Guest PaulBrooke Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 Sorry but this prob has been covered before but could not locate... Looking to move to Oz on a 176 visa as my job is on the skilled occupation list any tips / recommendations on using migration agents. is it easy to do it yourself? or if you have used a migration agent which one do you choose as there are sooo many out there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mandi1971 Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 I think alot of people on here saved a fortune by doing it themselves. You can get most of the information you need on this forum and people are always happy to help. We used visa-go.com and it was all plain sailing, we started the process in Feb this year and got our visa this month, not bad at all. Good luck with your decision. :wink: Mandi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arniston Skippy Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 My Wife done all the hard work herself no real need for an agent, as the otherop stated all info is on this site or DIAC site and could save you money..We initially had an agent sacked them as my wife kelly was yelling them what we needed to do and they where agreeing and taking £100 plus a month for the privilage................ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest becca0114 Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 If the visa you are after is straight forward, I would do it yourself but be prepared to do alot of reading and double checking of things to make sure you have the information correct. It is less stressful to pay an agent but a great strain on the wallet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eweasel Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 I'd agreed with all the other OPs - although I haven't really read much about the 1st July changes. I believe that you have to do a lot of the donkey work even if you do have an agent - i.e. finding all the evidence - an agent may reassure you and give advice but most give you an initial consultation for free 0 we contacted Go Matilda before choosing to DIY (started end of April 0 visa granted 5th August!) this was more to do with me being a control freak and not being able to leave it to someone else :-) The hardest part I felt was gathering all the evidence for the skills assessment (OH Metal Machinist so went through TRA) Every step of the way there is help both through DIAC and of course loads of knowledge and helpful peeps on PIO who will be more then happy to help if they can Good luck which ever way you choose Est Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Collett Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 http://www.pomsinoz.com/forum/1161278-post13.html Best regards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandy28 Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 I think it up to each individual person and situation if you use an agent or not. If you feel that you have the time and have a good understanding of the process then go for it. We used and agent based purely on the fact that we had a very limited time before my OH hit his 45 birthday. We had to also do a vetassess. Also after reading horror stories of people not applying for the correct visa and then not being able to apply again (I don't know how true that is) We decided to employ a migration agent. I basically wanted an expert to do the process as I knew time was of the essence and we could not afford to make any mistakes. It was a huge relief to let someone else take care of things. I still had to do a lot of the work by supplying all our info and evidence etc but that is only to be expected. Even with the migration agency help I have still found it stressful and had many sleepless nights but I bet I would have had more if I was doing it on my own. It is costly but to me it was money well spent as the agency we chose are extremely helpful and pulled out all the stops to get our application in with about a day to spare, something which I doubt I could of done on my own. But as I said it's up to the individual and some people sail through the process with ease. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Irmaal Posted August 19, 2011 Share Posted August 19, 2011 I can highly recommend GoMatilda services. I was in the process for about two years with other agents, spend a fortune on they "job", but only Sarah White from GoMatilda delivered what I have expected. From the agents to avoid I can mention ASA Consultants-they took money for the whole 176 application process and after one year when State Sponsorship was refused they did not refunded me remaining fees for DIAC application, not to mention their communication system when you are totaly out of control to reach them if necessary-no ph. or email, only their website chat or otherwise pay in addition. And they did not returned my original documents that I have sent to them (for paper-based application).:arghh: After totaly dissapointed and waisted almost two years, I started an offshore online application with GoMatilda only a year ago and now I am living in Melbourne as a Permanent Resident. Sarah White was really excelent-my emails were answered very quickly and answers to my questions were clear and extended. There were all communications methods provided, and for FREE-Ph numbers, emails, fax. They even have a representative in UK so if the matter is urgent you can call them at any time if from UK. Especialy the last months were very stressfull when Case Officer requested the documents that really needed an expert advice and keeping with someone in touch was probably the matter of geting visa or not. My case was not straight forward as my OH has a non-migrating daughter from his previous marriage and there were some issues with his Millitary past so a good and experienced agent was really needed. And I am from the HR country. Sarah adviced me almost in every step-how to write references, what format must they be, what to put on and what not to, the statements and stats-every document was checked and submited to DIAC only when it looked exactly how DIAC needs and wants to see them. Not to mention the technical issues when sometimes I could not get an access to printers or PDF converters and documents needs to be sended urgently . My highest thanks to Sarah White and Alan and the team of GoMatilda. I think my story is one of many success stories that GoMatilda makes to be a reality. Cheers...:cute: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mandi1971 Posted August 19, 2011 Share Posted August 19, 2011 I agree with all the above, it depends on the circumstances. We would have done it ourselves as money is precious but OH had to get the visa in before his 45th birthday before the July 1st changes. To be honest, we found alot of information out using the forums and knew all our results before the agent got round to contacting us, but thats because they had hundreds to deal with and im impatient and i was always 2 steps ahead of him :wink: What Trade are you? My OH is a Plumber so if he can help in any way feel free to ask. Mandi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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