Registered Migration Agent Sydney
Located in the centre of Sydney, we call on the expertise of our senior practitioners:
Mary Anne Ford
Registered Migration Agent Number: 1170178.
Marry Anne is a past statutory member of the Migration Review Tribunal and the Refugee Review Tribunal.
Since entering private practice, Mary Anne has successfully acted at a senior level for clients in a full range of migration services.
Click here for Mary Anne’s Migration Agent Australian Authority registration details.
Chris McArdle
Registered Migration Agent Number: 1069169
Chris is a senior lawyer specialising in advocacy before tribunals and appeals before the Federal Courts. He brings many years experience to our work on behalf of migration clients.
Click here for Chris’s Migration Agent Australian Authority registration details.
Reza Shariflou
Qualified Education Agent Consultant,
NAATI Accredited Persian / English Translator
Upon completion of his PhD, Reza served the University of Sydney as an academic staff member for 20 years. While he is now directing Academic Path as his private company, Reza joined our firm as a qualified Education Agent Consultant in early 2017.
Reza’s years of experience in the Australian education system provides fundamental insight to enable him to guide international students. He works closely with students and educational institutes to identify suitable courses and education providers and obtains university admissions for international students. Reza is also a NAATI Accredited Persian-English Translator and provides professional translating services.
In addition, McArdle Migration uses its full legal team on migration matters, providing clients with a cost effective and efficient service, with an outstanding record of success. Our office is in Sydney, so call today.
4 Things to Expect From Your Migration Agent in Australia
Australian migration agent has to be registered with the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority (MARA) before he or she can provide migration help to anyone looking to immigrate to Australia. These migration services include student and skilled 457 visa, refugee visa and family (partner or spouse) sponsorship visas.
Many migration agents who are registered with Office of the MARA are also legal practitioners which mean that they have current Australian legal practising certificate. In this situation, migration agent is also an immigration lawyer. Possessing university degree in law and being admitted to practice in state or federal court is normally only done once, however practising certificate is renewed annually providing that the lawyer is still meeting the requirements. These requirements include attending a certain amount of ongoing study and having a professional indemnity insurance to mention just a few.
Few main differences between migration agent and immigration lawyers is that lawyer’s services will attract slightly higher fees, however you may be getting more experienced approach. Migration lawyer will have more in-depth knowledge of the wide range of legal matters including immigration law as well as criminal, civil and employment laws. Another major difference is also in the fact that as a client, your communications will remain confidential and protected as a legal requirement.
Now, a question arises if an individual can make all visa applications without using the services of the registered migration agent or immigration lawyers. The simple answer to this question is yes. Needless to mention, that you will want to feel confident that you can file your own visa applications and other correspondence as well as making your own representations before the tribunal. If at any stage, you have reached your limit of your ability, you can always look up the registered migration agents list from the Office of the MARA website.
In case you are conducting your own visa application, you will find that the Department of Immigration and Citizenship website will have wealth of specific information that will help you in this quest. It is important to note that your family members, sponsors or nominators of visa applicants and other officials can help you with your permanent residency even if they are not registered migration agents.
If you do decide to hire a migration expert, here are 4 requirements expected from every migration agent in Australia:
- Migration agent must be registered with Office of the MARA which means that he or she has fulfilled the qualification requirements.
- Abide by the Office of the MARA Code of Conduct which requires the agent to act in a timely and professional way as well as fully disclose the fees and charges.
- Provide potential clients with a copy of the code of conduct information booklet before commencing work.
- Migration professional must be of good character.
