Migration Agents Outside Australia needs registration ?

[henryolonga]

Hello to all,

 

I am writing to seek some feedback about an information that migration agents who operate outside Australia do not have to be registered with MARA.

Does this mean that they do not need to have MARA registration number for business purpose?

 

Regards,

Henry

[wrussell]

Hello to all,

 

I am writing to seek some feedback about an information that migration agents who operate outside Australia do not have to be registered with MARA.

Does this mean that they do not need to have MARA registration number for business purpose?

 

Regards,

Henry

 

 

Does this answer your question?

WARNING

The OMARA is an essentially useless office that is part of the Department of Immigration and Border Protection and I have told them so repeatedly. With the stroke of a pen the minister can terminate them all as easily as s/he can terminate a perfectly valid visa application. The OMARA can do nothing about unregistered agents overseas or parliamentarians or DIBP officers who give, often incorrect, migration advice in Australia, or education agents who give catastrophically incorrect migration advice under the table. About all the OMARA can do, having received a complaint, is haul a registered migration agent over the coals - after the event. They cannot order repayment of money lost. They can do nothing when the minister (The Terminator) changes the rules in the middle of the game or one of his delegates or ‘designated authorities’ bungles your case. By the way, the ‘average fee’ misinformation published by the OMARA is just that.

[henryolonga]

Does this answer your question?

WARNING

The OMARA is an essentially useless office that is part of the Department of Immigration and Border Protection and I have told them so repeatedly. With the stroke of a pen the minister can terminate them all as easily as s/he can terminate a perfectly valid visa application. The OMARA can do nothing about unregistered agents overseas or parliamentarians or DIBP officers who give, often incorrect, migration advice in Australia, or education agents who give catastrophically incorrect migration advice under the table. About all the OMARA can do, having received a complaint, is haul a registered migration agent over the coals - after the event. They cannot order repayment of money lost. They can do nothing when the minister (The Terminator) changes the rules in the middle of the game or one of his delegates or ‘designated authorities’ bungles your case. By the way, the ‘average fee’ misinformation published by the OMARA is just that.

 

thanks for the response and apologies for not understanding it.

 

Please correct me if I am wrong but what I think is that in Australia it is a MUST to get registered as an MARA agent in order to advise people about migration but I was confused as this is not the case for overseas agents.

 

I feel that a registered migration agent is always a best choice as he/she has deep understanding of important issues regarding migration application.

 

Regards,

Henry

Edited September 22, 2016 by henryolonga

[Raul Senise]

Hello to all,

 

I am writing to seek some feedback about an information that migration agents who operate outside Australia do not have to be registered with MARA.

Does this mean that they do not need to have MARA registration number for business purpose?

 

Regards,

Henry

 

People operating outside of Australia are not bound by any industry Registration.

 

That means anybody outside of Australia can take money to do Immigration work, even if they have never studied Immigration and know nothing about how the Australian Immigration system works.

 

They are not bound by any code of conduct, do not have to have trust accounts, insurance, a professional library or undertake any sort of professional development. They are not bound by any advertising standards and therefore can promise anything they want.

[wrussell]

Agents outside Australia do not have to be registered.

 

If they are registered they must follow the Code of Conduct.

 

Some organisations publish the particulars of one or more RMAs and sometimes this is only window dressing and unqualified, unregulated staff manage applications, with the client believing that a qualified person is in charge.

 

The confusion is made worse by the DIBP issuing Offshore Agent ID Numbers to unregistered agents.

 

To be properly advised and represented, ensure that the person who is managing your matter is OMARA registered.

 

For what it is worth - all the agents who post on this forum and claim to be OMARA registered are.

 

There is nothing wrong with ancillary staff doing some work, but you should ensure that all work is supervised by a RMA all all advice comes from a RMA.

[henryolonga]

Agents outside Australia do not have to be registered.

 

If they are registered they must follow the Code of Conduct.

 

Some organisations publish the particulars of one or more RMAs and sometimes this is only window dressing and unqualified, unregulated staff manage applications, with the client believing that a qualified person is in charge.

 

The confusion is made worse by the DIBP issuing Offshore Agent ID Numbers to unregistered agents.

 

To be properly advised and represented, ensure that the person who is managing your matter is OMARA registered.

 

For what it is worth - all the agents who post on this forum and claim to be OMARA registered are.

 

There is nothing wrong with ancillary staff doing some work, but you should ensure that all work is supervised by a RMA all all advice comes from a RMA.

 

Many thanks for the important information.

 

Regards,

Henry