The Brand New PIO Parents Visa thread

[PhoebeW]

Hi i am new to this forum and just wanted to introduce my husband and me. We have applied for a 173 visa which we have done through an agency and sent it to them 3 weeks ago but they have come up with a couple of more things they want from us and our sponsor my daughter so as of now we are still awaiting our acknowledgement.

We hope to eventually go to the Sunshine Coast where my daughter, husband and our three grandchildren are and we have visited it twice this year and i fell in love with Australia but my husband is unsure so we have gone for the 173 visa to see how things go.

I am hoping that watching this forum and the British Expats forum i can pick up tips from those of you in the know and help our journey through the red tape. I have enjoyed reading over the last few weeks and wish you all the best on your waiting to go to the promised land.

 

Hi

 

I'm fairly new here too, just got our confirmation letter last week for CPV143 :biggrin:

 

We too were going to go for the 173 at first because we are not 100% sure but we talked it through and decided to go for the 143 straight away because you have to be in Oz for 2 years before you can get any kind of help i.e. medical wise etc, if we had gone for the 173 first then applied for 143 once it was granted it would have added another 2 years to the wait :goofy:

 

We decided to pay the first VAC and take our chances. It's our intention to go to Oz next year for 2 months rekke (my daughter and grand children are coming here this year for my sons's wedding) to give us a better idea of how we feel, and were we could possibly settle because we have to find some sort of work :swoon:.

 

Good Luck with it all, I love Australia too but there is a lot to consider for us all, we each have individual reasons for what we are/want to do. I would leave a son in the UK which will be hard so something else we have to consider, but at the end of the day, if we decide that Oz is for us, then we have to be a bit selfish and do it for a better life for ourselves. Obviously we wouldn't even be considering it if it wasn't for the fact that our daughter SIL 2 grand children and another due in April 2011 had not emigrated there 3 years ago because we would never have seen 'Paradise' and the life style our family have there :cool:

 

We have been to the Sunshine Coast for a few days holiday and Australia Zoo of course :wink: it's also beautiful (we will be heading for the Gold Coast) my husband has a cousin on the Sunshine Coast a place called Upper Cabulcher (sp)

 

This is the link for the list when you have your confirmation date, we have just gone on to it so we will be travelling the same road. You just contact Steve on this link and give him your details, he will put them on the list for you. :jiggy:

 

Australian migration, contributory parent visa, information and progress tracker

 

Phoebe

[PhoebeW]

Sorry that should have said you have to be a permanant resident for 2 years, not just be in Oz !!!!

 

Phoebe

[Linday]

:biggrin:My wife and I have commenced the proceedure to immigrate to Australia on a Sub Class 173 Visa, with progression to a 143 visa.

I would like to communicate with anyone who has gone this route.

Many thanks

Ernest

 

Hi Ernest

 

Welcome. We are also going the 173 to 143 route as we need to sell our house to finance the final VAC. We got our acknowledgement in July. Where ae you hoping to end up?

[Sue Ashforth]

Hi PhoebeW

We applied for our CPV143 in April 2009, got our CO on 6th Aug 2010 and are just waiting to pay our AoS. Like you, we have a daughter & 2 children in Oz (been there 15 yrs) and a son with 3 children in the UK. It's so difficult to leave anyone behond, but we now have my son's and my sister's blessing and they said they'd do the same if they had the chance. We've visited Oz about 8-9 times but not travelled that much. We're really looking forward to it and we can still come back for holidays to see the family. We're also set up on SKYPE and have a web-cam, so we can see our relations in the UK whenever we like (so long as they have the same set-up). We have lots of (small) concerns but what the heck! You only live once and we're really looking forward to getting our visa. Hope to go to Port Macquarie (NSW) next year but probably have to come back to sell the house, then we can go back for good.

Good luck to you - hope you're not waiting too long! If you'd like to know our experiences to date with the process, feel free to ask!

 

Best wishes, Sue

[Sue Ashforth]

Sorry PhobeW

 

I meant to reply to Suescliff2 - anyway, sounds like we're al doing the same thing!

 

Good luck to you, too!

[Guest Gollywobbler]

:biggrin:My wife and I have commenced the proceedure to immigrate to Australia on a Sub Class 173 Visa, with progression to a 143 visa.

I would like to communicate with anyone who has gone this route.

