When you need a migration agent, and how to choose one

Plenty of straightforward applications are lodged successfully without professional help. Plenty of complicated ones are lost because someone tried.

You probably do not need an agent if

• Your case is simple, your documents are complete and your occupation is clearly listed.
• You are converting a 491 to a 191 with clean compliance and clean tax records.
• You have time to read the official guidance carefully and follow it exactly.

You probably do need one if

• You have a visa refusal, cancellation or compliance issue in your history.
• You have health or character complications.
• Your relationship evidence is thin, or your partner application is unusual.
• Your occupation assessment is borderline, or your qualifications do not map cleanly.
• You are weighing several routes and the wrong choice costs years.

How to check anyone before you pay them

In Australia, immigration assistance must be given by a registered migration agent or an Australian legal practitioner. Registered agents hold a MARN (Migration Agents Registration Number) and appear on the public register maintained by the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority. Check the number on the register yourself. Do not accept a screenshot.

Warning signs

• Any guarantee of a visa outcome. Nobody can guarantee a grant.
• Pressure to pay large sums up front with no written agreement.
• Advice to misstate anything at all, however small.
• No MARN, or a MARN that does not check out on the register.
• Fees quoted without a clear breakdown of what is professional fee and what is government charge.