Difference between DIY and Migration Agents

RoseG · July 2014

Hi,

This is my first time to join this site. Many here say na kayang kaya naman mg DIY basta makumpleto ang mga documents which really encourages me to do it ourselves. May difference po ba sa timeframe kapag DIY? I mean kung diligently nyo napasa unh documents and na-lodge kgad, in less than one year makukuha na din po ung visa? Software Engineee/Computer Programmer is Mistee dto sa Dubai for 8 yrs and we are planning to apply for PR visa. Mahal po kasi sa AIVES, ung trusted agent namin dto. Kung wlang difference sa pglabas ng visa, we refer to do it ourselves po. Ano po advice nyo? Salamat.

TasBurrfoot · July 2014

We did it ourselves, took us around 4 months including waiting for IELTS, collation of documents and waiting for invite and actual visa.

Saved us around the equivalent of at least Php300K...

No difference in timeframe, in fact I would say na pwede mo pa mapabilis as you do it yourself. Problem kasi sa agent, di lang ikaw ang inaasikaso nila...

All the best!!

RoseG · July 2014

@TasBurrfoot

Hi, Thank you for the information. That was really fast, 4 months? Ano visa and san kyo based?

My husband will resign from his company where he has worked for 8 yrs. We will go back to Pinas and look for work. Tpos dun sya hihingi ng COE kasi ung current company now di sila ngsusupport ng mga employees sa migration. They hinder growth.

Ok lang ba sa new company nya sa Pinas kuha ng COE? Same job title pa di sya. Different company lang.

TasBurrfoot · July 2014

@TasBurrfoot

Hi, Thank you for the information. That was really fast, 4 months? Ano visa and san kyo based?

My husband will resign from his company where he has worked for 8 yrs. We will go back to Pinas and look for work. Tpos dun sya hihingi ng COE kasi ung current company now di sila ngsusupport ng mga employees sa migration. They hinder growth.

Ok lang ba sa new company nya sa Pinas kuha ng COE? Same job title pa di sya. Different company lang.

Unfortunately your husbands needs to get a COE (or something similar) from his current company... Sayang naman ang 8 yrs experience if di ma credit. That is a good 15pts din.

RoseG · July 2014

@tasburrfoot

Ok, gets sir. Macrecredit lang ang number of work experience sa current employer lang?

Meron po syang COE from his current company addressed to US embassy (he's about to apply for tourist visa in US) and the letter was dated this June. Would be that be enough?

Maraming Maraming Salamat po sa mga sagot. Ngiging klaro po ang lahat sa amin.

TasBurrfoot · July 2014

http://pinoyau.info/discussion/101/general-skilled-immigration-visa-step-by-step-process#latest

Read from the top; things will unravel itself then...

RoseG · July 2014

@TasBurrfoot

Thank you so much, sir! Will read.

jsm_rm0826 · July 2014

@TasBurrfoot Hi! I'm relieved to hear na meron nag DIY successfully! I'm new here sa forum and was also wondering whether to apply via agency or not. Problem kasi, ang fees nila kasing mahal or if not, mas mahal pa kesa sa visa itself!

Follow-up question lang, did you lodge your application here sa Philippines?

TasBurrfoot · July 2014

@TasBurrfoot Hi! I'm relieved to hear na meron nag DIY successfully! I'm new here sa forum and was also wondering whether to apply via agency or not. Problem kasi, ang fees nila kasing mahal or if not, mas mahal pa kesa sa visa itself!

Follow-up question lang, did you lodge your application here sa Philippines?

mate, i dunno the exact statistics but i THINK, more than 50% here who got their PR successfully did the application themselves. it will save you several thousands for sure!

no i applied from singapore...

mhej · July 2014

Ako naman, para lang maiba ng pananaw, I recommend using a Migration Agent for a number of reasons:

1. Time - Working 9-6 am in Manila without consistent access to internet and a personal laptop at that time, we would never be able to find time to accomplish all the necessary documents and forms. Including the time we would have needed to research on how to start the entire process itself.

2. Security - If you get a really good and experienced agent, you will feel secured. The sense of security is in knowing that this person has done it hundreds of times before and would essentially know what you need to do to get that PR Visa. Doing it alone will always, at some point during the process, put you in a position where you second guess what you have done, wondering if what you did was correct, wondering why the CO has not yet responded when everyone else in the AU forum seems to have gotten their visas already, and wondering if a single misstep has actually cost you more money than you intended to save by doing it yourself.

3. Cost-benefit - Personally, getting the agent may have been more expensive than doing it on my own, but I can't say that I regret it. Because now, I'm here in Sydney in less than 1 year since processing my papers. I may have owed the bank and some friends and relatives roughly 500k, and that's ok. Because the time saved from getting an agent gave me the opportunity to get here sooner than expected and land a great paying job that allowed me to pay back all that 500k debt in less than 3 months of working in AU.

