visa assistance agency

Thank you Anne. The link you gave me was very helpful. As to using a good agency, I still want to do that, because I have made such a hash of the one I did myself I have no confidence in my ability at documentation-speak. I am disappointed that the agency I employed on the last refusal didn't advise me that a Visitors Visa was almost impossible to obtain. So almost surely our net application will be ror a partner/fiance visa. Any agencies to recommend that you've used yourselves with success?

My then fiancé and I did it ourselves so, I'm afraid I cannot recommend any agency. We only rely on our research in the UKVI site, and of course, this forum. There are loads of helpful chaps and ladies here. And amazing admin too

I used marriagevisahelp.com and they were very helpful.

It's a costly business as it is, though. An agency will add another£750 to the costs. But, for me, I found it reassuring as I was totally in the dark about the whole process.

You can all them and talk to them, and then maybe decide what to do. Their number is 0208 144 2544.

Why not try doing it with the help of people here first, though. Having been through it we have an idea of what's needed, and then, if you still feel you need an agency, try later.

The biggest problem I found when first looking into the settlement visa was, wow all the information, all the going round in circles on the Government websites, all so confusing and frightening, and as we all know, if any mistakes are made with the visa then it is time wasted and certainly a lot money wasted.

In hindsight, if I was to do it all over again I would start planning way in advance, I think @Anne did this, it does start to become a lot clearer as time goes on.

I must say, if it is straight forward then do the visa yourself using the information and people within this forum.

I used an agency and so did friends of ours. They used one for the mother in laws visit to the UK aswell as their own Fiance visa. The one we used was Visalogic. They did the job for us and our friends. They are UK based which is an advantage.

Like Maharg says. Give these places a call. Talk to them and evaluate them over the phone. Thats what I did. I rang about 5 or 6 and spoke at length to them. I managed to squeeze free info out of them as they want your business.

The visa application process definitely takes a lot of research and patience. And oh, not to mention a lot of spending.

I think it is good to have options I really do, if an agency could 100% guarantee a successful application then why not, sadly we know that is not the case.

There are four things I don't like about using an agency;

1. They could have been successful for John and Graham, but that is a while ago, staff could have changed, maybe they do not provide such a good service anymore.
2. It is the applicant and the sponsor who have to do the vast majority of paper chasing, the agency just puts it together.
3. The cost, would it be true to say that you can put another £1000 on top of your visa application? if so the single entry visa for spouse or fiancé would be around £2,650
4. We agree that all the information is here in the forum for a successful application, that is beyond question, if all of us stopped posting today then someone could still login and find all the required information, even without our help.

But yes, I still say using an agency is an option.

Of course it is an option and a good option.

Here are some reasons for using a good agency:

1] Their business is in visa application. Its what they do 9 to 5 and 5 days a week.

2] Many provide their visa application services for businesses.

3] They are familiar with UK immigration law and the finer points of it and any changes.

4] Okay, so the client ( us ) has to collect the information but the agency will know and advise on what information is required.

5] Ideal when somebodys case is borderline or complicated or non standard.

6] Beneficial if we, the client, have a busy life.

7] An extra £700 but not a lot to help ensure the aqusition of the visa.


Its our choice, just like we might choose to paint and decorate our home, rather than get someone in. Or service our own car, for example.

There is a drawback with going on forum advice alone and that is that the advice can be conflicting.

If you are on a tight budget then you may want to go it alone and with the forums help. Many do. But using a good visa specialist is no bad thing.

You are misunderstanding me JA, I am by no means saying using an agency to seal the visa is a bad thing, the point I'm trying to make is that there are considerations to take into account, they cannot guarantee success whereas when you do the application yourself you are the one in control and the one responsible for getting the yay or nay. As you mentioned some have experience with business visas which is totally a different ballgame to family settlement visas, if I was to use one I would like to employ the services of a agency that deals solely in family settlement applications. Companies offer a vast array of visa services, this is what they do to stay in business.

What I really want to know is from the points you outlined above is who the hell doesn't have the time to give to their loved ones visa application, one of the most important things in your life

The ones I looked at dealt with all types of visa including business visas. Yes, I know they are different but the point there is that they, the visa agencies have a pool of expertise within their workforce all dealing with UK visas.

Companys offer a vast array of visa service. The fact that some deal with business related visas demonstrates or can demonstrate a sound product otherwise if not then businesses wouldnt use them. To state that all visa agencies are useless or unreliable is like saying that all car mechanics are dodgy which of course is daft.

Some people are busy with their work. Just because they dip their hands in their pockets to pay for an agency doesnt mean they dont love or have time for their wives.

Did you make your wedding cake? Did you or your wife make the wedding dress? Did you use a wedding planner, many do? Did you drive the wedding car? Or did you hire a chauffeur?

One of the things that peaced me off about that other crowd was that they seemed to attract a bunch of tightwads on a tight budget. I am totally sympathetic with those on lower incomes and why they might seek to save a few bob by submitting a DIY visa application but just because some choose to pay for the visa agency service shouldnt be lynch mobbed for it.

Different horse for different courses. We all have our personal choice as stated previously, the key is getting a positive result with whichever mechanism is used. When I initially thought about the visa process (without even investigating) I thought that a "professional" was required for said purpose. It was only by stumbling upon like minded people did I realise that it was do-able by the individual themselves. The rules can be overwhelming when pursuing this task that we have/will done/do. Even those going through an agency still find a forum of common people a valuable asset in their own process. Personally if I didn't think I couldn't manage the process I would have gone to seek advice from a commercial agency . It would have been a means to an end to get the loved one here, how we go about it doesn't matter, it's the result That said, I'd be pissed if an agency had done it and the process failed. I know Graham experienced that initially though I understand why he has continued in that vain after the second (successful) application.

Exactly. I did just that. I used both the agency and a forum.

One of the reasons I did go with the agency, was for me an added uncertainty factor which was the Isle of Man. As it turns out Isle of Man immigration law for a Spouse visas is the same as for the UK, but I didnt know that at the time.

Yep nothing wrong with that. I'm sure if we knew then what we know now the majority would do it themselves. Again for me, I think by the time we were ready, I had done enough reading in order to embark on it alone. I guess what takes peoples time up mostly is collecting the information for the application or at least that's what we experienced. We had doubts, one being that my wife's name was slightly incorrect on her BC, maybe UKVI would have overlooked the minor error but my wife wanted to make sure all was okay, so we had to wait about 3 months to get an update from her home city of Caloocan. NSO took an absolute age and this impacted on us applying post July 2012 rules. A pain in the bum as we all know but we wanted the visa not to fail on such a silly technicality. We are paying the price for that but hey ho we are where we want to be, that's being together.

I would certainly use an agency if they offered me the no win no fee that is frequently advertised on TV for injuries and the like, makes me wonder why they do not offer that service if they are that good and experienced, surely they must be capable of reviewing an applicants case and know whether the application will be accepted or not. The £700 is peanuts for a successful outcome, people are now paying close to that for the new NHS surcharge.

You might be onto something there Probably get more customers through their doors.

Thats exactly what they did. They reviewed my details and said that with our circumstances we had a good chance of success. No guarantee, because they cannot do that, it isnt possible. No win no fee would be a good approach.

The agency I used do offer no visa no fee.

then--logically there success rate fee would be higher--?