The role of a migration agent

[Slaydbyme]

Hello,

 

Keen to understand the role of an agent. 

What do they do?

Does the involvement of a MARA agent improve credibility?

How in particular did an agent help?

 

Thanks

[Marisawright]

The main function of a migration agent is to make sure your application is completed correctly, with all the essential information and all the necessary supporting evidence. 

The application process isn't hard to do yourself, but there's a lot of detail involved.   Immigration is very unforgiving - if you make a silly mistake, they won't come back and say, "did you mean....?", they'll just reject your application.  Then you've lost your money and your chance to migrate. So investing in someone who knows all the fiddly ins and outs can be worthwhile.

[VERYSTORMY]

Put it like this, in an average year, there are over 1000 changes to immigration law. Of that the department publish on their official web site maybe 5% - just the big things. Then, there are changes to regulations and interpretation, then there are changes to policy which can have big implications for some visas. For example, the last remaining relative visa was "viable" some years ago as waiting times were several years, but policy changed to give it a very low priority blowing out wait times to over 50 years. A migration agent knows all of this. 

Also, in my years on the forum, most of the cases I have seen where someone was rejected for a visa due to some problem, the person never realised there was a problem. They thought their case was straight forward. A agent would have spotted it

[Slaydbyme]

Thanks for the replies.

Im just trying to figure out the value of instructing an agent when most of the information appears in the public domain, and sensible. Yes I’m sure they are looking for detailed information so a case officer can make a judgement. 

Which is why I asked about what in particular the agent did? If there is a trick to completing the application, that only agents know then that’s valuable.

Whilst I didn’t know about the changes in law for remaining relative visa, I did see that the waiting was around 50 years as you can find that info out and put 2 and 2 together

[ali]

For me, if your application is absolutely straight forward then do it yourself.  If it is in the slightest a bit complex then it is here that an agent is worth their weight in gold. Whilst there is a lot of information in the public domain - do remember that forums such as these, whilst having some knowledgeable people - they're not experts and we don't get to hear about any minor changes in immigration (or what the impact means).  

[Raul Senise]

 

3 hours ago, Slaydbyme said:

Thanks for the replies.

Im just trying to figure out the value of instructing an agent when most of the information appears in the public domain, and sensible. Yes I’m sure they are looking for detailed information so a case officer can make a judgement. 

Which is why I asked about what in particular the agent did? If there is a trick to completing the application, that only agents know then that’s valuable.

Whilst I didn’t know about the changes in law for remaining relative visa, I did see that the waiting was around 50 years as you can find that info out and put 2 and 2 together

It depends on the subclass and complexity of the case.

I have been in the industry for about 15 years and the process and Regulations have never been more difficult or complicated as they are currently.

The Immigration website provides a snap shot of the requirements. The actual Regulations, Policy and Act underlying each visa are extensive and increasingly complex.

From your previous posts, you appear to want to apply through the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme, under the Direct Entry pathway. The refusal rates on this subclass is around 50%. An offshore application further reduces the chance of success greatly.   

If you are still planning a 187 Direct Entry application, assistance from a reputable Registered Migration Agent is strongly recommended.

 

[Slaydbyme]

Thanks for the comment Raul. When I’ve read other posts, I’ve noticed that you often comment with common sense. 

If the refusal rate is 50% are you saying that the ones that fail are not complying with the regulations, legislative instrument and typical requirements of the visa? 

I supppose this is the crux of it, if I instruct a MA does that 50% chance lower considerably? In terms of offshore, or onshore as you don’t know the circumstances of our possible application our chance of success is unknown.

[Raul Senise]

On 01/12/2018 at 09:34, Slaydbyme said:

Thanks for the comment Raul. When I’ve read other posts, I’ve noticed that you often comment with common sense. 

If the refusal rate is 50% are you saying that the ones that fail are not complying with the regulations, legislative instrument and typical requirements of the visa? 

I supppose this is the crux of it, if I instruct a MA does that 50% chance lower considerably? In terms of offshore, or onshore as you don’t know the circumstances of our possible application our chance of success is unknown.

In my opinion, the high refusal rate has been caused by a combination of factors including, increased scrutiny by the Department, fraud, applications not meeting requirements, badly presented applications, lack of documentation and harsh decisions by the Department.

A reputable Registered Migration Agent will at least tell you if it is a strong case and how best to present the facts. 

If lodging an offshore DE application, you need to present a very strong case that the position is necessary and genuine,  due to the long processing times.

[Tulip1]

On 30/11/2018 at 22:34, Slaydbyme said:

Thanks for the comment Raul. When I’ve read other posts, I’ve noticed that you often comment with common sense. 

If the refusal rate is 50% are you saying that the ones that fail are not complying with the regulations, legislative instrument and typical requirements of the visa? 

