Hiring a Migration Agent for Australia: Honest Experience

We are moving to Australia in the summer of 2026, as a family with two small kids. One of the first big questions we faced was not what to pack or where to live. It was: can we even manage the visa side on our own, or do we need help with it? We decided to hire a migration agent. This article is about why. How we came close to letting the whole move fail at this one hurdle, what the first conversation changed, what an agent actually does, and what it costs us. This is not a guide and not legal advice. It is our honest experience, written for families standing in front of the same question.

If you want to know which visa we are specifically going for and what our path looks like, see our overview of the 186 visa. This article here sits one level before that: at the decision to bring in a professional in the first place.

We almost gave up on this

Lucy and I lived in Australia for two years some time back. From that period we knew one thing fairly well: getting a visa for Australia is hard. Not form-filling hard. Really hard.

When the thought of going back became concrete again, that knowledge sat in the way. We did some reading. Googled around, looked at what visa classes even exist. And the more we read, the bigger the wall got. Different visa classes, streams, points, skill assessments, occupation lists. It became clear pretty fast: this is complex, and honestly we did not really understand it.

There was a point where we were close to letting the whole thing go. Not because we did not want to. Because the visa felt like a mountain you cannot climb. That sounds harsh when you write it down. But that is how it was. The dream was there, and in front of it stood a topic where we did not even know where to start.

Why we booked the initial consultation anyway

What shifted was not a sudden burst of motivation. It was more like stubbornness.

At the same time, the last phase with our restaurant was running its course. The farm, which we had run for years, closed at the end of 2025. It was a period in which a lot was in motion at once. A lot of stress, a lot of open ends. And at some point the thought came: before we let the dream die on a visa form, we may as well book one single conversation and see what comes out of it.

We did not arrive at Johannes Kunz through long research. We are in the German Facebook group "Auswandern nach Australien". People in there ask about migration agents constantly. And under almost every one of those posts the same name comes up: Johannes Kunz. Again and again. At some point you think: if that many people independently recommend the same person, there has to be something to it. We did not compare a long list. He was already set through the sheer weight of those recommendations.

So we booked the initial consultation. Just to see.

What the conversation changed

The most honest answer: the conversation took the fear away.

Before the call the visa was a wall. After it, it was a path with stages.

That is hard to put into numbers, but it was the most important effect. Still a lot of work, but a path you can walk. Concretely, Johannes explained a few things we had not understood from our own googling.

For one: there is not just "the one" sponsoring visa. There is the permanent visa we are aiming at, the 186, officially the Employer Nomination Scheme. And there is a more commonly used, temporary employer visa, the 482, today called "Skills in Demand". On top of that, separate from employer sponsorship, there is a points-based route through what is called an Expression of Interest. Suddenly the whole thing had a shape. At least we knew what kind of landscape we were moving through.

For another, he explained that conditions for sponsored workers in Australia have recently improved. If you end up with a bad employer, you now have considerably more time to find a new job, and you can keep working during that time. Before, that window was much tighter. For us, as a family staking a lot on this one card, that was a real relief.

And he said something that stuck: as a trained chef I realistically have a good chance of finding an employer willing to sponsor me. We would never have put that kind of confidence together on our own. That, exactly, was the value of the conversation. Not the paperwork, but somebody who knows the system saying: your case is doable, and here is what the path looks like.

What ended up on our list

One very concrete thing we took away from the initial consultation: a clear list of what needs doing. Not a vague "you need a visa", but actual steps in a sensible order. That list became our roadmap. Here it is as it stands today, with where we are right now:

For two of these steps we have written our own detailed experience reports: on the PTE English test and on the TRA Skill Assessment as a chef. Both turned out to be more involved than we had initially thought. Exactly the reason it was good to know up front that they were on the list.

What our migration agent does for us

Honestly, Johannes has not done all that much yet. That is because we are still early in the process. We had the initial consultation, and by and large, that is it for now.

One thing already stands out positively though. Since the consultation we have sent him individual questions by email here and there, and he has answered every single one of them in detail, without billing anything extra for it. That is a small thing that matters a lot. Between the bigger steps, you are not left on your own.

The actual work comes later, and it has two parts. As soon as an employer shows interest in sponsoring us, Johannes takes over the communication and negotiation with that employer. We want the direct 186, the permanent visa. Johannes explained that employers offer the direct 186 less often than the temporary variant, because a permanent visa does not bind the worker to them for as long. That is exactly when it helps to have somebody negotiating for us who knows what matters.

