Visa 186 without agent

[drpepper]

Hello everyone,

 

i am working currently under the working holiday visa and got recently the option for a 186 permanent residency visa from my employer.

The problem that i have is that the immigration lawyer wants to charge around $4000 just for his work, so approximately 9000$ including all costs.

This i why i thought that it would be better to apply for the visa and do all the paperwork on my own.

Has anyone experience with this visa application without using the agent or lawyer and is it recommended?

Thanks

[VERYSTORMY]

While the 186 from the employees side is fairly straightforward, it is a fair bit more complex from the employers and most employers would use an agent. Have they sponsored before?

[AJ235]

Hi drpepper, I agree with verystormy; my employer started to do it themselves but when they realised how much was involved (they had only ever sponsored on a 457 before not a 186) they decided to get a migration agent to do it. I did my own 186 direct entry application (still waiting on approval) which is very straightforward if you have a straightforward case (all work references etc) but I run into a problem getting a work reference which with the stress of trying to get sorted I then wished that I had of used an agent!

Although a lot of money, if you are not 100% sure that your application is straightforward and that you have all the required documentation, I would seek some advice. Some do a visa application checking service and that may be a bit less. Also, is the $4000 for the employers side of the application as well as yours? Maybe your employer would pay for a migration agent for their application and then you could pay for your own?

 

Good luck!

[Alan Collett]

If you have to meet the costs of the migration advisor maybe discuss salary packaging the costs with your employer.

 

Best regards.