Are you thinking about getting help with your visa application, but aren’t sure if it’s necessary and whether to just go it alone? It costs extra money after all, and how hard can the application be? Isn’t it just a form you need to fill out, and maybe send some documents to the Immigration Department? Even a quick search online brings up a raft of information on visas in Australia that you can use. Its not rocket science, is it?
You are not alone in your thinking this way. Many people in your position wonder about the same thing. With the costs of applying for a visa already so high in many cases, is paying a professional to do it for you really worth the expense?
To Seek Professional Migration Advice Or Not? Why Would You Do It?
First, let us start off by saying, we understand your predicament. Its very reasonable to want to save money, and why not do something for yourself if you can? We all come up against such decisions in our daily lives too; maybe you need something done and think, ‘should I just do this, or shall I find someone to do it for me?.’
Cost Is Not Everything; There Are Other Things To Consider Too
A Professional Will Do A Good Job
The same thought process applies when considering whether to engage a migration agent Noarlunga. When weighing up such a decision, we often consider not only the cost, but also the time we can save by delegating the task to someone else. And, in reality, a professional is likely to do a much better job than us, after all. They do this stuff day in, day out, and depending on what the service is, they will have qualifications, skills and/or experience in an area in which we don’t. So, doesn’t it make sense that they will probably do a better job than us?
The Consequences Of Getting Something Wrong Can Be Serious
Another important question to consider is what the potential ramifications may be of not getting help, doing it ourselves and making a mistake, what happens then? This will depend on the task we are talking about. Say you decide to mow your lawn and do the gardening in your home, rather than call in a professional to take care of it for you. If your not very experienced in this area, it will probably take you much longer to do the job and, lets face it, it probably won’t turn out as well as if a professional were to do it for you. But since were talking about gardening here, and not something as important as migration advice, the potential consequences of not doing a good enough job are very different.
A poor gardening job won’t mean anything really, apart from you not being happy with the job, but in the grand scheme of things, its not that important. And who knows, with practice, you may even get better at it, and next time you do it, you may be much more impressed with your efforts!
But make a mistake with your visa matter and the consequences that could ensue could be very serious indeed. For a start, if it is a visa application you are dealing with, missing something important, making an error or not providing a document that is required can all result in your application being refused. This is not only a waste of time and money, but also could potentially affect your ability to be granted a further visa to Australia. Depending on the seriousness of the issue, you may be subject to a re-entry ban for a certain period of time, or worse, permanent exclusion from Australia.
And what about the effect of a refusal on your planned visa pathway? Say you had carefully set out a plan for the series of step you had intended to take to reach your migration goals. Well, a refusal at one stage of this process can affect that timeline, and potentially put your whole plan in jeopardy. In this situation, you will need to re-assess where you stand, how this changes your original plan, and be prepared for the possibility that it may no longer be feasible.
The point we are trying to make here is that if you, in simple terms, ‘stuff up’ your gardening, its no big deal. It is just a garden after all!
But migration advice, now that’s a whole different ballgame!
Migration Law is Complicated
Australia’s migration laws are one of the most complex areas of the law, and professionals in the industry require years of extensive training to gain the necessary qualifications to even be able to practice and to become Registered Migration Agents.
But even this is often not enough; extensive experience too is crucial when it comes to this area of the law. Transferring your knowledge from paper to real life situations is not as easy as one might think. It’s not simply a case of reading the legislation and easily getting your answer. Professionals like immigration agent Noarlunga will know that things are often much more complicated than this.
For a start, you need to know where to look to find the answer/s you are looking for. Rarely in migration is it there staring at you in black and white. So much of this area of the law is subject to interpretation. And even the answer appears to be clear-cut, most often, it is what sits behind the law that really counts. The true crux of the matter is interpretation. That is, how do you apply the raw text of the law to practical situations which are rarely simple and clear-cut? Individuals are complex beings, and so too are our lives. We all have unique circumstances which we face, and so applying the law to everyone’s particular situation is not an easy task in of itself.
Doing a good job of this requires years of experience. After all, wouldn’t you agree that doing something more than once means you are better equipped to tackle it the next time around? If you’ve never prepared a visa application before, you are essentially new to the process, so its absolutely reasonable that you could miss something important or make a mistake.
And, as mentioned, what about all the important information that sits ‘behind’ the law, which helps us to interpret and apply the law to real-life people? The Migration Act is just one piece of the puzzle. There are also regulations which apply. And immigration policy and Tribunal decisions are important too.
As you can see, there is a lot more involved in preparing a visa application than you may have originally thought. And this is not even everything! This is just a snapshot of some of things you should consider when deciding whether to seek assistance from an expert, or whether to go it alone.
So, with all this in mind, if you are thinking about what to do in this regard, we thought it might be helpful for us to answer some of the most common questions we get asked when first approached by potential clients.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is The Process For Obtaining Migration Advice?
