Why Use Registered Migration Agent
In Immigration Museum at Melbourne, there is a sign that says more than nine million people have migrated to Australia since 1788. Countless others have tried and failed.
You want to be part of that nine million migrants if you want to stay here permanently or get the right visa if you want to stay here for temporarily.
We have been in this industry for more than 10 years. We have seen many clients who are very happy. The most important question that is often asked by some of our clients is whether they can lodge their own visa. The often say that all the information is Online or Immigration Website, and it is just about filling the form and waiting for the Department to ask for more requests documents if it is not enough and their visa will be granted. They can save professional fees for free.
Registered Migration Agents are Regulated
It is a legal requirement that Registered Migration Agents operating in Australia are registered with the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority (Office of the MARA). You can search for Registered Migration Agents on the Office of the MARA website at www.mara.gov.au. Registered Migration Agents are allowed to provide immigration advice and assistance, including help lodging visa applications. Registered Migration Agents must be qualified and demonstrate to the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority (OMARA) that they:
- have sufficient knowledge of migration law and procedures;
It is against the law for someone in Australia who is not registered with the OMARA to provide you with immigration assistance. It is a criminal offence to provide immigration assistance if you are not Registered Migration Agent..
Visas Can be More Complicated than They Appear
There are more than 500,000 international students studying in Australia at any given year. The most common visa most international students apply after completing their course is Graduate Temporary Subclass 485 visas.
Many international students lodge these themselves without an agent, without realising that the requirements are quite complex. However, many international students do not get the result that they expect, and we’ve seen the following:
- International students selecting the wrong stream, and ending up with either a refusal or a visa which is shorter than they expected;
- Missing key time of application requirements and being refused. If you miss an essential time of application requirement, it is usually not possible to fix this, even if appealing to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (“AAT”); and
A Registered Migration Agent will thoroughly understand Migrations Acts 1958, Migration Regulations 1994 and the Department of Immigration Procedures Advice Manual. A Registered Migration Agent will also have comprehensive pre-lodgement checklists to ensure that essential requirements are not missed at lodgement.