Many thanks

Ernest

 

Hi Ernest

 

Welcome to Poms in Oz.

 

My mother has a Contributory Parent visa. Hers was granted almost 4 years ago and they only took about 9 months to process at the time (which we thought was forever, frankly!)

 

I've moved your post into this thread because most of the CPV applicants who have joined Poms in Oz have joined this particular thread.

 

British Expats is a similar forum and they have a very lively Contributory Parents thread as well. Please click on the link below and it will take you into the thread on BE:

 

Contributory Parent Visa - Still Sparkling!!! - Part 4 - Page 78 : British Expat Discussion Forum

 

The other thing is for you to contact Sandch (Steve) who runs the Gainwave website with its extremely useful tracker, I would suggest:

 

Australian migration, contributory parent visa, information and progress tracker

 

If you join British Expats as well (assuming that you have not already done so) you will meet loads of other people who are waiting for CPV 173s.

 

Whereabouts will you be moving to in Oz, please? My mother is in Perth, where my sister lives.

 

Cheers

 

Gill

[PhoebeW]

Sorry PhobeW

 

I meant to reply to Suescliff2 - anyway, sounds like we're al doing the same thing!

 

Good luck to you, too!

 

 

:biggrin: No problem, like you say we are alll going the same route

 

Phoebe:wink:

[Guest guest43653]

Hi

 

I'm fairly new here too, just got our confirmation letter last week for CPV143 :biggrin:

 

We too were going to go for the 173 at first because we are not 100% sure but we talked it through and decided to go for the 143 straight away because you have to be in Oz for 2 years before you can get any kind of help i.e. medical wise etc, if we had gone for the 173 first then applied for 143 once it was granted it would have added another 2 years to the wait :goofy:

 

We decided to pay the first VAC and take our chances. It's our intention to go to Oz next year for 2 months rekke (my daughter and grand children are coming here this year for my sons's wedding) to give us a better idea of how we feel, and were we could possibly settle because we have to find some sort of work :swoon:.

 

Good Luck with it all, I love Australia too but there is a lot to consider for us all, we each have individual reasons for what we are/want to do. I would leave a son in the UK which will be hard so something else we have to consider, but at the end of the day, if we decide that Oz is for us, then we have to be a bit selfish and do it for a better life for ourselves. Obviously we wouldn't even be considering it if it wasn't for the fact that our daughter SIL 2 grand children and another due in April 2011 had not emigrated there 3 years ago because we would never have seen 'Paradise' and the life style our family have there :cool:

 

We have been to the Sunshine Coast for a few days holiday and Australia Zoo of course :wink: it's also beautiful (we will be heading for the Gold Coast) my husband has a cousin on the Sunshine Coast a place called Upper Cabulcher (sp)

 

This is the link for the list when you have your confirmation date, we have just gone on to it so we will be travelling the same road. You just contact Steve on this link and give him your details, he will put them on the list for you. :jiggy:

 

Australian migration, contributory parent visa, information and progress tracker

 

Phoebe

 

Hi Phoebe

 

Thanks for the info i will hope to have my acknowledgement by the end of September if the agent gets there act together. Have you gone through an agent?

 

My daughter and family are in Currimundi which is where we are hopefuly looking to go but i have a son in Perth and another son and stepson in England. My son in England is going out to Australia next year to have a rekkie and see if he is really interested in applying, he went two years ago but was in a relationship that fell apart afterwards so has been a bit undecided since.:confused:

We would only be looking to rent out there if we went we wouldn't get enough for our house to be able to buy especially were my daughter is so we would have to work and when the pension comes in hope that the the money we do have is in the right investment to help out but i know it will twindle over the years.

I must admit i was quite surprised how expensive it is in Australia not what i had expected but i am sure we will muddle through we have just got to give it a go on the 173 CPV we will rent out our house here and then if my husband doesn't want to stay we will have the house to come back to. My mother in law left my husband enough money to pay for the 2nd Vac which was nice of her so we will go with that and hope everything goes ok.

