Hi everyone
Tldr: need advice on lawyer pricing for a sponsorship visa
I am English and my partner is English. I work as a plasterer in Perth and we have both been here two years, and my boss has agreed to sponsor me. The cost will come out of my wage. I have gone through discussions with two lawyers so far and the pricing is vastly different. Any recommendations on good lawyers and costs. Do you have a story about a similar situation I would love to know.
Thanks
That would be great, il unlock it somehow
correction: as brokenenglish posted, $18K all inclusive sounds right. So many fees!
A lot of immigration applications can be done DIY, with a little consulting, but this one maybe better not to.
DIY. you don't need a migration agent/lawyer.
Yes, it seems OP's case is genuine.
they will take massive $$$ and no guarantees of success . know ppl who have been thru it with no +ve result
Yer we have been told the same
I have had 21k and 18k quotes
What does it cover?
Is that including everything (TR and PR visa fee, sponsor fee, nomination fee, etc.) or just lawyer expertise only?
1 person or 2?
Rough estimate for 1 candidate (payable to government):
1. TR visa
482 is $3,210
Sponsor is $420
Nomination is $330
SAF Levy small biz is $1,200
2. PR visa
186 is $4,910
SAF Levy small biz is $3,000
Total: $13,070
If your quote includes everything, the $18k is reasonable. I liaised for several people in my old company in 2014. $5k per person for the lawyer fee only. It was considered very costly at the time because they “guaranteed success” as long as all the documents they asked for were provided. We never had any rejections.
They made it very easy for us: gave them usual documents that a regular company would have > they would organise them and mock up new documents for submission > we just needed to sign and pay > waiting game > voila. 2 years later, repeat for 186.
I don’t recommend you or your employer to DIY unless you still want to keep your hair 😂
Get quotes from registered migration agents or immigration lawyers who do 482 and 186 on a daily basis. Doesn’t have to be in Perth. Same laws apply across all states. We did everything by email, never met them.
Again, like the guy below said, your employer cannot pass this cost to you, it’s illegal.
No, he can apply for 494. If the case is genuine, DIY is possible.
I didn’t know Perth is regional 🤯
Thank you for this, any lawyer recommendations?
DMed you.
My employer paid around $2500 for my 457 visa but this was back in 2007 so not much help to you.
Good luck OP. What should be an exciting experience can become very stressful.
What types of lawyers do you anticipating requiring?
Its illegal for you to pay the Employer to sponsor you. The entire cost has to be borne by the Employer themselves. If found that this was the case your visa could get cancelled. Don't do it.
This is tricky.
In Australia, it is strictly illegal for an employer to pass on the costs of sponsorship and nomination to the employee.
Under the Migration Act 1958, an employer cannot deduct these from your pay or ask you to pay them back. If they do, they face massive fines (up to $80,000+), and your visa could even be at risk.
Those quotes are very high. I can pass on some generic info by PM, but you seem to have it disabled.