agent fees

[Guest liquorice]

I have just spoke to an agent who has told me that we need to go for a 176 visa, the cost of the whole process is £4763 then got to pay the agent a fee of £1800. Makes a grand total of £6563!!

I wasnt expecting it to cost so much, is this the norm??

[Guest pandv_2000]

Do you have a breakdown of those costs? We have been quoted just over £1000 + Vat from Go Matilda for help with our SS and 176 visa but ours is fairly straightforward. The actual visa fees themselves seem high too - is that broken down?

[xzibit]

Yeah a breakdown of the costs would be handy. That's a lot of money.

 

Do you even need to use an agent? If your application is straight forward, then maybe you could do it yourself, and save £1800 straight away.

 

I did my 176 application all myself, as I didn't feel the need to use an agent and the whole thing including medicals, skill assessment, IELTS, and the application fee was about £1000.

 

Obviously the poor exchange rate at the moment isn't helping things.

[Guest liquorice]

thanks, the breakdown is:£900 for health checks (3x checks, husband, myself, daughter)

£70 CRB checks (35 per person) I already have one! £1800 for application, £1992 assesment and £1800 fees.

 

My husband is a plumber and has been for 8 years but doesnt have an NVQ or other qualification but has got some cards ie streetworks to allow him to work on the roads etc.

apart from that should be straight forward, the agency said we have 100 points.

 

I have emailed go matilda....

 

Thanks everyone

[sharons dream]

Hi my OH is a plumbing and we are using the visa bureau they have been very good and they send the cost of everything to you before you sign up, it will cost us around 5000 when done, we are about to apply for our visa and that will be 1600 it has taken us 2and half years to get this far and can't wait to finish the process and start our new life xx

Sharon 38

Andy39

Lauren 9

Harvey 3

[Guest liquorice]

Thanks,

 

Im just so confused. Went onto Australian Visa Bureau , is that the one that you used?

and we dont have enough points, I dont have a skilled job and my husband hasnt got an nvq or city and guilds just on the job training for the last 8 yrs and certifacates etc from NARS and streetworks. He is a water enigneer as well as a general plumber. Its not looking hopeful at the mo:sad:

[Guest terjo]

We're paying about 6k but that inclded a skills assessment, tra and all the suff you need for the visa included, and because my husband had no offical qualification it has been a long haul getting his qualification sorted, he now has an AQF 111 (what should have taken 3 months but has taken 13, months and there was no extra for all the extra work the agent put in), but the agent now believe it should only take a few months (way less than a year, we were hoping it would take 2 as Im still at uni). We used the Australian Visa Bureau and they have been brilliant. Terjo

[xzibit]

Whoa!! Things have got pricey since 2008. Do you need a CRB check now? When I did mine it was just a police check which cost £10 per person.

 

Are you sure you need to use an agent? The applications are very easy and unless you have an unusual case (like step children) then you'll probably be fine without one.

 

First step is to get the main applicant's skills assessed by the relevant body which can be found on the immi website. If that's positive you can then start the application which is a case of filling in the forms online and using the provided checklist to make sure you've uploaded the correct documents.

 

Once you've got a case officer you can then get your police checks and medicals done and uploaded and wait for the grant.

 

Are you going family sponsored or state sponsored? As if state, then before you even think about the application, you need to apply to SA to sort that.

[Guest shellymc]

HI

Im using go Matilda and my bill comes to around £4500, In the process of doing my TRA assessment and its a nightmare, they need to know everything dating back 23 years also because one of the companies no longer trade I have to find somebody who I worked with at the time to sign a declaration to say that I am fully trained so good luck with urs

[Guest dean berridge]

Hi,

 

I am just about in the same dilemma not sure if to do it myself or to get an agent. Visabureau quoted 2440 + vat, Migrationexpert quote 2400 approx but not siue if vat included. Either way big shock apparently you still fill in all the paperwork and supply references, certificates all they do is make sure all the I's are dotted and the T's are crossed,but as I have said to my OH its an investment long term it will be worth the additional.

 

I'll keep you posted if I get any other agents recommended.

 

Regards

 

Dean

[xzibit]

Hi,

 

I am just about in the same dilemma not sure if to do it myself or to get an agent. Visabureau quoted 2440 + vat, Migrationexpert quote 2400 approx but not siue if vat included. Either way big shock apparently you still fill in all the paperwork and supply references, certificates all they do is make sure all the I's are dotted and the T's are crossed,but as I have said to my OH its an investment long term it will be worth the additional.

 

I'll keep you posted if I get any other agents recommended.

 

Regards

 

Dean

 

Yep agents only offer advice and make sure everything is up together. There's a checklist for that lol.

 

Plus, if you're missing something then your case officer will tell you.

 

Agents are good for complicated applications but for normal ones - save your hard earned cash and do it without.

[Guest shellymc]

The agents do all the statements so u only have to get them signed and ur statements need to be witnessed by a solicitor, I wud recommend an agent, it takes all the stress away, u just have to get all ur documents together and provide them with the basics, then they do the rest.

[xzibit]

The agents do all the statements so u only have to get them signed and ur statements need to be witnessed by a solicitor, I wud recommend an agent, it takes all the stress away, u just have to get all ur documents together and provide them with the basics, then they do the rest.

 

There is no stress. I did my whole application in 2 nights.

 

If people pay me £500 a time I will do your applications for you haha.

[Guest dean berridge]

There is no stress. I did my whole application in 2 nights.

 

If people pay me £500 a time I will do your applications for you haha.

