How to Choose a Registered Migration Agent: A Checklist That Protects You

Start with the register, not the reviews

Check the migration agent's name and registration number (MARN) on the Register of Migration Agents at mara.gov.au before you pay or sign anything. Only registered agents, Australian legal practitioners and a few exempt people may lawfully give immigration assistance. Walk away from guarantees, missing written agreements and anyone who will not return your documents.

If you are looking for the service itself rather than the checklist, our migration agent Brisbane page sets out who we are, what we are registered to do, and how to verify it independently.

Anyone choosing a migration agent is really asking a different question: how do I avoid a bad one? The answer starts in a place most people never look — the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority (OMARA) register at mara.gov.au.

Under section 280 of the Migration Act 1958, a person who is not a registered migration agent must not give immigration assistance. That means preparing a visa application, or advising someone about it, using knowledge of migration procedure. The exceptions include Australian legal practitioners acting in connection with legal practice, close family members, and an employer or sponsor assisting the person they nominate or sponsor. Separately, section 281 makes it an offence for an unregistered person (other than an Australian legal practitioner) to ask for or receive a fee for immigration assistance. Every registered agent has a Migration Agent Registration Number (MARN) you can check in seconds. If a person offering visa help will not give you a MARN, or the MARN is not on the register, stop there.

The five-minute verification

1. Ask for the agent's full name and MARN
2. Search the Register of Migration Agents at mara.gov.au. By law it lists the agent's name, business address, contact number, the date they were most recently registered, and any suspension or caution currently in effect. An agent whose registration has been cancelled should no longer be listed as registered
3. Check the name on the register matches the person you are actually dealing with — not just a name on the website
4. If they claim to be a lawyer instead, verify a current practising certificate with the state law society
5. Keep a copy of what you checked and when

Warning signs the register cannot show you

• "Guaranteed approval" or "100% success rate." No registered agent or lawyer can guarantee an outcome — the decision belongs to the Department of Home Affairs. A guarantee is not confidence; it is a compliance breach or a lie, and either should end the conversation
• "We know people at the Department." There is no inside track. Claiming one is a mark of an operator, not an agent. A registered agent must not claim they can procure a particular decision, or that registration gives them a special relationship with a government official (Code, section 26)
• No written agreement. The Code of Conduct requires a written agreement covering services and fees before work begins. An agent who starts work on a handshake is already breaching the code
• Pressure to sign today. Visa criteria do not expire overnight; discounts that vanish by Friday are a sales tactic, not migration advice
• Vague fees. Fees and expected costs must be set out in the written agreement. If you cannot tell what you are paying for, ask elsewhere
• Someone else lodges "as you." Being told to say the application was self-lodged, while an unregistered person prepares it offshore, removes the protection the register gives you
• Holding your documents. On a written request from you, or from your new agent, an agent must return your documents within 14 days, and cannot hold them back until you pay (claim a "lien") unless they are a restricted legal practitioner who is eligible to be registered. Documents you gave the agent or paid for are taken to be yours (Code of Conduct, section 54). Agents must also keep your documents securely (section 53)
• Being asked to say something untrue. A registered agent must not make a false or misleading statement (Code, section 15) and must not give a government official a document they know is false or misleading unless they disclose that (section 20). An agent who suggests you leave something out, alter a document, or say an application was self-lodged may be breaching the Code (for example sections 15, 17 and 18), and the consequences for your application can be serious

What a proper agreement contains

• It is in writing and signed by you and by the agent or another agent in the business (Code, section 42)
• It names you and the agent, with the agent's MARN, and sets out the work to be done
• It states that you were given the consumer guide, which the agent must give you before giving immigration assistance (section 38)
• It explains what happens to your file on termination or completion
• It states fees as an hourly rate with an estimate of time, or as a fixed total, and they must be fair and reasonable (section 46)
• It lists likely disbursements (out-of-pocket costs the agent pays for you) with an amount or reasonable estimate (section 47)
• It has a fair and reasonable refund policy (section 52)

The exception is an initial consultation: an agent may give advice then without a service agreement, must give you their MARN, and any fee must be reasonable (section 43). The agent must not take fees or disbursements before a service agreement is in force, other than an initial consultation fee (section 51).

What a good agent actually does

A registered agent cannot change the criteria you must meet — and will say so plainly. What they control is preparation:

• Confirming you are applying for the right subclass before money is spent on the wrong one
• Testing the weak points of your case against the legislation before lodgement, when problems can still be fixed
• Evidence that addresses what the Regulations actually require, not what a template says
• Responding properly when the Department raises concerns — a section 56 request for information or a section 57 natural-justice letter is where prepared cases and improvised ones part ways
• Telling you when a pathway is not viable — before you pay a non-refundable application charge to find out

That last one is the real test of quality. An honest "no, and here is why" costs an agent a fee today and is worth more than any promise.

