[masawtf]

Hello everyone,

I want to apply for an onshore partnership VISA 820-801. I read a lot of information on this forum and on the partner migration booklet.

However I am not fully confident that I would be able to provide the best documents by myself, especially the ones about the details of the relationship (financial evidence, social context, nature of the household, commitment etc.).

I am considering going with a migration agency, but the fees are extremes (over 3000AUD). I could afford it but it would leave me in an uncertain position, as I am struggling to find a job in my field (I.T.) since I arrived here and my savings are slowly but surely depleting.

Would you still recommand paying the price of an agency ? Maybe I should prepare the documents myself and just pay for an hour of consult with a immigration expert instead ?

Some basic info about our relationship:
- Met in November 2015 in Melbourne as I was travelling after completing my studies. I left 2 weeks later to continue my travel. Commited in december 2015 and planned to come back. Long distance for 3 months (Dec to feb). Traveled through Europe together in March. She met my family. Moved to Australia in April. Living together since.
- Entered with a Working holiday VISA, to expire in april 2017.
- Lived 9 months together now. Registered as defacto in Victoria (waiving the 12 months requirement ?).
- No shared bank account. We pay turn by turn roughly
- No special health condition. No criminal records.

 

[CCMS]

If you can afford it and you feel uncertain about preparing and lodging the application yourself , by all means use an agent.

The application fees are indeed extreme and you don't want to waste nearly $ 7000.00 by lodging a poorly prepared application.

I don't think professional fees of $ 3000.00 are extreme. There are a lot of man-hours involved in preparing and lodging a visa application, even if the documentation has been well prepared (which it usually is not). Ongoing monitoring and communicating with DIBP until a decision has been made is also included.Compliance and operating costs for running a professional migration advice business are substantial.

Doing an initial consultation is always worthwhile. Many agents will deduct the cost of the consultation, if you end up engaging them to do the whole application for you.

 

[Rimmel]

Hello there!

Well, I think it depends on how you feel about it. Don't rush things. Slowly but surely gathering documents is really important.

I did my application by myself. It was not difficult. It took some quite time to prepare our documents like the bank account, photos, invitations, letters etc. As long as you have good and strong evidence, you should be fine.
Also, we registered our relationship as well It does waiving 12 months living conditions.
Hope this would help.

 

[masawtf]

Thank you very much for those answers, it helped a lot.

After going over the detailed list of documents with my partner, we decided to gather the documents ourselves. We will take our time and build a nice case.

Then I will pay a consultation with an agent and ask his opinion about our documents. If he is thinks it is solid we will go ahead alone. But if there is too much to review I might go with the agency of the agent.

Cheers

 

[CCMS]

Thank you very much for those answers, it helped a lot.

After going over the detailed list of documents with my partner, we decided to gather the documents ourselves. We will take our time and build a nice case.

Then I will pay a consultation with an agent and ask his opinion about our documents. If he is thinks it is solid we will go ahead alone. But if there is too much to review I might go with the agency of the agent.

Cheers

That sounds like a good plan. Best of luck!

 

[spiedze]

I didn't use an agent, but Nick is right, it involves a lot of time and preparation. I spent about two months gathering evidence and putting it all together. Luckily I wasn't working at the time.

If you have enough evidence and your situation is straight forward (no criminal convictions, divorces etc), you can do it yourself, it isn't too complicated. Just ask someone to double-check things for you so there are no mistakes.

We didn't have a joint account until we got married (2 months before applying for visa), and still don't have joint bills or lease, it's all on my husband's name. But we had a lot of other evidence, like paying for joint activities etc. If the relationship is genuine, you can gather enough evidence, even if you don't have lots of joint financial or legal things.