Migration | BELAW - Bottoms English Lawyers

Migration

Not every migration agent is a lawyer – our Migration Agent Registration Authority registered migration agents are experienced lawyers. This means not only can they help you with your visa application and processing, but they can also provide ongoing advice and assistance as to your requirements and obligations, particularly for temporary visa holders looking to transition to permanent resident status.

We specialise in employer-sponsored temporary and permanent visas, acting for both employees and employers. Our migration agents are also experienced in assisting with the entire spectrum of migration law from Labour Agreements to student visas, temporary and permanent partner visas, and citizenship.

In addition to visa applications, our migration lawyers often lodge MRD appeals before the AAT as well as Ministerial Intervention applications.

[link to the Migration Agents’ Code of Conduct]

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Do I really need a lawyer?

You might not believe this but, if you don’t need us – we’ll tell you. This is why we offer a fixed fee initial consultation – to discuss the problem you have, figure out if it’s a legal problem and if so, how best to help you with it. If it’s not strictly a legal problem, but could be assisted by some legal know-how, then we can provide you with that too. We try to empower our clients – we don’t just aim to help you, we aim to explain what is happening and what tools you and your lawyer can use to get you through it. Even so, sometimes legal processes can be confusing to people who aren’t used to them – separating from your partner, buying or selling a house, starting a business – and you want to get it right. Getting it right is the lawyer’s job. So if you want to get it right the first time then yes, you need a lawyer.
What is a Client Service Agreement?

People assume a Client Service Agreement is a whole lot of disclaimers or tricky clauses to protect lawyers. It’s actually the opposite – the client service agreement is there to protect you, the client. The Legal Profession Act requires all lawyers to make sure that clients are informed before they sign up to legal services – the client service agreement is really a big information pack for you. A client service agreement will make sure we’ve understood what you want us to do, (and what you don’t want us to do!). It also explains our estimate of fees, how we charge for our time, and where to go to get advice on the agreement, such as your accountant or another lawyer.
How much will it cost?

Honestly, we don’t know. Not, at least, until you sit down with us and explain what your matter is – then we will always provide you with an estimate of how much we think it might cost to help you. Every law firm charges differently so yes, you could ring around and get an estimate from a few and go with the cheapest, but this isn’t the way we do business. Instead, you should be asking “What will I get for my money?”. Our firm is value-focused – we give realistic estimates for all the work we think we would need to do to get you the best result – not the result where we can charge the most (as most people suspect lawyers do, let’s be honest), but the best result for you in your individual circumstances.