For me kasi, time saved is worth more than money saved. Kaya sulit na sulit ang agent sa pag process ng visa ko (and of my partner).

bookworm · July 2014

My 2 cents.

I went through 2 migration agents. The first one was for the skills assessment 2 years ago. I would say that they helped me a lot but I am still the one who processed my documents and did most of the footwork. Basically, they checked my documents and ensured that I had the necessary papers. They guided me on how to get the correct COE from my employers and helped me with the skills assessment stage.
(I only paid for the skills assessment part since it was unsure if there was a state that would sponsor my skills.

The second migration agent was for the second part, the EOI and PR visa application stage. At this point, I think it would have been better if I had done the whole thing myself as it seemed like they were holding me back.
For example, the medical certificate and police clearance. They told me not to get it until the CO asked for it. If I had done that, it would have delayed my application for another couple of months. As it is, I still did the police clearance and medical certificate plus other documents that they did not ask for and uploaded it myself. Thus, the CO no longer asked me for more, instead, gave me the grant, directly.

So there are pros and cons in getting migration agents. If you feel unsure and and you have the spare money, then I say go for it, but still listen to advice from people in this forum. If you need to borrow money to use a migration agent, then I say, skip it and process it yourself. You will need all the money you can save for your application process.

Hope this helps.

mhej · July 2014

@bookworm - You're second agent was odd. They told you to do the exact opposite of what my agent was rushing me to do. My agent told me to frontload all of my documents so that by the time the CO sees my applications, everything will be in order and approval will be granted immediately. I guess these MARA agents operate differently. I'm just not sure how they derive their strategies as both our agents seem to have polarizing approaches.

mhej · July 2014

*Your

bookworm · July 2014

Right! So each person's experience with their agent is different. Buti binasa ko tong forum! Laking tulong!

sweetchina08 · July 2014

@TasBurrfoot hi thank you for the input, being a CPA i think your profession is in demand how about in other case? would you still recommend DIY?
tahnk you

sweetchina08 · July 2014

@bookworm hello! where can i get the said Australian formats?

rareking · July 2014

Hey there --- I am processing with an agent but if I have the chance to do it again, dapat nag DIY na lang ako. Yung sa una lang kasi na parang sobrang dami mong pagaaralan bago maintindihan ang sistema at proseso.

Di naman pala sya ganun kacomplicated. May mga case na siguro na di mo masagot agad pero masasagot ng agent but I think with enough reserach, google at mga forum na tulad neto, I think you will be okay.

Agree lang ako with agency kapag wala ka ngang time dahil busy ka sa trabaho (or let your spouse do it for you) at meron naman extra pera.. at yung agent mo ay medyo magaling nga.

Pero kapag DIY, natuto ka na sa proseso, pwede ka pang magencourage ng iba, bless them with your experiences. Naging mas matalino ka pa sa batas ng AU sa migration, ang bansang patutunguhan mo. So next time na may opportunity, like, sponsor a family, alam mo na proseso and you save money.

kitakits!

cholle · July 2014

Completely agree with @rareking.

I think an agent would be most useful only if you have a really complicated case. The whole migration process is very straightforward and the steps are clearly outlined naman. Kelangan mo lang talaga magresearch, magbasa, at umintindi. Agents won't do the legwork, they won't take your IELTS, they won't do the medicals or obtain your PCCs and other documents for you. Ikaw pa rin gagawa ng lahat ng yan.

Unless they are giving you valuable advice that is very specific to your situation that no one else online has experienced and shared, they're basically very expensive messengers.

Gori · July 2014

Hi guys, I can assist you with your immigration cases. My consultancy fee depends on how much you think my service is worth. Let me know if you're interested so we can discuss.

Thanks.

rylynn · July 2014

DIY saves you money kasi doble bayaran sa agent.. We have it quoted tapos ikaw din naman gagawa CDR for Engineers Australia and only notarial yung free and they will do the posting agent gagawa.. Detailed naman explanation sa migration at if there's any question pinoyau is here.. Like sa agent talagang pwersado ka kuha ng Certificate of Employment while dito nabasa ko at mismong ginawa pwede statutory declaration..Madami matutunan if you do it on your own.. Pwede naman mag pa notaryo at magpa FEDEx so do it on your own .. And I recommend to my friends pinoyau kasi very helpful and very informative talaga .. It took us 6 months IELTS, CDR,EA approval , selected EOI... nalate lang COC sa SG dati wait pa ng case officer bago sila magissue.. Pero noong naupload namin next day approved na

Now pwede na kumuha CoC.. I have friends na nag-agent pa rin pero it ended na hingi sila inputs at mga sample documents like CDR at stat declaration..

