Our Services

  • Initial Consultation

    As outlined below the Initial Consultation is your gateway to professional migrations support. In this session we learn about you, your context and migration goals. We answer any questions you have and follow up with expert written advice.

  • Visa applications

    The core of our services. Following your Initial Consultation we will have identified any available visa pathways and provided a recommended set of next steps. During the Visa Application stage we will navigate you through the complexities of the process. We begin by identifying all of the requirements for your chosen visa and work hand in hand with you to ensure detailed, accurate and compelling evidence is provided to meet each one. We manage the paperwork, the application and all of the financials associated with the process. We liaise directly with the Department on your behalf, ensuring deadlines are met and questions answered.

    No-one can guarantee a visa outcome but our job is to remove as much risk as possible and place you in the strongest position to achieve your migration goals.

  • Post Application

    Frequently a visa decision is just a milestone in a longer journey.
    Perhaps an application has been unsuccessful and you want to appeal through the AAT or beyond. Or your visa might have complex compliance requirements – for example Investor or Entrepreneur visas may carry sophisticated conditions regarding ongoing investment or business activities. Or you may have been awarded a temporary visa as a step on a longer journey to Permanent Residence.
    In all of these cases we can continue to provide support, advice and guidance to reduce your risk and maximise the chances that you will achieve the outcomes you seek.

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The first step is our initial consultation.

This follows a standard format:

  • Preperation

    When you make contact we will provide a detailed guide to the process, costs and expectations. We will work with you to find a time that works - we are based in Sydney but do out of hours consults to accommodate different time-zones. Based on the information you share we prep for the Consult by reviewing relevant law and policy, ensuring you get value for your investement.

  • Discovery

    After some mandatory introductory statements your Agent will guide you through a ‘Discovery’ process. This is designed to deepen our understanding of your circumstances and objectives, sharpening and personalising the advice we will provide.

  • Initial advice

    Based on the information you have provided our Agent will give an initial assessment. This is usually a suggested visa or visa pathway and your agent will explain why they feel this is the best option or options. At this point if your Agent believes that there are no viable pathways they will advise you of this. Equally if your case is straightforward and no assistance is needed we will tell you this and advise you on how you can make an independent application.

  • Q&A

    We ensure that there is enough time to answer your questions, clarifying and addressing any concerns.

  • Written advice

    Following the Consultation we will follow up and provide a written Letter of Advice. This will address any open questions from the Consultation and provide clear advice and recommendations based on the information shared.

Did you know?

87% of Australians live within 50kms of a beach

And in an OECD survey Australians rated their life satisfaction as 7.5/10

(compared to 6.4 in the UK)

BOOK YOUR Initial CONSULTATION.

  • 45 minute consultation with an Australian Registered Migration Agent

  • Personalised advice, based on a detailed discovery of your individual circumstances and objectives

  • Initial verbal indication of potential visa pathways, where they are identified

  • Full Q&A opportunity to ensure understanding

  • Followed by a detailed written Letter of Advice outlining the recommendations and any suggested next steps

  • $200 fee. If you subsequently retain mcdonagh | migration to support your visa application this is credited against your fees, giving you a free initial consultation

To book a consultation simply email hello@mcdonaghmigrations.com.au

FAQs

Will my Agent tell me what to do to guarantee a visa?

This question has two parts.

Firstly a good Agent will ‘advise’ rather than ‘tell’. An Agent’s role is to identify the best visa option or options for you in your circumstances. They will explain these options, the advantages, risks and disadvantages in a way you understand. They will make a recommendation on the best path forward. But they will not give you an instruction or order, they shouldn’t tell you what to do. As the client that decision is yours, an Agents job is to ensure that you have all the information to make the best choice for you, in your circumstances.

The second part is the ‘guarantee’. No Agent can offer a guarantee of a particular visa outcome. Visa decisions are made by the Department on the basis of the law and the application. The law and its supporting policy change often and decisions are made by people and so have a natural degree of variation. An Agent will work with you to submit the strongest application possible and they may be very confident of an outcome. They may even offer to refund your fee or not charge if your visa is refused. But they cannot guarantee a positive visa outcome.

Do I really need a Migration Agent?

It might be strange for a Migration Agency to say this but maybe not - not all visa applications need an Agent. Some visas - Tourist visas for example - are designed to be very easy to apply for. Or your case may be very straightforward.

For many people though the process is too complex and intimidating to tackle alone. Or you may feel the financial or personal risk of a failed migration application is so high you want to maximise your chance of success. Or you may just not have the time to work through all of the details needed to submit a compliant application. In those cases - and many more - a skilled Migration Agent is a necessity. The need for an Agent, along with the pros and cons of retaining one are discussed in our Initial Consultation and we guarantee that if you do not need our services we will be transparent and make the right recommendations for you.

Are all Registered Migration Agents basically the same?

While all Registered Agents have a common set of qualifications there is a lot of variation.

Different Agents will have different specialties. At mcdonagh | migration we have particular strengths in skilled visa applications for Healthcare and Medical workers. We also support migrants from Ireland or those from the LGBTIQA+ community. We work with other applicants but those sectors are our specialities. Other Agencies may have niche skills in Regional migration, Student visas or Appeals. You should try and find an Agency that has experience in the visa you are seeking and - of course - an Agent that you can trust and build a rapport with.

Are all Agents registered?

Sadly no. By law any Agent operating in Australia must be registered with a Government Agency called MARA. They must hold certain qualifications, maintain their skills through regular training and comply with the Migration Agent Code of Conduct. All of that gives you extensive protection and ensures a level of expertise in the Agent you deal with.

Agents operating outside Australia do not have to comply with this requirement. Some will imply that they are registered, or that they work with registered Agents but if they are offshore they do not have to operate under MARA supervision.

What does a Migration Agent do?

That depends on your circumstances and what you need. Generally a Migration Agent will assess your circumstances and goals to provide expert advice on your options.

They will then work with you to lodge the strongest possible application with the Department, ensuring that all of the requirements for the visa are addressed and documentation submitted. They may also manage the financial side, paying the Visa Application Charges on your behalf. They liaise with the Department during the application, answer any clarifications and manage any supplementary document requests. And of course your Agent ensures that all timelines are met and documents lodged on time.

The value in a Migration Agent is in their expertise and guidance. Migration law is complex and constantly changing. Small errors in a submission can lead to a rejection of an otherwise strong application - your Agent prevents those errors being made and ensures you provide the best possible arguments in favour of the outcome or decision you want.

Are Migration Agents expensive?

Like any other professional service - lawyers, accountants or doctors - the fees for Migration Agents can seem high. Consultations usually cost hundreds of dollars per hour and total fees for an engagement will typically be thousands of dollars. For the majority of people this is a lot of money.

But unfortunately migration - in particular migration to Australia - is a very expensive process. When a new migrant is asked how much it cost them to move the usual answer is “More than I expected!” The cost of closing down your life in your home country, flying to Australia, transporting all of your belongings, establishing yourself in a new home and supporting yourself while waiting for your first pay check typically runs into the tens of thousands of dollars for the average family.

So Migration Agent fees might seem high but they are a relatively small part of the overall cost of migrating. And a good Agent can be the difference between being granted a visa or not, something that is very hard to put a value on. So our usual answer to this question is that Migration Agents might seem expensive, but a good one will always be good value and well worth it.