Before you sign anything
What does a migration agent actually cost?
You pay them directly — and this sits on top of the government visa charge, not instead of it.
A registered migration agent charges you a professional fee. That fee is entirely separate from the Department of Home Affairs visa application charge, which you pay regardless of whether you use an agent. Anyone who blurs those two numbers together is making it harder for you to judge what their advice is actually worth.
How they actually get paid
- You pay the agent directly. There is no third party subsidising the fee, which is why migration is the one category on this site where the cost is unambiguously yours.
- The government visa application charge is separate and unavoidable. For skilled visas it runs into the thousands; partner visas are substantially higher again.
- Extras — skills assessments, health checks, police certificates, NAATI translations — are paid to third parties, not the agent. Ask for these to be itemised.
The fee structures you'll be offered
Fixed fee per visa type
The most common structure. Confirm exactly which stages it covers — some quotes stop at lodgement and treat any request for further information as a new billable event.
Staged payments
Part on engagement, part on lodgement, part on grant. Reasonable, provided the stages are written down and the total is fixed.
Hourly
Rare for straightforward applications, and it makes your final cost unknowable. Ask for a cap.
Walk away if you see this
- A fee taken before anyone has assessed whether you are actually eligible. An honest agent will tell you if you have no realistic pathway — and that conversation should come first.
- Any guarantee of a visa outcome. Nobody can promise this. It is the single clearest sign you are being sold to rather than advised.
- Being quoted one number that silently bundles the agent fee and the government charge together.
- An agent who cannot give you a MARN. Registration with the Office of the MARA is a legal requirement to give immigration assistance for a fee.
Ask these before you sign
- What is your fee, and what is the government charge? Give me the two numbers separately.
- What does your fee cover — and what happens if the Department requests more information?
- Am I actually eligible? What would you tell me if the answer were no?
- What is your MARN, so I can check you on the public register?
Where these figures come from
These are category benchmarks, not quotes. Individual fees vary — always get the total in writing before you engage anyone. Reviewed July 2026.
Now compare migration agents — every one checked against a register.
Browse Migration Agents→