The dreaded “advice forums” for Australian visa applications

Once upon a time it would be expected that a person who gave advice of any sort had some sort of credentials, be them academic, trade or profession, or at least extensive personal experience, to back up what they were saying.

Then along came the internet! Suddenly all you needed to have a broad audience was a wifi connection and nowadays just a cheap smartphone! And if you have an opinion, you will find people who will listen to you. The more you post, the more important you seem. In many forums you get higher rankings and become a “super user” or something which implies you have a greater level of knowledge depending on how many times you post up your opinion.

In the early days of my practice, I used to frequent a few of them. I thought (foolishly) that people may value the opinions and advice of a professional. No, not at all. The various “super users” would contradict me or argue with me, or just plain ignore me. Egos mattered far more than facts. And some of the advice given was just plain wrong!

The main problem with advice forums

The main issue is that those giving advice are not Registered Migration Agents (RMA’s) like myself with the experience of over 1,000 applications managed. At most, Mr “AngelesMan” or Mr “AussieDude” will have managed a single application, ie. their own. In some cases they may be even still waiting for it or still be processing it! No tertiary qualifications. No subscription to LEGENDcom (online database run by the Department of Immigration, with full access to legislation, departmental policy manuals, etc). All guesswork……yet expounded with such confidence that only hiding behind an anonymous nickname or username can allow!

Did you know that unless these people are RMA’s, they are not legally entitled to give migration advice in Australia? That means they are breaking the law on a daily basis. This law is in place because of the danger and potential damage that can be done by nameless “experts”.

Destructive results from poor advice

The first issue is that people may follow wrong advice given, and may damage the outcome of their visa application. This could mean anything from minor mistakes that will add time to the processing, right through to false statements or information omissions that could lead to refusals or even 3 year bans if serious enough. And all no-care no-responsibility on the part of AussieDude. It’s your problem because you listened.

And note that we’ve seen this happen with both clients and non-clients.

The other destructive result that we see is when statements by the amateur forums stir somebody up because these statements contradict what they’ve been told by Down Under Visa. The most typical one we get is:

“I know three people who lodged their applications at the same time that we did, and their applications were granted already. And they never even used a migration agent!”

And all of these people called up their Case Officers once a week, and always received a warm welcome and helpful advice.

I just had one who asked me if applications managed by Registered Migration Agents took considerably longer to process than applications lodged by individuals, as similar applications to their own were only taking 4 months to process. The conclusion drawn was that dealing with us actually made things worse!

We had two partner visa applications last year take only 2.5 months each. But only those two. The last time I saw an application that quick was about 4 years prior! We’ve had a few 4 and 4 ½ month applications over the last 6 months. Yet we’ve also had them take over 12 months too. The difference is that we know enough and see enough to not announce a statistic based on a single application!

You’ve paid for expert advice. We know who you are and we have all of your files and information here. You can contact us anytime you have a question, and you can rely on a speedy and truthful answer from an experienced Registered Migration Agent bound by a Code of Conduct to only act in your best interests.