Exciting cities, sunshine, and beautiful beaches make Australia a very attractive place to live, and every year thousands of prospective immigrants apply for visas to move there. For many, this ends in disappointment. The Australian visa process is complex and very strict.
While some applications are inevitably successful, there are situations when taking the chance of doing it on your own is too risky. If you are a foreigner married to an Australian, and your new life, job, and home have all been arranged already, a rejected partner visa application could cause a massive amount of disruption to your plans.
This short guide explores the benefits of working with a registered migration agent and how it could be a smarter choice in situations such as the above.
No careless mistakes
Every day, hundreds of couples apply for a partner visa Australia. In order to process every application as quickly and fairly as possible, officials rely on strict rules and rarely make compromises. Applications may even be rejected for innocent mistakes like uploading the wrong documents or using the wrong format. Your fees will not be refunded, and the rejection will remain on your file if you apply again in the future.
Migration agents, who deal with these applications all day, every day, cannot guarantee that you will get your visa, but their experience with the process at least ensures that you will not be rejected for small mistakes or misunderstandings.
Expert legal knowledge
While migration agents are not always lawyers, in order to work they must have a certificate in migration law. This is important because the forms you need to fill out to apply for your partner visa contain a lot of legal jargon, and simply guessing the meaning of words can lead to mistakes that might get your application rejected.
For example, if you are asked to provide “evidence” of your relationship, this could mean different things to different people. What you submit may not be what the officials want to see, but migration agents will know what they consider to be strong evidence.
Save time and stress
Applying for an Australian partner visa is not as simple as filling out a few forms. As we’ve mentioned, evidence may be required, and there is often a lot of back-and-forth with the officials handling the application. Ultimately, it can prove very time-consuming and stressful.
A migration agent can help save time by making sure all forms are filled out correctly the first time, thereby avoiding delays, and they can liaise with the officials on your behalf.
Summary
A rejected visa application is unpleasant at best, but it can be devastating if you already have many plans for when you reach Australia. In situations like this, enlisting the services of a migration agent is more sensible because they can make your application as strong as possible.
One thing to note about migration agents is that they also sometimes call themselves ‘immigration consultants.’ If yours uses this title, you should check that they are a registered migration agent. If they are not registered, and they are also not an exempt person such as a close family member or parliamentarian, then they cannot help with your visa application.
