[colinswchan]

Hi, my partner was granted his 820 in January 2018, a year after submitting his partner visa application. The permanent visa 801 is coming up in January 2019. We had engaged in a migration agent to complete our application and are thankful that the 820 had come through. However, we were under the impression that the agent fees of $3850 was inclusive of all services associated with the 820/801 visa - ie all service costs included until the decision of the 801 is made. When I spoke to the agent back in January, I was told that there would only be a few documents that need to be submitted for the 801 and that we will be guided if necessary. However, when I contacted her again last week, I was told that the cost of uploading another set of documents for the 801 will cost another $2000. Does this sound right? I was told by the agent that DIBP is getting tougher on partner visas. Could someone please advise whether it is necessary to engage in her services for this second part and pay another $2k? Thank you

 

[ampk]

The good ones are upfront about the 801 charges before you sign up for the 820 stage.

Personally I would be happy to do my own 801 application - but I have a dangerous level of knowledge about Partner Visas and I have no idea of your understanding of such an application.

There are RMA's I know and recommend, that charge both less and more than what you have currently paid and very sure it is clearly only for the 820 application. To be honest I am not sure of the fees for the 801.

 

[colinswchan]

Thanks AMPK for the information. Yes, I am a bit annoyed that I wasn’t given the full picture of the ‘total’ fees involved but having said that the agent was very thorough with the application and the collating of documents. Although I know what docs were submitted for the 820, it would probably be better to pay the $2k to ensure that the application is in good order. Should we be engaging in her services now? Do you know if there is a dead line for submission? I read on some forums that DIBP no longer notifies the applicants when it’s time to submit the 810 docs?

 

[ampk]

The agents on this forum have said that they resumed giving notifications again in most cases.

Personally I would look at doing the 801 myself (there is plenty of help here) if it is a straight forward case.

$2K is lots of research and bottom line is you need to supply all documents regardless of using an agent or not.

 

[colinswchan]

Hi again,

Given that we will be eligible to apply for the 801 in January 2019 (2 years after the initial application), should we be starting that now or just wait for DIBP to notify us as to when we should submit? Also, is there a deadline as to when the process has to be completed by?

Thanks again.

 

[CCMS]

Hi, my partner was granted his 820 in January 2018, a year after submitting his partner visa application. The permanent visa 801 is coming up in January 2019. We had engaged in a migration agent to complete our application and are thankful that the 820 had come through. However, we were under the impression that the agent fees of $3850 was inclusive of all services associated with the 820/801 visa - ie all service costs included until the decision of the 801 is made. When I spoke to the agent back in January, I was told that there would only be a few documents that need to be submitted for the 801 and that we will be guided if necessary. However, when I contacted her again last week, I was told that the cost of uploading another set of documents for the 801 will cost another $2000. Does this sound right? I was told by the agent that DIBP is getting tougher on partner visas. Could someone please advise whether it is necessary to engage in her services for this second part and pay another $2k? Thank you

Have a good look at your cost agreement. My agreement clearly explains what is included (sc. 820 only) and that there is an additional, discounted , fee for the sc. 801 application.

I used to charge a very basic fee for the stage 2 documentation, but the stage 2 paperwork has become a lot more demanding, so I now charge 50% of the sc. 820 fee for existing clients.

You're the only one who can decide if you want to lodge it yourself or let your previous agent handle it. Just keep in mind that processing of the stage 2 can also take a long time.