Are you getting the best value from your Registered Migration Agent?

When you retain a registered migration agent, you are making an investment in their skills, training, expertise and compliance with the Migration Agents’ Code of Conduct. You expect that the return on your investment will be the grant of a visa, in the smoothest, fastest and least stressful way possible.

So how do you get the best value from your investment in a Registered Migration Agent?

Firstly, make sure you are aware of their fee structure and service standards before you sign a Client Agreement.

Some agents will quote you an overall fee, others charge by the hour.  Some agents charge for telephone calls, emails and disbursements, some don’t.  If you don’t want to pay for each phone call, letter or email your agent sends, look for one that will charge you an overall fee.

If you’re concerned that the fee is too high, you can compare it with MARA’s advice about fees that were charged during the 2008 calendar year.  Although some of the information MARA used to make that list is almost two years old now and quite outdated, it’s still a useful guide as to the overall reasonableness of your agent’s proposed fees. 

You should also ask your proposed registered migration agent about their service standards, for example how soon they respond to emails and telephone calls; and in a multi-agent firm, who will actually be handling your case – will it be an experienced agent, or a new graduate, for example?

The next step is to compare the activities your agent undertakes for clients against your expectations, to avoid misunderstanding and disappointments in future.

You can expect an agent to undertake at least the following activities:

• Assessing your particular circumstances and identifying the visa or visas that best suit you
• Discussing your visa options with you in detail
• Advising on the Department of Immigration’s eligibility requirements
• Identifying the documents you will need to submit to ensure your application is valid
• Ensuring that the documents you provide are in the correct format and, where required, certified correctly to ensure your application is viewed in the best possible light
• Responding to all your questions during the visa application preparation and processing stage Completing the detailed visa application form on your behalf
• Preparing a legally based submission to accompany your visa application, where applicable
• Lodging your application
• Following the progress of your application through to visa grant

In addition, some agents also assist applicants obtain skills assessments, represent clients at Tribunal hearings and prepare Ministerial submissions.

Immigrating is a lifechanging step, so you need to choose your registered migration agent very carefully.  If you decide to use a registered migration agent, keep the above tips in mind, speak to a few agents before making the final decision; and you should be well on the way to getting the best value from your investment throughout your migration application process.

Tags: Australian migration, migration agent, RMA

This entry was posted on Sunday, October 11th, 2009 at 12:16 pm and is filed under Getting value from your agent. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.