TasBurrfoot · July 2014

@TasBurrfoot hi thank you for the input, being a CPA i think your profession is in demand how about in other case? would you still recommend DIY?
tahnk you

I only know how we did it in my wife's case... Pretty much straightforward...

RoseG · August 2014

Hi Guys,

Been out of this forum for a while. My husband and I decided to avail the service of a migration agent. It is much cheaper compared to the agent in Pinas. It is a total difference of Php 200k. Since we have a complicated case, the agent has really helped us a lot to process the accurate document though I must say, mejo complicated lagi yung pinapagawa nila to the point that my husband's employer was reluctant to issue him a detailed COE. We actually considered doing the statutory declaration but was advised that due to his former colleague's supervision of him for less than 2 years, it would not be considered.

When they gave us the checklist, they indicated that a certified thru copy Birth Certificate was required which really delayed our submission of documents. Eventually, they said that it can be delayed and not needed for ACS assessment.

Nevertheless, we are happy with their work, because if not for them, it would take us a lot of time to do research for the COE template, checklist and the like.

We passed our documents for ACS assessment last July 27 and we just received the good result from ACS today. The process took less than 2 weeks. I'm not pretty sure if it would be the same result if we did it on our own.

paupau29 · August 2014

@mhej Hi Mhej! I see that you got accredited as an ICT Business Analyst - that's the same occupation I intend to get ACS accreditation. Kasi yan yung closest sa work experience ko. Kailangan ba exact na lahat ng duties and responsibilities na nasa ANZSCO description (https://www.acs.org.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0018/7641/ANZSCO-Descriptions.pdf) nasa COE ko before ACS grants me a favorable letter? Ito kasi yung reason ko why I want to get a migration agent (Respall) and mejo mahal po. :P

Thanks!

mhej · August 2014

@paupau29 - I replied to your message. I also inquired with Respall. Pero na turn off ako sa 2000 pesos na consultation fee pa lang. It was a sign that this migration company will suck the blood out of my hard earned money. Sa agent na ginamit ko, it was a 500 peso consult. And after namin mag usap during the consultation, when I was about to pay, my agent waived it. Kasi raw feeling naman niya babalik ako at mag oonboard na with their services. Ganon siya kagaling and ka confident sa skill niya as a migration agent. And she wasn't wrong. I was back 24 hours later with a deposit check on hand to start the process. hehehe.

ava_garde06 · January 2015

In my case naman I started out with a migration agent. Ang impression ko dn dati is tulungan ka nila sa pag gather at paglakad papers mo. Review and advising lang sila which makukuha mo nga din naman from the migration sites and forums.
My application took 5years din. I lodged 2009 and got my grant 2014 lang. In between those 5years I got married and had a kid. I asked my agent if I needed to do anything about that. He said no. Tingin ko talaga pinabayaan nya case ko. Kasi Dec2013 contact nya ulit ako na kung nakuha ko din ba yun email from CO to update my medical. Sabi ko NO, diba ikaw yun naka declare sa email communication. Ayun pala Aug2013 pa yun email nayun sa kanya.

Then midway in refreshing my status last 2014, he said he can no longer support me as an agent kasi dina sya renewed license. I really felt naiwan ako sa ere. Buti na lang I found this forum.

Nanghihinayang lang ako sa nangyari na dko naiayos yun pagdeclare ko sa hubby ko as migrating dependent nun nag update ako ng records. If I had known the complications and more expenses it will incur. Hindi nya kasi inadvise ng maayos bago ako bitawan.

gracee · March 2015

Hi @mhej. Sino agent mo?

filipinacpa · March 2015

Na-try niyo na po ba makipag-areglo sa payment arrangement with your agent? Yung agent na gusto ko e may 4 installements. Medyo mabigat. So am thinking whether I should ask if it's alright kung gawin naming 6 installments..

RoseG · March 2015

@filipinacpa, san ka based? I think it depends from one company to another. Try your luck first. Probably magagawa mo yan sa mga freelancer pero yun nga lang di sila accredited. Kung propreblamahin yun lang din yung bayad, sakit lang sa ulo, DIY ka na lang. A lot of Filipinos in this forum will help you throughout your process and maraming forums about sa Oz PR application so no worries.

filipinacpa · March 2015

@RoseG hi po.. I might need to continue doing it nga as DIY kase hindi ako nireplyan ng agent about my request to make it on 6 installments..haha.. Dito lang po ako sa Pinas.. Badly need to pass my english exam na to fully motivate me to pursue pa siguro yung application.. Medyo nahopeless ako sa ielts, twice na ako nag seat at lagi nalang short ng 0.5..