 

Sue

[Guest guest43653]

Hi PhoebeW

We applied for our CPV143 in April 2009, got our CO on 6th Aug 2010 and are just waiting to pay our AoS. Like you, we have a daughter & 2 children in Oz (been there 15 yrs) and a son with 3 children in the UK. It's so difficult to leave anyone behond, but we now have my son's and my sister's blessing and they said they'd do the same if they had the chance. We've visited Oz about 8-9 times but not travelled that much. We're really looking forward to it and we can still come back for holidays to see the family. We're also set up on SKYPE and have a web-cam, so we can see our relations in the UK whenever we like (so long as they have the same set-up). We have lots of (small) concerns but what the heck! You only live once and we're really looking forward to getting our visa. Hope to go to Port Macquarie (NSW) next year but probably have to come back to sell the house, then we can go back for good.

Good luck to you - hope you're not waiting too long! If you'd like to know our experiences to date with the process, feel free to ask!

 

Best wishes, Sue

 

Hi Sue

 

Thanks for the post any help/highs/lows or pitfalls you can give on any aspect of the process would be helpful at the moment i am just trying to get the agent to move a bit faster they had the forms for three weeks before they asked for follow up papers i know we are not the only people trying to go to Australia but three weeks seems a long time to check forms but i have know doubt we will get there in the end.

 

Thanks

Sue

[MikenSueNW3]

Oz-watchers may have seen that Julia Gillard's new minority government, just announced over the weekend, includes the replacement of Chris Evans as Immigration minister. It's clear from headlines in The Australian and Sydney Morning Herald, the main papers I watch, that his primary preoccupation will be with "boat people". But it will be worthwhile keeping a look out for pronouncements and decisions in other areas.

 

FYI, columnist Dennis Shanahan wrote in The Australian:–

 

 

Chris Bowen's replacement of Chris Evans, who admitted failure as immigration minister, will give the ambitious NSW right-winger a chance to build a profile outside dry financial matters and test his skills for the future. He didn't ask for the job but has embraced the challenge and opportunity. Bowen has to put the immigration debate back on the rails and depoliticise immigration intakes.

 

 

The ABC's news website has also emphasised the preoccupation with "asylum-seekers":–

 

 

Australia's detention centres are full, and the first job of new Immigration Minister Chris Bowen will be to find up to 2,000 more beds on the mainland... Official Immigration Department figures show at close of business on Friday there were 4,903 people crowded into Australia's detention and residential centres, which now include two hotels in Darwin and one in Brisbane. Of those, 4,527 are asylum seekers or the crews from the boats that brought them. The remainder are visa over-stayers or criminals awaiting deportation.

 

 

I'll pass on any other news I spot.

 

Mike

 

PS: "Right-winger" in the first quote above should be read in relation to the NSW Labor Party factions – a bit like "Blairite" – rather than in the overall potitical context.

[Guest Gollywobbler]

Oz-watchers may have seen that Julia Gillard's new minority government, just announced over the weekend, includes the replacement of Chris Evans as Immigration minister. It's clear from headlines in The Australian and Sydney Morning Herald, the main papers I watch, that his primary preoccupation will be with "boat people". But it will be worthwhile keeping a look out for pronouncements and decisions in other areas.

 

FYI, columnist Dennis Shanahan wrote in The Australian:–

 

Chris Bowen's replacement of Chris Evans, who admitted failure as immigration minister, will give the ambitious NSW right-winger a chance to build a profile outside dry financial matters and test his skills for the future. He didn't ask for the job but has embraced the challenge and opportunity. Bowen has to put the immigration debate back on the rails and depoliticise immigration intakes.

The ABC's news website has also emphasised the preoccupation with "asylum-seekers":–

 

Australia's detention centres are full, and the first job of new Immigration Minister Chris Bowen will be to find up to 2,000 more beds on the mainland... Official Immigration Department figures show at close of business on Friday there were 4,903 people crowded into Australia's detention and residential centres, which now include two hotels in Darwin and one in Brisbane. Of those, 4,527 are asylum seekers or the crews from the boats that brought them. The remainder are visa over-stayers or criminals awaiting deportation.

I'll pass on any other news I spot.

 

Mike

 

PS: "Right-winger" in the first quote above should be read in relation to the NSW Labor Party factions – a bit like "Blairite" – rather than in the overall potitical context.

 

 

Hi Mike

 

I read last night that Joolya's solution to the boat people is still to persuade East Timor to take them, with a view to farming them out to other signatory countries in the region instead of Australia. Apparently she is still hopeful of a solution via East Timor and has told Rudd to go in to bat with East Timor.

