent gives you no advantage in that sense. If you're not confident in your ability to do it right, then an agent makes sense - but it sounds like your husband is the methodical type who will cross his i's.

 

Three - there are so many different visas now, I can see how an agent could help work out which visa to go for. However if you already know that, that's not relevant.

 

Four - I've heard people claim that agents know how to present your situation in a favourable light, so you can get approved when you otherwise wouldn't. If that's true, it sounds like a good (though possibly illegal) reason to use an agent - but I'm not so sure. The rules are there for a reason. If you manage to scrape in by the skin of your teeth, then it's more likely you'll struggle to survive or to find a job when you get here, so maybe it's better to give up the dream?

 

1. www.migrationagentreviews.com or of course personal referral. Feel free to phone, consult, talk, meet with the agent. Trust is very important for the process.

 

2. How does the applicant know the application was correct?

 

3. How does the applicant know they've chosen the right visa?

 

4. There's plenty of 'grey areas' in the system and policy that is open to interpretation. Providing the information is accurate, genuine and non-misleading, there is nothing illegal in presenting a strong case/argument to demonstrate why a client should receive a positive decision when the rules aren't clear on a particular matter. I don't see why someone would struggle, not be able to find a job or give up their dreams simply because they just scraped through?

[zk2102]

Did our 175 by myself. Never even considered using an agent as the DIAC website was pretty clear as to what I needed to provide.

 

Again, depends on your own situation but there are lots of successful applications from people who have done it themselves and saved a lot of money by doing so.

 

 

Same for us. We did the 175 by ourselves. Was a bit time consuming but saved us a lot of money. DIAC website & This site made it possible. We knew it would be straight forward in our circumstances though.

[Kempy]

Hey, i did it myself and found it very straightforward. It's a lot of work getting the documents together but you'd need to do that anyway and just give them to agent.

 

it wasn't a straightforward application in that we got married half way through and I'm also type 1 diabetic. (No hassle there) and after the 175 pr was granted we had since had a child so had to start all over again for our child. Again, did this without agent. I found it very easy but i do a lot of paperwork for work. I'd defo say I'm not organised with home paperwork though so I'd let your hubby go for it!

 

Good luck

[Que Sera Sera]

We used an agent (Go Matilda) and was very glad that we did because the process changed mid application twice and because our agent is on here ( Alan Collett ) I was able to have conversations with him at 2am ( As I couldn't sleep ! With the stress of it all ) I'd have paid double what I did for that service.