When migrating to Australia, one of the crucial considerations would be to choose a right professional to look after your visa applications. This consideration would be more serious when you hear a struggle that a family has had to go through with a negligent migration agent for their partner visa application. This family is now in crisis facing a lengthy separation.
This family was being forced to leave Australia, with his wife and children stranded in Australia after their immigration agent failed to properly submit a partner visa application.
The couple had engaged a migration agent to apply for a partner visa. After having paid a professional fee to this migration agent, the couple had not received any correspondence from the agent regarding their partner visa process, refusal and any advice for further actions for their partner visa applicant.
However, they came to realise that there was an issue that remained addressed in their partner visa application when the husband’s Medicare was cancelled without notice.
Based on information that has been made available for public, the agent’s negligence had appeared to eventuate when the agent failed to
- Inform the couple about the required documents for their partner visa application.
- Advise the series of correspondence by the Department of Home Affairs regarding their application for at least six (6) months, and take any relevant actions.
- Notify the couple of the visa refusal, its consequences and cations that could have been taken.
As a result of this negligent agent, the couple is now facing the crisis. This is particularly more irresponsible as the primary applicant was deaf having serious hearing impediment. They are now left at mercy of the Department to take an extraordinary action.
This event illustrates strong reasons why you should (and must) engage immigration lawyers over migration agents. We have summarized the key reasons:
- Legal expertise: Lawyers are specialised and qualified in Australian law, including migration law. As a result of intensive and extensive training, they would have the deeper understanding of immigration law, leading to provide more accurate advice.
- Scrutiny: There is no working body that regulates conducts of migration agents, and thus their professional conducts, irrespective of how negligent, are usually not scrutinised. In contrast, lawyers are subject to the Law Commissioner of their respective State in which they practice law.
- Scope of Representation: Lawyers can represent clients at all levels, including courts, whereas migration agents cannot appear at courts. This means in the event of your matter experiencing difficulties, their scope of services would inevitably be limited due to their inability.
We understand that you are looking for the best immigration law firm considering your successful immigration to Australia. Here is another blog “how to choose the best immigration law firm” by Visa Plan Migration Lawyers.
Visa Plan is a firm of Australian migration lawyers who place their utmost focus on client satisfaction and providing top quality service. Visa Plan was founded with a mission to set a new standard for integrity and quality of service in the Australian migration industry. By focusing on the client experience, our team of dedicated, skilled and empathetic lawyers pride ourselves on treating each matter with the care and dedication they deserve. A law firm lives and dies by its reputation, as so do we.
You may check the credentials of our lawyers on this page.