 

Joolya apparently says that her own idea is a "humanitarian solution" which will deter people smuggling but will help those who have already risked their lives on the high seas etc.

 

One of the commentators says that with Rudd trying to placate East Timor there is zero chance of a settlement involving East Timor! The commentator said with Rudd in charge of the negotiations, nothing will ever happen so we might as well forget about East Timor.

 

I read some soundbites from Chris Bowen which do suggest that he regards sorting out the boat people as his main (and possibly only) priority.

 

It seems pretty clear that Chris Evans was desperate to get rid of the Immigration portfolio and was determined to do so.

 

Cheers

 

Gill

[MikenSueNW3]

Hi Mike

 

I read last night that Joolya's solution to the boat people is still to persuade East Timor to take them, with a view to farming them out to other signatory countries in the region instead of Australia. Apparently she is still hopeful of a solution via East Timor and has told Rudd to go in to bat with East Timor.

 

 

Hmmm... Yes, I saw Nauru also mentioned. One suspects "anywhere but here" would suit the pollies!

 

Mike

[Guest Gollywobbler]

Hmmm... Yes, I saw Nauru also mentioned. One suspects "anywhere but here" would suit the pollies!

 

Mike

 

Hi Mike

 

Hehehehe. You are 100% right.

 

I merely chuckled when I read that NIMBY has suddenly become a "humanitarian solution." The spin doctors can think 'em up faster than Daft Harry had fits, methinks!

 

Cheers

 

Gill

[PhoebeW]

Hi Phoebe

 

Thanks for the info i will hope to have my acknowledgement by the end of September if the agent gets there act together. Have you gone through an agent?

 

My daughter and family are in Currimundi which is where we are hopefuly looking to go but i have a son in Perth and another son and stepson in England. My son in England is going out to Australia next year to have a rekkie and see if he is really interested in applying, he went two years ago but was in a relationship that fell apart afterwards so has been a bit undecided since.:confused:

We would only be looking to rent out there if we went we wouldn't get enough for our house to be able to buy especially were my daughter is so we would have to work and when the pension comes in hope that the the money we do have is in the right investment to help out but i know it will twindle over the years.

I must admit i was quite surprised how expensive it is in Australia not what i had expected but i am sure we will muddle through we have just got to give it a go on the 173 CPV we will rent out our house here and then if my husband doesn't want to stay we will have the house to come back to. My mother in law left my husband enough money to pay for the 2nd Vac which was nice of her so we will go with that and hope everything goes ok.

 

Sue

 

Hi Sue

 

We will have to find the 2nd VAC from the house which won't be much :frown: this is the biggest thing for us, well proberbly a lot of us financial wise, but if we find it is what we want, then we will go to OZ and do our best to make a living :biggrin:

 

No we didnt use an agent, my daughter got a quote for us and it was approx $3700 :swoon: so after reading the forum and encouragement from Gollywobbler and Yomvard I went ahead myself. Once the forms were completed and we had all the documents, I sent them by courier cost £19.20. They were collected on a Friday and the tracker told me it had been signed for in Perth on the Monday, I was very impressed, we got the confirmation letter around 10 days later :jiggy:. I felt we were paying enough with the visa costs :arghh:

 

Let us know when you get your date :wink:

 

Phoebe

[Guest Gollywobbler]

Hi Phoebe

 

No we didnt use an agent, my daughter got a quote for us and it was approx $3700

Karrumba! For that sort of money, I'd put my own spine into the task instead of somebody else trying to sell me their "expertise" in return for an extortionately high fee for doing absolutely nothing that requires anything more than the most basic possible clerical skill. CPV applications are very boring to complete but they are so straightforward that a half-trained chimp could do one with no difficulty at all. $3,700 is a lot to pay to avoid a bit of tediousness, it seems to me.

 

Dobbie and Devine Immigration Lawyers Pty Ltd

 

Solicitors who are Accredited Specialists in Immigration Law in Oz do not come with more convincing pedigrees and credentials than Nigel Dobbie, above. He has told me that his charge for doing a CPV application is $2,000 AUD. That is infinitely more reasonable, imho, and since he teaches the course for people to become registered migration agents in the first place and then he does some of the Compulsory Professional Development teaching for them as well, it turns out that it is a lot cheaper to get the help direct from the horse instead of being fleeced by somebody whose own credentials are nowhere near as convincing as Nigel's.

