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Immigration Daily News Student Agents double-up as unregistered visa brokers in India and ruin livesAustralian Immigration Daily News
Breaking Australian immigration news brought to you by Migration Alliance and associated bloggers. Please email help@migrationalliance.com.au
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Student Agents double-up as unregistered visa brokers in India and ruin lives
When is the DIBP going to stop accepting visa applications from unregistered visa and migration brokers? New Zealand and Canada have done it. Why can't Australia?
The homepage of the VIEC website states:
With a network of over 53 offices across Australia, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines and Sri Lanka and 43 offices in India, VIEC is one of the leading education consultants worldwide with a reputation of integrity & ethics.
No information on the offices across Australia can be found on the website.
Migration Alliance would like DIBP to stop accepting visa applications from those engaging in unregistered practice (unregistered migration and visa brokers). Migration Alliance advises the public NOT to use an unregistered migration broker to process your student visa. If you need assistance with a visa application to Australia then please use this website to find a Registered Migration Agent or go to the government website to locate a Registered Migration Agent www.mara.gov.au
If QUT have a response to this article or believe the information contained within it is incorrect then please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and / or post up your response in the comments section.
Comments
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Wednesday, 18 March 2015According to their website they represent or are "partners" with about 85 Australian institutions, including the NSW Department of Education.
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Wednesday, 18 March 2015
Maybe the new CEO of OMARA can do something to fix the problem.
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Wednesday, 18 March 2015
As a registered Migration Agent and having come from India since 2007 I can only say that this epidemic of unregistered agents acting as agents and pretending to be lawyers are only growing in numbers and getting greedy . As India grows and young people chose to go overseas to get quality education and explore opportunities abroad they are falling prey to these sharks.
These people are in every nook and corner.......not in hundreds but thousands.....
Good Point like canada why cant DIBP refuse to accept applications. And there is no way you can monitor these people as if you stop one there will be 10 more agents coming up soon so the only way is a total boycott.
We as registered agents have to follow so many guidelines and code of conduct becomes so restrictive that I regret being a registered agent. It would have been much easier to be an education agent do a $400 pier course and that is it. No cpd no registration. Why cant DIBP say that only applications submitted by RMA's will be accepted. -
Thursday, 19 March 2015
This only takes the will to make it happen. For example, the ATO only accepts tax returns lodged by applicants themselves (or through another with a valid power of attorney signed) or via registered Australian Tax Agents. There is no "magic exemption" that allows unregistered so-called "agents" outside Australia to avoid this requirement. The precedent is already set and easily available. Time for DIBP to step up the game and realise that treating the thousands of unregistered "agents" outside Australia as migration agents and allowing them to lodge applications on behalf of others is legitimising the practice. If the ATO can limit representation to registered agents, so can DIBP.
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Tuesday, 24 March 2015
We have a situation where international students spend money on courses, come here and realize that it would not lead to what's been promised and they end up leaving the course and paying for another one.
The problem is getting reliable and credible answers from registered migration agents from Australia. -
Sunday, 24 May 2015
Hi,
I am a registered migration agent registered in Australia and New Zealand. It is very sad that the Australian Federal Government is so unresponsive to such grim news of exploitation of innocent international students at the hands of such unscrupulous and unregistered agents.
I would like to add here that the universities and colleges are equally responsible as
they also engage such agents to recruit for them. And If a registered migration agent approaches these so called education institutions to offer his/her professional service to recruit international students, they tend to treat him/her with disrespect and negligence.
I felt that the scrupulous and registered agents are denied a fair go by the government and these institutions by favouring these unregistered agents and not curbing them.
I propose that the whole migration agents community raise against this unacceptable situation and fight for our rights.
I am going to write in regard to this to the Prime Minister as well as to the immigration Minister and if migration agents wish to join me, please contact me on info.kpgglobal@gmail.com. -
Saturday, 02 July 2016
Happen in Thailand too. There one based Perth WA that put a facebook post up say he processed visa from company in Thailand. He also say work in Australia min 2.5G a month. It came up on my news feed, name Steven AES Perth or Australian Education Services groups and seem to be education agent for AICT, Stanley college and TAFE. Never meet before but look bad. Can't believe school use him, I live in Thailand and use different education agent also unregistered but cheap before and never got visa and when contact no more. Try complain but because not in Aussie DIPB do nothing. Is wrong, mess people's hope and life. I study eng for work in Thailand want to learn more now refuse bad history.
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Friday, 08 July 2016
What is worse is when they are actually in Australia. There is another dodgy unregistered agent in Perth that is targeting the Thai people, came across this site the other day http://www.perthperth.com/thailand.htm. Worst looking site ever, probably made in the 80s lol. The person goes by the name of Sureeporn Sribuathet and claims to be a business consultant in Perth, she has an Australian contact number on the site as well. +61 401035844.
She lists giving migration advice to business people and families as one of her services as well as giving character references for people wanting to apply for citizenship. There is no MARA number or anything.
Time for the department to crack down on these unregistered agents and education agents!
Immigration blog
This is true, Indian students are exploited by the unregistered education agents. Many students are sent to Australia by giving false promises.