The second part is the actual visa application. Johannes lodges it for us. And this was one of the main reasons to hire an agent in the first place. With these applications you can make mistakes that cost you the whole thing in the end. If something important is filled in wrongly, it can lead to a refusal. When the future of the family hangs on this one visa, it is worth it to us that somebody who does this every day handles it properly.

What it costs, honestly

Now for the part most people circle around at the end: what does a migration agent cost?

We deliberately do not name the figure here. There is a reason for that. Johannes told us the cost during the initial consultation, as part of his offer. We do not think it is right to publish somebody else's prices for everyone to see. That is something you should ask him directly if you are seriously interested. That way you also get a quote that fits your own situation.

What we can say: yes, it costs money, and it is not nothing. But honestly, we had braced for more. The total came in under what we had been mentally prepared for. It is not a small amount, but it is also not an unbelievable one. It sits in a range that was fine for us.

Measured against what we get for it, it feels fair. We have a sorted path, a fixed point of contact and the security of knowing the application will not fall over on a formal error in the end. For us, that trade was a good one.

Would we do it the same way again?

For us: yes, clearly.

The initial consultation alone was worth the money, because it pulled us back from the edge where we had nearly given up on the whole move. That is hard to put on a balance sheet, but it is real.

Still, and this is important to us: an agent does not take the work off you. The English test, the skill assessment, the employer, all of that we still have to do ourselves. A migration agent does not find you a job. What he does is take the system off your shoulders, so you can focus on the parts only you can do.

Who does this make sense for? Only you can answer that. Our experience is: if the visa topic feels like a wall, if you do not have the time or the patience to dig through visa classes and occupation lists, an agent might be exactly what keeps the dream alive. If you enjoy doing the research, have time, and your case is a straightforward one, you may also get through on your own.

We cannot decide that for anybody. We can only say: for us, with two kids, a fixed departure date and a closed restaurant behind us, it was the right decision. And we are glad we booked that one conversation back then, instead of letting the wall win.

One thing the agent does not solve for us: the sponsor risk. Even with an agent, our whole path rises and falls on me finding a sponsor on the ground in the three tourist months. If that doesn't work out, we fly back. We're aware of that, financially and mentally. The agent makes the application route navigable, the sponsor part stays our deliberate bet.

Why we are taking this whole path in the first place, we told in our story from a vegetable garden to Australia.

Frequently asked questions

Do you need a registered migration agent to move to Australia?

Strictly speaking, no. If you enjoy doing the research, have enough time and patience and your case is a straightforward one, you can take the visa route on your own. Our experience, though, is this: when the visa topic feels like an impossible wall, an agent can be the help that makes the move possible in the first place.

How much does a migration agent for Australia cost?

We deliberately do not name a figure here, because we do not want to publish our agent's prices for everyone to see. The fee is best asked about directly with the agent, and that way you also get a quote that fits your own situation. For us the total came in under what we had braced for. Not a small amount, but in a range we could justify.

How did we find our migration agent?

Through the German Facebook group "Auswandern nach Australien". People in there ask all the time who they should go with, and under almost every one of those posts the same name comes up: Johannes Kunz. Those many independent recommendations were what tipped the scales for us.

What does a migration agent actually do?

In our case so far it has been the initial consultation and the ongoing, no-extra-charge handling of our follow-up questions by email. The bigger steps come later: communication and negotiation with the future sponsoring employer, and lodging the actual visa application correctly.

What is the difference between the 186 and the 482 visa?

The 186, the Employer Nomination Scheme, is a permanent, employer-sponsored visa. The 482, now called "Skills in Demand", is a more commonly used, temporary employer visa. We are aiming for the permanent 186. Binding details come from the Australian Department of Home Affairs.

Status: June 2026. We are still in the middle of the process. I fly out alone on 23 June, Lucy follows with the kids on 26 July. As soon as the visa path continues, with a sponsor and the 186 application, we will keep updating here.

Christian Schippel

Trained chef, 37, lived in Byron Bay from 2016 to 2018. Moving back to Northern Rivers in the summer of 2026 with Lucy and two kids. Writes here about visas, costs and everything that happens along the way. More about us