 

The migration agents who have been in the game for long enough to realise that a potential client is not stupid enough to be ripped off - which tends to be even more true of Parents than it is of their children - all tend to charge about the same as Nigel Dobbie.

 

The ones who try to charge twice as much tend to be wet behind the ears commercially, are usually comparitively inexperienced and they tend to be unsure of themselves on every other level as well, I suspect. Either that or they are simply so avaricious that they price themselves out of the market, methinks.

 

Cheers

 

Gill

[PhoebeW]

Hi Phoebe

 

 

Karrumba! For that sort of money, I'd put my own spine into the task instead of somebody else trying to sell me their "expertise" in return for an extortionately high fee for doing absolutely nothing that requires anything more than the most basic possible clerical skill. CPV applications are very boring to complete but they are so straightforward that a half-trained chimp could do one with no difficulty at all. $3,700 is a lot to pay to avoid a bit of tediousness, it seems to me.

 

Dobbie and Devine Immigration Lawyers Pty Ltd

 

Solicitors who are Accredited Specialists in Immigration Law in Oz do not come with more convincing pedigrees and credentials than Nigel Dobbie, above. He has told me that his charge for doing a CPV application is $2,000 AUD. That is infinitely more reasonable, imho, and since he teaches the course for people to become registered migration agents in the first place and then he does some of the Compulsory Professional Development teaching for them as well, it turns out that it is a lot cheaper to get the help direct from the horse instead of being fleeced by somebody whose own credentials are nowhere near as convincing as Nigel's.

 

The migration agents who have been in the game for long enough to realise that a potential client is not stupid enough to be ripped off - which tends to be even more true of Parents than it is of their children - all tend to charge about the same as Nigel Dobbie.

 

The ones who try to charge twice as much tend to be wet behind the ears commercially, are usually comparitively inexperienced and they tend to be unsure of themselves on every other level as well, I suspect. Either that or they are simply so avaricious that they price themselves out of the market, methinks.

 

Cheers

 

Gill

 

Hi Gill

 

Well they deffinatly did in my case :wink:.

I wonder if that's something I could do for work once I was in Oz :jiggy:

 

Phoebe

[Guest Gollywobbler]

Hi Gill

 

Well they deffinatly did in my case :wink:.

I wonder if that's something I could do for work once I was in Oz :jiggy:

 

Phoebe

 

Hi Phoebe

 

I know for a fact that you are not kidding about the $3,700. Loads of Registered Migration Agents try to charge between $3,500 anf $4,500 for handling a CPV application. Presumably they don't care if they lose the business because the prospective client either uses a cheaper (and often better) RMA or the applicant deals with the whole thing and no agent is involved.

 

I know a couple of RMAs in the UK who also try to charge much more than I would be prepared to pay anybody else for handling a CPV application. As with the RMAs in Australia, you get other RMAs in the UK who are far more realistic about their prices and the realistic ones get the instructions, on the whole.

 

Once you have Permanent Residency in Australia there is no legal reason why you should not become an RMA. However the initial training and then the costs of setting up your own business would cost you at least £30,000 AUD even if you work from home. It is one thing to set oneself up as an RMA. It is another matter to persuade enough clients to instruct you.

 

70% of the visas granted each year are to the applicants for skilled visas. I doubt that an RMA would be able to secure a high enough market share if s/he tried to rely on CPV applications alone or even Family Stream visas alone.

 

It is a big wedge of initial capital unless you are interested enough in the subject (ie really interested, not just a bit interested.) I do know a British CPV holder who has become an RMA during 2010, though. He is now working for a firm of RMAs in Adelaide, where he lives. However he was a magistrate when he lived in the UK so he likes the idea of being a quasi-lawyer and I think he is genuinely interested in Aussie Immigration Law.

 

If your heart is not in it then I don't think it is worth the bother, myself. Not to mention not worth the training and set-up costs either, imho. It is worth it for someone like Melbournegirlinny (Sandra Maxfield) who is a fully-qualified Aussie lawyer anyway and she is also admitted to practice the Law in New York. She has recently become an RMA and she lives in New York. There are hardly any RMAs in the USA or in Canada - plus she is convenient for the British market because the time-zone difference between NY and the UK works in the client's favour if the client is in the UK. She is also very nice as well as being very brainy, so I reckon that she ought to do well out of adding the RMA string to her bow.