Questions worth asking in a first consultation

1. What is your MARN, and how long have you been registered?
2. Which visa subclass do you recommend for me, and why not the alternatives?
3. What are the weak points of my case?
4. What are the government charges, and what are your professional fees, in writing?
5. What happens if the Department refuses the application — what are my review options and deadlines?
6. Who will actually work on my file?

An agent comfortable with question 3 is an agent worth considering. An agent who answers question 2 with only good news is selling, not advising.

Agent or immigration lawyer?

Australian legal practitioners may lawfully give immigration assistance in connection with legal practice, as registered agents may. The comparison has its own guide: migration agent vs immigration lawyer.

Brisbane, or anywhere

Migration law is Commonwealth law — the national visa criteria are the same in every city, although state nomination and regional rules differ, and consultations work as well by video as across a desk. A Brisbane-based agent adds local value mainly on Queensland state nomination, where knowing the state's occupation lists and how its programs actually run matters. If your pathway involves a subclass 190 or 491 through Queensland, local familiarity earns its place. For a partner visa, the agent's postcode is close to irrelevant — pick on quality, not proximity.

If something goes wrong

Start by raising the problem with your agent in writing; many issues are fixed once the agent knows. If that does not work, OMARA, the regulator, accepts complaints through the "Complain about agents" option on its website. OMARA can act only if the agent has done something wrong, for example not doing what they agreed in your contract or breaching the Code of Conduct. Making a complaint does not affect a visa application you have lodged. The Authority can cancel or suspend an agent's registration, or caution them, if it is satisfied they have not complied with the Code (Migration Act, section 303). If you think someone giving immigration assistance is not registered, report it to the Department using a Border Watch form.

About Migration Vision

Migration Vision is the practice of Dr Asad Muhammad Khan, OMARA-registered migration agent, MARN 2619525 — check it on the register at mara.gov.au; that is what it is for. We work with clients across Australia and overseas, with a Brisbane office. Our consultation fees are listed on the booking page. What we offer is the model this page describes: written agreements, fees and expected costs set out clearly, and an honest assessment before you commit — including "this pathway is not viable," when that is the truth.

Frequently asked questions

How do I check if a migration agent is registered?

Search their name or MARN on the OMARA register at mara.gov.au. It shows whether they are registered and any current suspension or caution. An agent who will not give you a MARN is the clearest warning sign there is.

Is it illegal to use an unregistered migration agent?

The law targets the person giving the help, not you. Under section 280 of the Migration Act, someone who is not a registered migration agent must not give immigration assistance, unless an exception applies (for example an Australian legal practitioner acting in connection with legal practice, or a close family member). Section 281 separately makes it an offence for an unregistered person (other than an Australian legal practitioner) to ask for or receive a fee for it. The offence is theirs, but bad advice lands on your application, and a penalty against someone overseas does not get a refused visa back.

Can any agent guarantee my visa will be approved?

No. The decision rests with the Department of Home Affairs. What an agent controls is whether the application is the right subclass, properly evidenced and professionally argued — never the outcome.

How much does a migration agent cost?

Professional fees vary by visa type and complexity and are separate from the Department's application charges. The Code of Conduct requires fees and expected costs to be set out in a written service agreement before work begins (an initial consultation is the exception) — treat the written agreement as non-negotiable.

Do I need an agent at all?

Not always, and an honest agent will tell you so. A straightforward case with clear evidence can be self-lodged. Where agents earn their fee is subclass selection, complex histories — refusals, health, character, the section 48 bar — and responding to Department concerns properly. Our guide to whether you need a migration agent sets out the cases on each side.

Reviewed by Dr Asad Muhammad Khan, Registered Migration Agent, MARN 2619525. Last reviewed 31 October 2026. Migration Act 1958, sections 48, 56, 57, 276, 280, 281, 287 and 303 (Compilation No. 172, in force 8 October 2026, C2026C00461) and the Migration (Migration Agents Code of Conduct) Regulations 2021, sections 15, 20, 26, 38, 42, 43, 46, 47, 51, 52, 53 and 54 (Compilation No. 2, 1 April 2026, F2026C00275) verified against the legislation library copies of those compilations. Complaint steps read from the OMARA portal. Figures current as at 31 October 2026; confirm with the Department of Home Affairs before lodgement. This page is general information, not migration advice for your circumstances, and the law may change.