Guest moll1983 Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 Hi all, Myself and my boyfriend are at the very beginning stages of out application for WA state sponsorship. I qualify through my job title and I have booked my english test and awaiting to sit it at the moment. We are wondering whether or not to use an agent for our application. Is it really neccessary??? Has anyone done it without an agent? I really dont want to spend money if I dont have to!! Also what are the average processing times? Ive had really mixed responses on this?! If any one has any advice/tips on the State visa at all it would be really appreciated! :biggrin: Thanks in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chardy Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 You will need to get your skills assessed which depending on the assessing body could take up to 3 months so get going as the system will change on the 1st July to the EOI model. Luckily WA SS is quick to get once you have the skills assessment. You should have your visa (all being well) by August September maybe............. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azim Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 From my experience...do it yourself! agents will take their time and will take a week to do what u can do in a day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest moll1983 Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 From my experience...do it yourself! agents will take their time and will take a week to do what u can do in a day. Thanks. Any Idea of what the total fees end of being? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PositivePixie Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 There will no doubt be some agents that come along in a minute and warn you of the dangers of not using an agent, as there always is, but from a normal person's point of view (and therefore someone who doesn't have a vested interest in it either way) the general advice goes along the lines of: If you have a straightforward case, and aren't completely and utterly strapped for time (to research or check details on things), you don't need an agent. If you have medical issues, a criminal record or other unusual circumstances, an agent can be beneficial to guide you through the process and help with little niggly bits. How I wish agents would just say that rather than the 'well, more fool you if you don't use an agent, it will all go wrong, mark my words' approach they seem to favour - a HUGE reason we would never have used one, as I've yet to find one that has said straight up 'you don't need to use an agent, you can do this without paying me/someone to do it for you' (hopefully I will be proved wrong with that statement, and my goal will be achieved lol). We did it ourselves, was as easy as falling off a log (easier in fact) - the 'hardest' thing if you like was filling in things like the Form 80 and uploading all the documents - something we would have had to have done one way or another if we used an agent anyway, so for people like us it was a no brainer doing it ourselves and saving a couple of K. We had our visa within 19 days of lodging (176), back last August, so they were moving pretty quickly, however I think they are taking a little longer now (of the stupidly fast time we had - seriously were not expecting it to be that fast lol) You can get a lot of advice and help from peeps that have been through it on here, which helps, and no question is silly or too small to ask Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest moll1983 Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 [quote=PositivePixie Thanks so much for all that advice! Def leaning towards doing it ourselves. Just wanna make sure we have as much info as we possibly can....Dont wanna get refused!!! how much do you think the visa will cost in total roughly?? Have you move to oz yet?? All very exciting and a little scary! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chardy Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 You are looking at $300-600 for your skills assessment, $200 for WA SS, $2960 visa application fee, £200 ish each for meds, £35 each for Police checks, your IELTS fees and a few sundry costs getting certified copies of docs etc. We did it ourselves too so good luck and start now to beat the changes.................. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azim Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 where i live, they charge around $3000, and i have lots of complaints about my agent...I think DIAC should collect feedback from people who use agent and cancel their license if they are not doing their jobs properly... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PositivePixie Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 where i live, they charge around $3000, and i have lots of complaints about my agent...I think DIAC should collect feedback from people who use agent and cancel their license if they are not doing their jobs properly... They do - if you report them, they will investigate them, that's why there is a MARN etc. They don't come knocking on your door to get feedback though, its up to the consumer to report bad practise. If you use an agent without a MARN though, then buyer beware. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azim Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 They do - if you report them, they will investigate them, that's why there is a MARN etc. They don't come knocking on your door to get feedback though, its up to the consumer to report bad practise. If you use an agent without a MARN though, then buyer beware. I'm using a registered agent... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest31881 Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 where i live, they charge around $3000, and i have lots of complaints about my agent...I think DIAC should collect feedback from people who use agent and cancel their license if they are not doing their jobs properly... They do, if your agent is registered then you have the right to complain. But the Australian laws can only apply in Australia, if the Agent is outside Australia then the DIAC have no control over them.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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