I supppose this is the crux of it, if I instruct a MA does that 50% chance lower considerably? In terms of offshore, or onshore as you don’t know the circumstances of our possible application our chance of success is unknown.

From my understanding, Raul is a very experienced MA who is highly valued by many on this forum 

[Slaydbyme]

Have you got any examples of harsh decisions?

most of the reasons you listed for failure appear controllable and sensible. If you can’t fill out form 80, as well as business plans evidencing why, organagrams, finances etc then why should you be granted a visa at someone else’s expense.

For the RSMS how much interaction do DHA have with the regional certifying board?

[LouDYorkie]

I had thought our visa applications were fairly straightforward but as my husbands employer offered the use of a migration agent, we took it. I had read up on it extensively and asked lots of questions of the agent about his timing of things and what to submit etc because it didn’t necessarily correlate with what I expected based purely on what I read. At the end of the day, we got our visas. I have to hold my hands up here, I’m an analyst by trade and research everything to the nth degree but my expertise is not immigration and had I done it myself, I don’t know that I could guarantee the same outcome.
Visas are expensive, and can be 3 or 4 times more expensive if you get it wrong, I wholeheartedly believe in using a respected MARA agent (such as those who post on this site, eg Raul Senise).

[Slaydbyme]

Thanks LoudYorkie. Your role as a business analyst is very similar to the position I am in. 50% of my day is spent researching.

This is why I'm keen to understand exactly what was done for others. In your case, did the agent do a particular thing? Review your contract offer against current Law? That's the value I'm looking for. 

The reason I want to check is we were quote $2000 to complete the online submission for becoming a company being able to sponsor employees. There are 11 sections, much of it is Yes/ No and a few character limited response boxes. 

 

[LouDYorkie]

What the MARA agent did for us is successfully get us our temporary, then permanent visas. He handled the employer nominations too so he was covering both angles and knew the requirements for each. No one came back to us for more information, the application wasn’t referred or rejected and we did not need to appeal or resubmit (and therefore pay again).
No one can really say whether they would have had the same outcome without using a MARA agent, but to me it wasn’t worth the risk.

[Aussiebird]

I've contacted Agents on here and some do not even reply, so how can that help anyone going forward? 

[LouDYorkie]

I've contacted Agents on here and some do not even reply, so how can that help anyone going forward? 

I’m not sure which agents you have contacted, and whether it was publicly via this forum or privately but they are well respected on here and tend to answer general questions/provide general advice on here as things crop up. For personal advice, a consultation is required, they will not talk specifics on a forum.

[ali]

15 hours ago, Aussiebird said:

I've contacted Agents on here and some do not even reply, so how can that help anyone going forward? 

Are you seeking to employ their services?  They answer general queries here on the forum, but if you're wanting specific advice you will need to pay.

[Phoenix16]

Personally, I really don’t see how you can comfortably apply for a visa without a MARA agent right now.  Yes there is a cost, however, firstly you will get an honest, realistic appraisal of your chances of success (really not so easy these days}, secondly, they will submit on your behalf an application that has the best chance of success, without errors and silly mistakes, and will keep you informed along your questions and concerns.  As I have seen in my 9 yearsin OZ the rules have changed so much, it’s so much more difficult to get a visa and so much more expensive, the rules are incredibly rigid, not something you would want to leave to chance these days, a MARA agent can help immensely to navigate you through the present minefield xxxx

[Slaydbyme]

My experience is quite similar. When I’ve approached MAs recently away from this forum about 25% have responded. Or very slow to respond to my enquiry (2 months in one case)

The only MA that has responded to me through the forum is Raul, who is highly regarded. 

 

[Slaydbyme]

In relation to Aussiebirds comment

[Joesline]

I think that its actually optional if you wanna acquire the service of the migration agent to do your paperwork or not.

My decision on how I concluded having one was:-

1. There was too much paperwork and stages that needed to be done carefully.

2. A lot of time will be invested to do research on exactly what was required and how long or which stage the documents will be needed. 

3. For my case, both me and my husband had jobs that takes a huge toll of our time and attention. So it would be too hectic for us to handle if we wanted to do it on our own.

Hence, I decided to leave this to the agent while we can free our mind to focus on other aspect of the migrating plan (i.e. where to stay, how to find a job, planning out the funds and finding out all paperwork that required for moving out of our country...etc).

[thebigmove2017]

i didnt use an agent for our visa 190 application last year. our case was straightforward enough for 2 adults (unmarried- this was not even questioned) and 4 children. i  was meticulous with gathering evidence to support our application and left nothing to chance, for example, one employer didn't answer, when we emailed for details of the employment so we didn't use the points even though it would of given us an extra 5 points, i didn't take the risk.

as others have pointed out for a straighforward case, i say go ahead yourself, if your unsure go the MARA route