Thinking it is cheaper to do it on your own
Consider this: Australian visa application fees increased in some cases up to 33% just less than 2 months ago. Now even some fundamental visas like the spouse/partner visa cost almost $4000 just to lodge.
If your case was refused you would have to apply for this visa again, paying that exorbitant filing fee twice (or file an expensive appeal and hire a lawyer to try and prove your refusal was wrong).
Plus you could have airfares back to your home country, lost employment time and lost income and numerous other heavy relocation expenses.
So paying for a professional to get your application approved the first time is almost always the cheaper and smarter move.
Now, some people do their applications on their own. We know that.
Australia’s Immigration dept. (DIAC) tries to make that possible with their website.
However the website is not in any way complete or up to date. Nether it is easy to follow for everyone. Have a look for yourself www.immi.gov.au.
But even if you can work out which visa is best for you, compile all the documents required in the proper way and get the application lodged on time, you still have to deal with DIAC after you lodge the application.
That is where the real “fun” starts – if they will even talk to you. Here is an excerpt from a DIAC (Manila, Philippines) email a client of ours received this week:
We will not respond to inquiries about the status of a visa application that is currently within visa processing service standards, and encourage you to read this web link:
http://www.philippines.embassy.gov.au/mnla/Visas_and_Migration2.html
Due to the volume of correspondence received by the Immigration and Visa Office and by each case officer, it is not possible to respond to all inquiries immediately. We encourage you to read our Frequently Asked Questions found at…
In other words – leave us alone and don’t bother trying to get us to reply or answer your emails or calls because we won’t!
Assuming it is too hard just because you were refused a Visa once before
Not often true.
One client of ours is stuck back in the UK with a 3 year re-entry ban right now because her visa was refused – but that does not mean that 3 year ban might be removable with legal help or that she can never come to Australia again. Australia’s government does not forget your visa refusal or the reasons for it. It is on record for many years.
However, they certainly look at your record when you make another application and although they will not make a decision with a clean and unbiased mind, we can help them remove as much boas as possible. You can bet on that. A previous refusal never helps.
Thinking that any criminal record of yours will prevent your migration success
Many people have some sort of criminal record – many of them minor and everything from driving infringements, to crimes of youth.
The basic rule of thumb is that you must have been imprisoned for at least a year and even then there are exceptions, of course!
We can give advice in this complex area and can assist you. We have succeeded in getting falsely convicted alleged rapists, former heroin addicts, marijuana users and other assorted “criminals” into Australia.
We will need to see your complete criminal/police record of course to start with but there is hope as long as we can advise you before you give up.
Thinking you know all the Visa options and strategies that exist and how they work together best for your situation
We’ve already proved that migration is not so easy you can always do it yourself.
But perhaps worse still, some people do not even try to migrate as they mistakenly believe they are not eligible. In both cases, the unsuspecting potential migrant is making a big mistake.
Those that think it is so easy often get refused their visas and end up in our office asking how we can fix the situation.
Those that think it is too hard are often making a decision based on a shallow combination of rumours and narrow, non-strategic thinking or superficial (often internet only) research.
What they need is the opposite – an experienced person who knows the ins and outs and can bring a strategic, case-hardened mind to the job to look at all options for them. We can see angles and options, opportunities and strategic possibilities that a novice can not -much like a master jeweler can cut a rough diamond in many new ways.
That’s just the benefit to you of our quarter century of training and experience. We can find solutions to your migration problems, when you thought it was impossible! We can make the rough migration case you think you have, shine like a new polished diamond.
Assuming the Migration Department will always keep their word, treat you fairly and give you the right information
This is a false assumption.
As you may be able to tell, we do not have a lot of respect for the Immigration Dept. They impose ridiculous deadlines on visa applicants then make them wait ages for visa approvals sometimes.
During these waiting periods they make it very difficult to communicate with them and they do this on purpose, citing budgetary restraints whilst at the same time putting up their application fees.
No naive innocent person who is new to dealing with them has a good chance unless they get lucky.
Unlike many government departments worldwide, we do not see our clients as an inconvenience or an interruption to be avoided. We see our clients as the very reasons for being here in this business, our legal practice.
We are committed to serving you & have been doing so for Australian migrants since 1992.