Immigration agents??

[Claire83]

Hi
We are looking to apply to Australia and are wondering whether or not to use an agent... I have spoken to someone at Concept Australia in the mancheter branch who was very helpful but was wondering if anyone has used this company or heard anything about them also so spoken to an agent at Australian Migration Associates again has anoyone used or heard feedback from these Mancheser base agents anything would be helpful.
Thank you
Claire

[kaz101]

Hi Claire,

Sorry I don't know either of those agents. Just make sure that whoever you go with it either MIA or MARA registered (there are links in the 'PLEASE READ...' post).

Regards,
Karen

[Dolly]

Originally Posted by Claire83

Hi
We are looking to apply to Australia and are wondering whether or not to use an agent... I have spoken to someone at Concept Australia in the mancheter branch who was very helpful but was wondering if anyone has used this company or heard anything about them also so spoken to an agent at Australian Migration Associates again has anoyone used or heard feedback from these Mancheser base agents anything would be helpful.
Thank you
Claire

Hi Claire,

I have heard of Concept Australia but not the other agents. From what I remember the former seem to have a good reputation (but it's really all relative as one person may think they're the best thing since sliced bread and another may think they were useless!). I know that's probably not much help but I've seen it time and time again.

If you decide to use an agent, you do as much research as you can on them and really just hope they will be OK.

Dolly

[covfan71]

Originally Posted by Claire83

Hi
We are looking to apply to Australia and are wondering whether or not to use an agent... I have spoken to someone at Concept Australia in the mancheter branch who was very helpful but was wondering if anyone has used this company or heard anything about them also so spoken to an agent at Australian Migration Associates again has anoyone used or heard feedback from these Mancheser base agents anything would be helpful.
Thank you
Claire

Hi Claire, i posted a similar thread about agents a few weeks ago. Look at some of the comments on there. anyway i am still undecided whether to use an agent or not. There are plenty of agents on the MARA website so tak your pick. A lot of agents i have spoken to require a payment up front of around £500 before they start. Now the assessment costs an extra £180 so to me paying £500 and then to have your assessment refused is quite expensive. I am now seriosly thinking about doing the assessment myself. A lot of people do do it themselves and have no worries.

[cmabbo]

Hi,

I used Concept Australia but it was Grahame Igglesden at their head office in Chislehurst, Kent as they were literally 2 mins down the road from me.
They were very good in my oppinion and everything was done smoothly and in a timely fashion. Also I found their prices to be cheaper than others I had contacted. They are registered with the MARA so this was another reason why we went with them.
I would definitely recommend them.
Good luck
Christina

[sim]

If you have the time but don't want to spend extra money, just don't use an agent. I found the instructions for everything (assessments, visa applications etc) quite straightforward so using an agent never really crossed my mind.

Of course, having just applied, I don't the visa yet so we'll see what kind of morbid errors I've made in the application

[FLOYD]

My experience so far.
I am still investigating if this is something I want and How well I qualify for different visa types so I can make informed decisions. I have inquired through their internet sites with three migration agents. Being in the US, I haven't found in in my country that see like what I want and am trying to skip overseas phone calls this early in the game. Besides, I have this pet peeve that if a company has a website to solicit business, I should be able to expect the same response from the website as if If were in their office or on the phone. Anyway this is where I am with the three, which I will not name.

1. Advertised free assessment and a return opinoin on how well I qualify. Filled out the online form including resume. Got a computer generated response saying my chance for a skilled visa is good, go to the next step.
Next step is pay approx $400 in advance of even speaking to someone or as much as a personalized email. (I am also almost positive I can only get enough points for a state/regional sponsored type visa)
Not impressive...

2. Six days ago filled out the advertised free assessment, including Resume, with the promise that I would be contacted with the outlook of what visa, if any, I would most likely be successful under. Six days, no reply. Hoping to get a response after the weekend.
If I get no response, I will be very nervous about the fact they have my resume. Not something I want to hand out like candy.

3. Website explaining why they offer nothing free. Explaining that most advertisement of free assessment are only to get you far enough along to get you to pay money. I paid, $30(exchange rate more like US$40+) for an assessment. I filled out the questionaire. Very detailed, including a large area for additional info that may be pertainent. I quickly got a personal reply asking for my CV, resume, because my combination of work history and education was not enough to dtermine my best option without more detail.
I just sent resume. Told I can expect to be told my best visa option plus a detailed fee schedule for the services they offer sometime next week.
I guess another case of "You get what you pay for".

Once I know what my best visa option is, I have to see a few details with present career play out. After this, decide if this is the path I choose and if I want to pay for the service of making sure I complete the process accurately and efficiently.

[kaz101]

We didn't pay out any thing until we had talked to the agents and had an idea of whether or not we could get in. I made phone calls to 2 agents who after hearing our situation said we couldn't get in. The third asked us to come and see them (which we did) and they where the ones that said they could get us in and they did! I think that the payments were staged.

I know that if agents aren't nearby then long distance calls can be an issue but there are international phone cards and also Skype (where you can use your PC and pay for credits by credit card or paypal) which is usually pretty cheap. Personally I would want to talk to someone before signing up with them so that I could get a feel for them.

We got the list of agents from an immigration newspaper in the UK which I don't think exists any more...

Regards,
Karen

[FLOYD]

I figured around $40 bucks is fair to get someone qualified to spend the time to look close enough at my personal situation to give me a realistic anwser about what visa I would qualify for and any problems I may expect to run into. I haven't signed up for anything except this intial inquiry.

I won't mind the phone call cost once I decide this is what I want. I just have this thing about web based sevice business. I expect the same level of communtication from a website inquiry as if I think walked in or called. Call me me crazy but if they won't respond in a timely manner to web based inquiries they invite people to make, then I don't know that I would trust them with my business through email and internet. In this case it seems even more important since, if I use an agent, 90% or more of our communtication will be email or online.

Does anyone one know of migration agents for Aus that have offices based in the USA?