Why choose us a Registered Migration Agent?

If you're considering a move to Australia, you're already aware of your first step – the visa application. You know, that lengthy document requiring almost endless amounts of supporting evidence and box ticking with a healthy dose of jargon thrown in.

Filling in your visa application can feel like a full time job in itself and can be full of pitfalls where one mistakenly ticked box can land you in the waiting pile rather than the accepted one.

Luckily, there is a way to prevent you inflicting visa application-related damage on your computer. Enter Registered Migration Agents, those angels in office clothing who are there to guide you through the immigration process and successfully secure your visa.

For those wondering if you really need to use Registered Migration Agents, read on:

• Registered Migration Agents know Australia's visa system inside out. It's our job to keep up to date with the latest policy changes - our on-going professional licensing requirements require them to do this. We have a wealth of insider knowledge about the system – make the most of it.
• We're licensed with a regulatory body. Gaining the license means that we've completed a rigorous process to enter the industry – and on-going professional development is required to continue to renew this license each year. This means we work to a strict code of conduct and ethics which is enforceable – and that you and your interests are protected. It's a guarantee that we're working in your best interests. 
• We can liaise with the Department of Immigration and Citizenship and your employer on your behalf. If you've ever tried to ring a government department, you'll know it can be an exasperating, confusing experience.  Working with a Registered Migration Agent means you don't have to make lengthy phone calls. They can also ensure your application meets policy and has the best chance of a successful outcome.
• We can create an immigration plan with you. Registered Migration Agents are like satnavs, there to guide you successfully through the complex twists and turns of Australia's visa system. Registered Migration Agents can work with you, understanding what your goals are, and what your timeline expectations are. We can then put a plan in place to help you achieve those.
• We can offer a different perspective on your immigration options. Registered Migration Agents are nice people, who can offer you sound, honest feedback on what your options are and advice on the process. You may even get information that you hadn't considered that puts a new spin on the direction you thought you wanted to take. Whatever happens, you'll come away feeling wiser and more knowledgeable.
• We love paperwork. Let's face it, piles of paperwork is no one's idea of a good time – so let someone else who knows what they're doing deal with it for you. 

Suggestions to anyone attempting to lodge an Australian visa application are as follows

1/ The DIBP website is a simplified and paraphrased version of reality. It's content misses important and integral information and does not include the actual law.

2/ The DIBP is not able to provide immigration advice, and case officers within the DIBP are the last people I would ask for expert Australian immigration law advice.  After all, case officers have to use a 'policy' manual which interprets the law for them, dumbing it down so that they can understand what the law is trying to say.  DIBP will say that the policy is there so that officers can take a consistent position where the law is 'unclear'.  In short, the other way of looking at this is that DIBP officers are not skilled enough to read the legislation and interpret it using their own brains based on the case in front of them.    This is why a RMA is important.  We use the legislation and we force the DIBP officers to use it.  We don't put up with 'policy speak'.  If case officers can't cope then we simply ask that the matter be elevated to their manager until we finally get to someone who knows how to read the law.  Sometimes even the Managers can't do this and this is when cases need to be reviewed outside the DIBP.

3/ Listen to your RMA.  They are on your side.  The DIBP is not there to help visa applicants get an approval.  The DIBP is not your friend.  The DIBP can be 'friendly' in their manner but they don't have an interest in the outcome.  They are so neutral towards visa applicants that their apathy and lack of competence can lead to catastrophic results for visa applicants with no consequences for the case officer.

4/ Unregistered Migration Agents (people masquerading as RMAs) aren't trained or qualified but pretend to have contacts in the DIBP.  Imagine how shocking that advice would be.  The blind leading the blind.   Always speak to a RMA and always ask them for their Migration Agent Registration Number.  Always look them up on the Migration Agents Registration Authority website.

5/ If your DIBP case officer starts behaving in a contrary manner whilst assessing your visa application and you are self-represented then contact a RMA asap.  You might have a malicious case officer, a bully or someone who is just plain incompetent.  As a visa applicant you don't need any of those features in a case officer. 

I have spoken to an Accredited Specialist Immigration Lawyer with over 25 years experience in this field. 

He said:

"If DIBP was half-way competent and was capable of making a reasonable decision then I would have gone out of business 25 years ago.  The fact is I have made my career off the back of DIBP inconsistency, intransigence and incompetence'.