Small Businesses Benefit From Hiring Consultants: Understanding the Process

A migration agent can help you to gain legal entry into a country, and for when you want to apply for permanent residency or citizenship. Because they charge a fee for their services, it may be tempting to forego their use when applying for a long-term visa or citizenship, and instead go through a government's website or other office to handle this process on your own.

Before you assume that you can go without the services of a migration agent, note a few reasons why and how they can help you with the entire process:

1. Your circumstances may change during the application process

Because applications for citizenship or permanent residency can take quite a while to process, your circumstances may change in that time. You may move, get married, change jobs, and so on.

You may not realize which changes need to be brought to the attention of the government bureau in charge of your application, but a migration agent will know what notifications they need, and how to modify your application accordingly. This will ensure that your application is not held up due to these changes.

2. Migration agents will know what supporting information is needed

When you fill out certain applications for long-term residency or citizenship, it's often not enough to simply provide information. Typically you need to provide supporting documentation and paperwork to prove certain claims, and they may need copies of certain paperwork for their own records.

When filling out these forms, it can be difficult to know what paperwork will suffice especially if you are missing certain forms, or if the application uses terms and wording with which you are not familiar. A migration agent can ensure that your application has all the supporting documentation needed, to ensure the process is not held up or refused.

3. You may qualify for different types of visas

Most countries offer a large number of visas to migrants; Australia, for example, has some 140 different visa options. You may be applying for one type of visa for which you're not eligible or that will make the process much more difficult, whereas applying for a different type of visa can be more affordable and easier on you. A migration agent will be more familiar with all the various types of visas that are available to you and which will make the process faster and easier, and which might result in a better outcome overall.