7 Questions to Ask Before Hiring an Immigration Consultant in Brisbane

Hiring a migration agent is not like buying a product you can return. A bad decision, a missed deadline, or a poorly drafted submission can set your visa back by years — or close the door entirely. Before you hand anyone your documents and your trust, there are seven questions every applicant should ask. At Education Embassy, we are a MARA-registered immigration agent in Brisbane with offices in Brisbane, Gold Coast, and Darwin. Our team handles everything from skilled migration and partner visas to business visas in Australia, complex health waiver Australia cases, the Section 48 bar Australia provisions, and enquiries from people as far north as those seeking migration agents in Cairns. This guide will help you separate the agents who know what they are doing from those who just sound like they do.

Question 1: Are They a Registered Migration Agent or Lawyer?

This is non-negotiable. In Australia, providing immigration assistance for a fee without being a registered migration agent (MARN holder) or a practising lawyer is illegal. It is also surprisingly common.

Check any agent's MARN number on the OMARA register at mara.gov.au before you sign anything. A valid MARN means they have passed the Graduate Diploma in Migration Law, hold professional indemnity insurance, and are bound by the Code of Conduct.

Education Embassy has five MARA-registered agents and one practising immigration lawyer admitted in both Queensland and Victoria. Every MARN on our team is publicly listed and searchable.

Question 2: Do They Have Experience With Your Specific Visa Type?

Skilled Migration Is Not the Same as Partner Visa Work

Skilled migration involves points tests, skills assessments, Expression of Interest strategies, and state nomination — a very different skill set from partner visa work, which involves relationship evidence, statutory declarations, and Schedule 3 waiver considerations.

Ask your agent directly: how many of this exact visa type have you lodged in the last 12 months? A general practitioner with thin experience across everything is a different proposition from a specialist who has lodged 40 partner visa applications this year alone.

At Education Embassy, our agents specialise. Neha Sharma focuses on partner and family visas. Brian Park handles employer-sponsored cases. Sourabh Aggarwal takes the complex legal and ART work.

Question 3: Can They Handle It If Something Goes Wrong?

Section 48 Bar Australia: When Your Options Narrow Fast

The Section 48 bar Australia applies when you are onshore and your visa has been refused or cancelled after your last entry to Australia. Once it applies, most visas cannot be applied for from within the country. The exceptions are limited — certain partner visas, protection visas, and a small number of other subclasses.

Not every migration agent understands the Section 48 provisions well enough to give you accurate advice on what your options actually are. Before you engage anyone, ask whether they have handled Section 48 bar Australia matters and what the outcome was.

Education Embassy handles these cases regularly. We assess the bar's application, identify the exempt visa categories that apply to your circumstances, and build the strategy from there.

Question 4: How Do They Handle Health and Character Issues?

Health Waiver Australia: What Agents Need to Know

A medical condition in your history does not automatically end a visa application, but it does require careful management. The health waiver Australia provisions — specifically PIC 4005 and PIC 4007 — allow the Department to approve a visa even where the standard health threshold is not met, provided the applicant puts forward a compelling written case.

Many agents are not across this. They see a health flag and either do not flag the waiver option or produce a generic submission that does not address the specific criteria. A properly drafted health waiver Australia submission takes time, medical evidence, and a clear understanding of how the Department weighs the relevant factors.

Our team has handled health waivers across skilled, partner, employer-sponsored, and family visa contexts.

Question 5: Do They Know the Visa You Actually Need?

Partner Visa: One Name, Many Pathways

The partner visa is not a single product. It is a family of visa subclasses depending on where you are, who your partner is, and what your relationship looks like on paper. Subclass 820/801 is for people already in Australia. Subclass 309/100 is for those offshore. Subclass 300 covers prospective marriages.

Each stream has different evidence requirements, different processing timelines, and in some cases, different waiver considerations. Your agent should be talking to you about which subclass fits your situation — not just quoting you a flat fee and moving on.

Business Visa Australia: Innovation, Investor, and Beyond

The business visa Australia pathway (Subclass 188 and 888) is one of the most misunderstood streams in the skilled program. It is not just for business owners. It covers investors, entrepreneurs, and high-net-worth individuals across multiple streams with very different net asset, business turnover, and innovation criteria.

If you have been told a business visa Australia is not available to you without a full review of your financial profile and business history, that advice is premature.

Question 6: Can They Service You Remotely or Regionally?

Migration Agents Cairns and Regional Queensland

Not every client is in a capital city. If you are based further north and looking for migration agents in Cairns or regional Queensland, you do not need to compromise on quality by using whoever happens to be local.

Education Embassy operates remotely as standard practice. All consultations, document reviews, and application lodgements can be handled online. We work with clients across Australia and offshore, and regional Queensland is well within our regular caseload.

Question 7: Do They Give You a Clear Fee in Writing?

Migration agents are required under the Code of Conduct to provide a written agreement before commencing work. That agreement must include the services to be provided and the fees charged. If an agent is vague about costs or asks you to pay before providing a written agreement, that is a red flag.

Education Embassy charges fixed fees, quoted before you commit. No hidden charges, no ambiguity, no surprises after your application is already lodged.

Book a Consultation With Education Em

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If you have been asking yourself any of these seven questions, the next step is a consultation. Our Brisbane office is at 07 3162 9257. We also serve the Gold Coast, Darwin, and clients across Australia remotely.