Welcome to Australia Blog

Immigration Specialists vs Agents

Immigration Specialists
Immigration specialists vary in the services they offer. The best companies could be described as one-stop specialist.

There are a number of companies and agents helping immigrants to get visas and other local agents who can provide some services but few do the lot in one go.

What an immigration specialist can do is: organise a visa, assist with recruitment/linking up Australian employers with potential immigrant employees, often give CV advice, advise you on selling up your business local to you to come and then assist in setting up here.

In addition, they have local housing and investment market knowledge and offer a range of financial services once. They aim to make the complete move as smooth as possible.

Migration Agents

An immigration company offers a professional range of services and in the case of looking at immigration options, advice is as essential as services.

When looking at short and long term plans, there are steps that can be taken in the short term that help you work toward the long term goal. Immigration is a very do-able and not so daunting process once you get started and take on guidance.

It is essential to seek out an agent that is licensed and registered. There are over 100 different visa types and trying to match yourself unless you have a full text book could be difficult. The more information you provide about your situation and dreams the better the quality of realistic advice you can get.

Immigration Specialists v Agents
An immigration specialist can work with you on all steps of the immigration process, visa, jobs/sponsorship, moving, selling up a business, purchasing property, businesses etc. Immigration Agents on the other hand only assist with visa applications, once the visa is obtained their job is complete.

Immigrating with a Family

Change and open-mindedness is essential!

In the past 5 years of living in Australia my husband and I have encountered many other migrants making similar moves as ourselves: a big move with a young family on the way.

Given that the average age of an immigrant adult is 35 years, a family on the move is usual.

The settling and adjusting to this types of move can mean many changes, either permanent or temporary, to family life.

House husbands, women taking on the small family mortgage, two parents working part-time jobs… are just a few of the immigrant family starting points we’ve encountered.

Immunizations

There is quite a list of immunizations/vacinations recommended for children, here in Australia.

Immunizations are however recommended but are not compulsory.

Day care centers and schools will ask for your child’s ‘record’ to see that you are up to date.

Often older children arriving from overseas are recimmended to have extra vaccinations and can do so in the same way as younger children: at the doctors or at free immunization clinics.

Starting the Property Purchasing Process

Several months researching suburbs, home ownership options and market prices can leave you wandering what to offer to a real estate agent.

You’ve found your dream home and are frustrated to the point of just wanting to get on with it and buy.

Currently the market is flat so you can afford to take your time. However, if you’re a newbie you’re still vulnerable to get frustrated and could still end up paying more than necessary.

The two main typical problems new immigrants face are:
1. Lack of credit history here in Australia.
2. Being swamped by very slick sales people who are operating very much on behalf of the seller.

For the first problem you’ll need to talk to a mortgage broker or buyers agent (http://www.aussiemigrant.com/).

Many Australian mortgage brokers or banks still get confused about what to do with new immigrants who are working on short contracts, arrive with a lump sum of capital and still can’t necessarily put all the right ticks in all the right boxes.

Immigration specialists, can help here by doing the leg work and since specializing in helping migrants will give individual advice.

For the second problem the general rule is, if you feel pressured and are getting confused then take on help. Don’t rush in to buying because you’re being hounded by a real estate agent.

As Aussie Migrant Director of Financial Planning says “Listen to advice from local experts who know how the property market and economy work here. Sit down with a Buyers agents, such as ourselves, and draw up a short list of suitable properties and then have help with the purchase negotiation. You only want to pay the value price of the property not what the estate agents want you to pay.”