How to check a migration agent is real, in about ninety seconds
A MARN is seven digits and the register is public and free. Here is exactly how to look someone up, what the entry tells you, and the four things that should stop you before you pay anyone.
This is published information about how the system works. It is not immigration assistance and not legal advice, it cannot take your circumstances into account, and it may be out of date the moment a fee schedule or a regulation changes. Only a registered migration agent or an Australian legal practitioner may advise you on your own application. Describe your case and several of them will answer in writing, for free.
There is one check that removes most of the risk in this market, it is free, it takes about ninety seconds, and almost nobody does it before they hand over money.
The check#
- Ask for the person's MARN - Migration Agents Registration Number. It is seven digits, for example
0532463. Every registered agent has one and must display it on their advertising. - Go to the OMARA Register of Migration Agents. It is the government's own register and it is public.
- Search the number, or the person's name.
- Read the entry. Check it is current, that the name matches the person you are talking to, and that there is no disciplinary history you were not told about.
That is it. If the number does not return a current registration, stop.
A company cannot be a registered migration agent. Only an individual person can be. "ABC Migration Services" being on a register somewhere means nothing - ASIC registers companies, and registering a company takes twenty minutes and a few hundred dollars. Ask which individual person will be giving the assistance, and check that person.
What the register entry tells you#
A current entry gives you:
- The agent's name and MARN
- Whether the registration is current, and when it expires
- Their business address and contact details as notified to the Authority
- Any disciplinary decisions - cautions, suspensions, bars
Registration is annual. It lapses. An agent whose registration has expired is not permitted to give immigration assistance, and an agent whose registration was cancelled is emphatically not. This is why checking once at the start is not quite enough for a two-year matter, and why re-checking before each payment is a reasonable habit.
The other legitimate credential: a lawyer#
Since 22 March 2021, Australian legal practitioners with an unrestricted practising certificate no longer register with OMARA. They are regulated by their state or territory legal services commissioner instead. So a lawyer will not have a MARN, and the absence of one is not a red flag if they really are a practising lawyer.
Check a lawyer the same way, on a different register:
- NSW / Victoria: the Legal Services Board and Commissioner register and the NSW Law Society register
- Queensland: the Queensland Law Society register
- Other states: the relevant law society or legal practice board
You are looking for the same three things: current, unrestricted, and no undisclosed discipline.
There is no third category. Somebody who is neither a registered migration agent nor an Australian legal practitioner may not lawfully charge you for immigration assistance in Australia, full stop.
The four things that should stop you#
1. They will not give you a number#
An agent who dodges the question, gives you a company number instead, says "we work with a registered agent" without naming them, or sends a screenshot rather than a number you can search yourself, has told you the answer.
2. The number does not match the person#
This one is common and it is the reason to search the register yourself rather than accept a screenshot. Some operators quote a real MARN belonging to a real agent who is not involved. Under section 283 of the Migration Act it is an offence to falsely represent yourself as a registered agent.
3. The registration exists but the work is done by someone else#
An unregistered person doing the actual work while a registered agent's number sits on the letterhead is a serious problem for both of them, and for you: it means the person handling your file is not accountable to any regulator and cannot lawfully be paid for it.
Ask directly: "Who will prepare and lodge my application, and what is their registration number?"
4. They ask for money before you have signed anything#
Under section 51 of the Migration Agents Code of Conduct, an agent must not ask for or receive money from a client before a written services agreement is in place. Not a deposit, not a "consultation fee to get started", not a holding payment.
If someone asks for money before you have been given the consumer guide and signed an agreement, they are either not registered or not complying. Neither is a good sign.
What "verified" means on this site#
Every provider on VisaBid is checked against the OMARA register or their state legal register before they can quote, and their registration number is printed beside their name on every page they appear on. Registrations are re-checked, and an agent whose registration lapses cannot quote and cannot continue an existing engagement.
That said: check it yourself anyway. We are not the regulator, the register is public, and ninety seconds of your own verification is worth more than any badge on any website, including ours.
Questions people ask#
What does a MARN look like?#
Seven digits, usually written with a leading zero, such as 0532463. The first two digits are the year the agent first registered - so 05 means 2005, 21 means 2021, 96 means 1996. A "MARN" with the wrong number of digits, or letters in it, is not a MARN.
Is a migration agent overseas allowed to charge me?#
If they are giving immigration assistance in relation to an Australian visa and they are not registered with OMARA or an Australian legal practitioner, then charging you a fee is an offence under section 281 of the Migration Act - and that offence reaches offshore conduct in ways many overseas operators do not expect. Registration is not limited to people in Australia: agents in India, the Philippines, the UK and elsewhere hold MARNs. Ask for the number.
Can I check whether an agent has ever been disciplined?#
Yes. Disciplinary decisions appear on the register entry, and OMARA publishes decisions separately. An agent with a caution years ago is not necessarily a problem; an agent who did not mention it when asked directly is a different question.
What if my agent's registration expires in the middle of my application?#
Registration is renewed annually and most renewals are routine. What matters is that it is renewed. If it lapses, your agent cannot lawfully continue to give you immigration assistance, and you would need to be transferred to someone who can. Ask when their registration expires before you engage them - it is a fair question and any competent agent will answer it without blinking.
They quoted me a great price but they are not registered. Can I use them anyway?#
You would be paying someone to commit a criminal offence, and you would have no regulator to complain to, no Code of Conduct, no professional indemnity insurance behind them, and no obligation on them to hold your money properly or return your documents. The saving is not a saving. Post your case and compare registered agents instead - it is free, and the difference in price is usually far smaller than people expect.
Reading about it is the slow half
Describing your case takes about ten minutes and costs nothing. Registered agents and immigration lawyers reply with itemised written quotes — their fee and the government charge shown separately — and your name is not released to any of them until you pick one.