At PAX Migration Australia, we have two main stages for our immigration services.
First, we start with an initial consultation. This is where we meet with you (either in person, by telephone, email, Video conference using Skype or Whats App for example) to identify the relevant facts of your case and provide you with tailored advice about your immigration options.
Next up, if you decide to engage our services, we then start working on your case. This might be a visa application, or an application for review by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) if your visa application has been refused, or your visa cancelled.
Or you may need a submission for a specific waiver or Department request for information. Here we do a large amount of work for you to achieve your immigration outcome/s.
How Do You Arrange A Consultation?
Give us a call on (08) 7226 2225 or email us at mail@paxmigration.com.au and make a time to come in and see us.
Allow an hour for the consultation.
If you choose to have an in-person meeting with us, our office is conveniently located in the Adelaide CBD (in the State of South Australia). Our address is:
91 King William St, Adelaide, South Australia 5000
Is An In-Person Meeting Important? What If You can’t Come Into The Office, Do You Get The Same Consultation Irrespective Of the Meeting Type?
It makes no difference how we conduct the consultation. You will receive exactly the same service whether it is in our office or via another method. If you are located interstate or overseas, or even if you would just prefer not to come into the city to our office, we offer a comprehensive consultation no matter how we deliver it.
Irrespective of which method you choose, we ensure that you receive the same thorough advice and information. The key is to find the best communication tool for you.
And taking this one step further (we are always thinking ahead at PAX Migration Australia!), if you decide to appoint us to represent you in your migration matter and once we commence working on your case, our services are largely conducted remotely. We primarily communicate with you and send/receive information and documents electronically in the course of working on your case (provided you have the means to do so; telephone and mailing of documents works just fine too). The point is, the process is tailored to your situation; we are guided by you and what suits you best.
How Do You Prepare For A Consultation?
Once we have set a time and date for your consultation, we will email through to you a confirmation and will send you a reminder email the day before your appointment.
We will also send you a consultation form for you to complete and return to us at least 24 hours before your appointment. The information you provide in this form beforehand will give us a better understanding of your case before the actual consultation. This ensures that you get the most out of your consultation, rather than wasting time explaining your situation to us.
By completing the form, we will already know the facts of your case, and can therefore spend the time discussing options based on this pre-known data. It also enables us to ask questions and for you to elaborate and explain in more detail important information about your situation, so that we can focus on the really important elements of your case.
For example, by asking you something as simple as your date of birth beforehand allows us to come to the meeting armed with the relevant information as it applies to your age. Wasting time getting this information during the meeting is inefficient and unnecessary, which is why we have built the process as we have.
Is There A Cost For The Consultation?
For an immigration consultation, our fee is AUD $330.
If you decide to proceed with our services and appoint us to handle your visa application or appeal, we will credit your consultation fee against your package fee.
What Will We Provide To You In Your Consultation?
Based on the information that you supply, we will apply the relevant immigration law to your circumstances and formulate tailored advice just for you. At your consultation, you will receive:
- Clear options for your immigration strategy;
- The milestones you need to meet to achieve approval of your visa application;
- Key dates in relation to your immigration strategy;
- Guidance on current processing times and fees; and
- An outline of all the possible visa option/s that are available to you.
What Happens If You Do Not Qualify For A Visa?
Our consultation will provide you with a complete assessment of your immigration options in Australia. The work involved in determining that you are not eligible for a visa is sometimes even more difficult, with additional time needed, since we need to exclude every possibility.
We provide a complete professional service and therefore a fee applies. This is because we still need to spend time researching each case in order to be able to provide complete advice in each case.
How Much Will The Whole Process Cost?
Each visa subclass requires different amounts of work. Additionally, each individual case will be different in regard to the workload required. The personal circumstances of each individual impacts on how complicated the application may be.
Therefore, we will provide you with an individual cost estimate based on the information we determine at the consultation stage.
We will also provide you with the Government charges and any additional disbursements required for each visa subclass available to you in your immigration strategy.
Get More Information
To find out more about why you should consider choosing PAX Migration Australia, what our clients think about us, and why obtaining expert advice and assistance from a migration agent Noarlunga can be beneficial in achieving a positive outcome on your migration matter, please see the following articles:
Selecting a migration agent in Australia
Should I use a migration agent or immigration lawyer for my application?
Migration Agent Aberfoyle Park
For more information on what you can expect from PAX Migration Australia when you engage our services, including the process involved, please see the following articles:
Migration Agent Kensington Park
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Contact PAX Migration Australia to book a no-obligation consultation to find out more about how immigration agent Noarlunga can help with your migration matter and why you should consider engaging our services.
Sources/Links:
Australian Government – Department of Home Affairs – Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority
Administrative Appeals Tribunal