 

It is also OK for the CPV holder in Adelaide because he is genuinely interested in the subject and has managed to get himself a job as an RMA, working for a firm that has been established for quite a while and so on.

 

The attrition rate with RMAs is very high, too. 60% of the ones who are currently registered with the MARA only became registered within the last 5 years. Loads of people have become RMAs and then they have found that they can't generate enough work from it to make it worthwhile so they give it up after less than 5 years.

 

Cheers

 

Gill

[PhoebeW]

Hi Phoebe

 

I know for a fact that you are not kidding about the $3,700. Loads of Registered Migration Agents try to charge between $3,500 anf $4,500 for handling a CPV application. Presumably they don't care if they lose the business because the prospective client either uses a cheaper (and often better) RMA or the applicant deals with the whole thing and no agent is involved.

 

I know a couple of RMAs in the UK who also try to charge much more than I would be prepared to pay anybody else for handling a CPV application. As with the RMAs in Australia, you get other RMAs in the UK who are far more realistic about their prices and the realistic ones get the instructions, on the whole.

 

Once you have Permanent Residency in Australia there is no legal reason why you should not become an RMA. However the initial training and then the costs of setting up your own business would cost you at least £30,000 AUD even if you work from home. It is one thing to set oneself up as an RMA. It is another matter to persuade enough clients to instruct you.

 

70% of the visas granted each year are to the applicants for skilled visas. I doubt that an RMA would be able to secure a high enough market share if s/he tried to rely on CPV applications alone or even Family Stream visas alone.

 

It is a big wedge of initial capital unless you are interested enough in the subject (ie really interested, not just a bit interested.) I do know a British CPV holder who has become an RMA during 2010, though. He is now working for a firm of RMAs in Adelaide, where he lives. However he was a magistrate when he lived in the UK so he likes the idea of being a quasi-lawyer and I think he is genuinely interested in Aussie Immigration Law.

 

If your heart is not in it then I don't think it is worth the bother, myself. Not to mention not worth the training and set-up costs either, imho. It is worth it for someone like Melbournegirlinny (Sandra Maxfield) who is a fully-qualified Aussie lawyer anyway and she is also admitted to practice the Law in New York. She has recently become an RMA and she lives in New York. There are hardly any RMAs in the USA or in Canada - plus she is convenient for the British market because the time-zone difference between NY and the UK works in the client's favour if the client is in the UK. She is also very nice as well as being very brainy, so I reckon that she ought to do well out of adding the RMA string to her bow.

 

It is also OK for the CPV holder in Adelaide because he is genuinely interested in the subject and has managed to get himself a job as an RMA, working for a firm that has been established for quite a while and so on.

 

The attrition rate with RMAs is very high, too. 60% of the ones who are currently registered with the MARA only became registered within the last 5 years. Loads of people have become RMAs and then they have found that they can't generate enough work from it to make it worthwhile so they give it up after less than 5 years.

 

Cheers

 

Gill

 

Hi Gill

 

Thanks for the info. I can't honestly say I would be that interested in the ins and outs of all visa types. I run a business and do all of my own accounts etc but I think some sort of legal expertise would be needed unless as you say I was really interested. It leaves me stuck in an office as well and I don't want that I need the fresh air after 23 years :cool:

 

There are proberbly better things I would prefer to invest the money in if I had it to spare :wideeyed:

 

Phoebe

[Guest guest43653]

Hi Sue

 

We will have to find the 2nd VAC from the house which won't be much :frown: this is the biggest thing for us, well proberbly a lot of us financial wise, but if we find it is what we want, then we will go to OZ and do our best to make a living :biggrin:

 

No we didnt use an agent, my daughter got a quote for us and it was approx $3700 :swoon: so after reading the forum and encouragement from Gollywobbler and Yomvard I went ahead myself. Once the forms were completed and we had all the documents, I sent them by courier cost £19.20. They were collected on a Friday and the tracker told me it had been signed for in Perth on the Monday, I was very impressed, we got the confirmation letter around 10 days later :jiggy:. I felt we were paying enough with the visa costs :arghh:

 

Let us know when you get your date :wink:

 

Phoebe

 

Hi Phoebe

 

Oh well i probably wasted my money on them then as i can now see lets just hope they at least work for their money. Wish i had found these forums before i had signed them up, my daughter went through the agent when she applied so i thought that was just what you did.

