i have recently appointed a registered migration agency to help me with my application for a Child Visa Offshore. I paid the first installment (by bank transfer) on the 23rd Sept and they said they confirm the payment before we start the process....however, i am STILL waiting for them to confirm my payment and it has been nearly 4 weeks!!
Surely it can't take this long to confirm my payment. I have messaged the agency twice now and they have apologized and are getting accounts to keep searching for my payment. It is very frustrating!
Has anyone else had a similar issue? Or know how long it should usually take for a migration agent to confirm your payment by bank transfer? I am getting worried!
You would expect any professional organisation to have confirmed the payment quicker if that is what they said they would do.
When you say registered, do you mean MARA registered within Australia?
And if so more details @ Using a Migration Agent Registered with the MARA - Migration Agents and you may find something there about standards to expect.
Not to alarm you but Migration Fraud may also be worth a read and you could also check Migration Institute of Australia to see if there is anything there applicable.
You should also check the transfer details with your bank to confirm it has taken place.
Your bank would be able to confirm the transfer. If you have grave misgivings about your agent you can also approach your bank to request that they reverse the transfer and recover your money.
Yeah on their website it says they have their own principle migration agents, with links to their details on the MARA website.
They did say they will confirm my payment as soon as received, but i honestly don't believe it takes 4 weeks. I don't know what to do, whether to wait it out (in which case i am losing valuable time when i could be doing it myself or using another agent) or to tell them that i don't want to continue with their services and ask for a refund.
I have also tried ringing their office in Perth but every time i ring no one answers.
The money has definately left my bank account around the time i made the payment, but i will go into the bank to double check if everything went through okay.
Ouch that doesn't sound promising! Do you know anyone in Perth that could possibly even pay their office a visit? At least to check that there is an operating business there.
They don't appear to be very well organised at all. These visa applications are stressful to say the least and it doesn't sound like using this agent is going to make it any easier or less stressful for yourself.
I was going to suggest that you might want to look at a DIY approach, especially if you could retrieve your fee but did think you would have already considered that and banks can only usually do a non payment with a credit card payment under certain circumstances as far as I know and if it was actually a transfer, account to account that may be something else.
Hi, just to update you with the good news! They have finally confirmed payment and have sent me the application forms and checklists for the visa! Looks like the ball is rolling now, yay!
Phew! Hope the rest of the application runs a bit smoother for you!
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