 

 

Hi Leigh

 

Where do I send the cheque!!! lol

[xzibit]

Hi Leigh

 

Where do I send the cheque!!! lol

 

Lol!!

 

I don't mean to sound like an arse, but I would definitely recommend people giving it a go themselves. For the sake of a few evenings you could save £2000 plus. And it's very rewarding knowing you did it all yourself.

[Guest dean berridge]

Lol!!

 

I don't mean to sound like an arse, but I would definitely recommend people giving it a go themselves. For the sake of a few evenings you could save £2000 plus. And it's very rewarding knowing you did it all yourself.

 

Hi

 

No I appreciate what you are saying heads a bit confused I've read and printed off 176 and it seemed simply enough, it just the skills assessment (I've looked on the web but cannot locate an authorised body?) and it states on the visa checklist to send in the 1800 but if declined this is non refundable. Does this mean if I have not completed it correct/ missed something out or do not qualify?

 

Regards

 

Dean:nah:

[xzibit]

Hi

 

No I appreciate what you are saying heads a bit confused I've read and printed off 176 and it seemed simply enough, it just the skills assessment (I've looked on the web but cannot locate an authorised body?) and it states on the visa checklist to send in the 1800 but if declined this is non refundable. Does this mean if I have not completed it correct/ missed something out or do not qualify?

 

Regards

 

Dean:nah:

 

Well in regards to the skills assessment, which you want to do before you start the application itself, you need to find who the assessment body is. This can be found on the skills list on the immi website. Once you know who they are, you can talk to them about getting your qualifications and skills assessed by them.

 

Once you have a certificate stating your skills are equivalent to Australian ones you can then worry about the application. Download the 176 checklist and make sure you get copies of all the documents mentioned and work your way through it. One of the documents needed is Form 80 which is a bit of a pain but simple enough, it just needs a bit of thought.

 

Then fill out the 176 application form and submit, uploaded all the supporting documents on the checklist and pay the fee. As long as there is nothing missing from the checklist, then it'll be fine. If you accidentally miss something, they'll ask you for it, they won't refuse you.

 

Don't get medicals and police checks done until you've got assigned a case officer though, you don't have to submit these with the application as they are only valid for 12 months.

 

I am more than happy to talk you through every stage of the process if it helps you save thousands of pounds.

 

Before I did my visa, I thought about using an agent because I was daunted by it all. After a bit of research I decided to just try it and if I got stuck I'd then use an agent. I couldn't believe how easy it all was afterwards.

[RockDr]

The CRB check isn't valid for a visa application, there's a special police check for the purposes of visa applications. ACPO: Police Certificates

[jim and adel]

Caveat upfront: everyone's circumstances, level of confidence (and bank balance) is different, so for some using an agent is a no-brainer; for others - like us - using one would have been an unnecessary expense, and moving across the world is expensive enough, without increasing it!

 

Every form you need is online (and yup, you'll still be filling them in yourself whether you use an agent or not) and so are all the instructions and checklists. For us, it was a case of becoming familiar with the different visa types and their conditions in order to pinpoint the one for us, get my skills assessed, apply for state sponsorship, apply for visa, wait for case officer to be assigned, arrange medicals and send for police checks, then sit back and wait. An agent would have pointed us to the right form quicker and explained what level of detail was required (perhaps - although I spoke to three agents at the very beginning and got three very different answers to questions) but beyond that, the work would still have been down to us.

 

Jim

[Willber]

I have just spoke to an agent who has told me that we need to go for a 176 visa, the cost of the whole process is £4763 then got to pay the agent a fee of £1800. Makes a grand total of £6563!!

I wasnt expecting it to cost so much, is this the norm??

 

That's outrageous!!! I can recommend Ian Harrop, he is fantastic and much cheaper! He came recommended to us and he otained our visa in just 6 months!

[Guest dean berridge]

I spoken to Ian Harrop was his fees about 2400? He seemed ok and knowledgable. Cheers for the info

[Guest liquorice]

Thanks alot, so much to think about and want to get it all rolling before 1st July when it changes.

Do you know if you do your assessment before you apply for the visa?

[Guest dean berridge]

Thanks Leigh

 

I might hold you to that I downloaded the forms and told my family in oz to complete the 1277 just need to find out how I stand with only being back bricklaying for 7 months (13years experience and an advanced city and guilds qualification behind me) butfor some unknown reason they don't take that as good enough! So do i wait until June to submit or not? one to ponder. Either way i can get started in filling in the info and preparing everything. Cheers

[Guest liquorice]

think youve sent that to the wrong person?!

[xzibit]

Thanks Leigh

 

I might hold you to that I downloaded the forms and told my family in oz to complete the 1277 just need to find out how I stand with only being back bricklaying for 7 months (13years experience and an advanced city and guilds qualification behind me) butfor some unknown reason they don't take that as good enough! So do i wait until June to submit or not? one to ponder. Either way i can get started in filling in the info and preparing everything. Cheers

 

Well the requirement for specific work experience for the application is 3 out of the 4 years immediate to the application, so it depends on how long you've been out of work.

 

With regards to the skills assessment, they normally just want to assess that you have the correct qualifications, and for trades, will get you to do a practical. But as I'm an Architect I literally just had to have my qualification converted into an Australian equivalent.

 

Getting a start on the 1277 is a good idea, as would be printing out Form 80 off the immi website as there is information that may need you to do a bit of digging (like EVERY trip abroad you've made including dates in the past ten years).

 

Have you been on the TRA website?