 

Sue

[Les Avalook]

 

 

The attrition rate with RMAs is very high, too. 60% of the ones who are currently registered with the MARA only became registered within the last 5 years. Loads of people have become RMAs and then they have found that they can't generate enough work from it to make it worthwhile so they give it up after less than 5 years.

 

Cheers

 

Gill

 

I think maybe you are being too polite to mention the result of these agents 'giving up' is clients money going down the pan.

 

In the 2 years I have been reading the forums loads of threads of Poms losing their money to Agents going bust.

 

The rate of closures does seem to have slowed up now so maybe a case of the strongest survive.

[PhoebeW]

Hi Phoebe

 

Oh well i probably wasted my money on them then as i can now see lets just hope they at least work for their money. Wish i had found these forums before i had signed them up, my daughter went through the agent when she applied so i thought that was just what you did.

 

Sue

 

Hi Sue

 

My daughter did go through as theirs was a.sponsored working visa do she got a quote for us. They paid $1700 in 2007 but they quoted us $3700 so I read some stuff here and thought I would give it a try myself.:biggrin:

 

Phoebe

[Guest Cakey]

I've been reading all the threads about migration agents and was quite surprised at the prices charged. We are registered with "Go Matilda" , they were recommended by my daughter in Australia as one of the best agents to be with. They quoted £1,170 plus v.a.t in June 2009. I think this is very reasonable,given all the paper work involved. I know people on pio are very helpfull and give very good advice and I admire anyone like Phoebe who is doing it herself and not through an agent but I just found it all a bit daunting, and feel in my case it was money well spent.

 

Cakey

[PhoebeW]

I've been reading all the threads about migration agents and was quite surprised at the prices charged. We are registered with "Go Matilda" , they were recommended by my daughter in Australia as one of the best agents to be with. They quoted £1,170 plus v.a.t in June 2009. I think this is very reasonable,given all the paper work involved. I know people on pio are very helpfull and give very good advice and I admire anyone like Phoebe who is doing it herself and not through an agent but I just found it all a bit daunting, and feel in my case it was money well spent.

 

Cakey

 

Hi Cakey

 

The agent my daughter used was brilliant with them and as I said only $1700, if they had quoted us the same I would have gone with them, but I thought $3700 was over the top. I'm sure Yomvard paid even more just to be told she wouldn't qualify, she did herself and the visa has been granted.

 

It's certainly a case for shopping around :shocked:

 

Phoebe

[MikenSueNW3]

I've been reading all the threads about migration agents and was quite surprised at the prices charged. We are registered with "Go Matilda" , they were recommended by my daughter in Australia as one of the best agents to be with. They quoted £1,170 plus v.a.t in June 2009. I think this is very reasonable,given all the paper work involved. I know people on pio are very helpfull and give very good advice and I admire anyone like Phoebe who is doing it herself and not through an agent but I just found it all a bit daunting, and feel in my case it was money well spent.

 

Cakey

G'day

 

I can understand your decision – we initially thought much the same.

 

But I can confirm the high fees quoted by some agents. In 2007–08, when we first started thinking about our move, we had a discussion with a lawyer in a small firm in Sydney. A year later, when we began serious planning, we found that she had moved to Fragomen, one of the biggest relocation firms, who in fact handled our son-in-law's immigration on a 457 visa and then conversion to permanent residence.

 

I can't recall what the small firm quoted, but at Fragomen the fee for a straightforward application would have been $A3500 + GST – ie, a total of $3850. But, wait for it, if there were any hiccups – eg, health issues – then her charges would be $450 + GST per hour. What is more, it seemed obvious from our meeting that Fragomen had little experience of handling parent visa applications.

 

We decided on the DIY route. 'Nuff said?

 

Best, Mike

[Les Avalook]

I've been reading all the threads about migration agents and was quite surprised at the prices charged. We are registered with "Go Matilda" , they were recommended by my daughter in Australia as one of the best agents to be with. They quoted £1,170 plus v.a.t in June 2009. I think this is very reasonable,given all the paper work involved. I know people on pio are very helpfull and give very good advice and I admire anyone like Phoebe who is doing it herself and not through an agent but I just found it all a bit daunting, and feel in my case it was money well spent.

 

Cakey

 

I think you will find the paper work is the same if you use an agent or not. :wink: