Migration Support

Are you looking for migration support? 

Migrant support is about Australian visas.

A migration agent provides information and application support for:

  • visa options to enter Australia
  • how to sponsor others to Australia
  • visa pathways with your current visa

Working with a registered migration agent can help you:

  • make decisions based on correct information
  • have your interests well represented in your visa application
  • avoid unnecessary delays due to a poor quality application
Migration advice is a professional service so generally there are fees for services.

The Tasmanian Refugee Legal Service has funding for some circumstances.

A visa application may include the following costs:

  • A single fee for a consultation for migration advice.
  • A larger fee for a service agreement for a migration agent to work on your application.
  • Application costs that are set by the Australian government.
  • Costs such as tests to meet the conditions of the visa.
  • Interpreter costs for clear and precise communication.
MRC Tas does not employ a registered migration agent.

The Settlement and Community Services team helps people to effectively work with migration agents and other mainstream services.

Funded migration advice has been entrusted to Kim Heap (MARN 1575473) and Alex Long (MARN 1791984) from Dobson Mitchell Allport in the past.

You can search the register for all registered migration agents in Australia.

A guide called ‘Steps to choose a registered migration agent‘ is published by the Office of Migration Agents Registration Authority.

MRC Tasmania provides settlement services in Southern Tasmania.

Talk with the Settlement Team for help to:

  • find a migration agent
  • learn how to email to your migration agent
  • learn how to get documents translated
  • learn where to get document copies certified
  • write down information for migration agent meetings
  • make a plan to fund migration advice and interpreter services
  • learn how to call an Home Affairs with an interpreter
  • avoid mistakes that cost money and cause delays

Individual support is available for humanitarian entrants during the first five years in Australia.

Phone an interpreter (131 450) and ask for the Settlement Team on (03 6221 0999).

If you are a migrant living in Tasmania looking for settlement support please contact the Settlement and Community Services team on 6221 0999 for information.

The Migrant Network Tasmania is a way that migrants can ask and share their experiences and tips for life and career in Tasmania with other migrants.

You can look at visa options on the Home Affairs website.

For migration advice talk with a registered migration agent.

MRC Tas does not sponsor any visas or provide migration advice.

Afghanistan’s security and safety has decreased recently.

Help Page has information from the United Nations Refugee Agency UNHCR.

If loved ones have fled home but not crossed the borders of Afghanistan, they can contact UNHCR in Afghanistan.

If loved ones have fled to another country, they can contact the UNHCR in the host country.

If loved ones are already on your visa application, update your migration agent with any changes to family circumstances now.

The Australian Red Cross (ARC) is helping people who have lost contact with family in Afghanistan. Re-establishing contact may take some time but you can call the hotline on 1800 875 199 or email tracing@redcross.org.au about your loved ones. This information is on the ARC website and Facebook in Dari and Pashtun.

If you are from Afghanistan and on a bridging visa as your claim for protection in Australia had previously failed, you should contact Tasmanian Refugee Legal Service to lodge a protection visa given the change of circumstances in Afghanistan.

The Refugee Council of Australia has outlined seven steps the Australian Government can take to increase safety.

If you are a citizen, you can tell your elected representatives your concerns and ask them to take steps to increase safety:

  1. Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews
  2. Immigration Minister Alex Hawke
  3. Local Member of Parliament Find Your MP

You can also phone Prime Minister Scott Morrison on 02 6277 7700 to ask that Australia provide for extra humanitarian places like other wealthy nations such as Canada and the UK  who have offered an additional 20 000 resettlement places each.

It’s hard to be separated from loved one’s, especially when you fear for their safety. The Phoenix Centre provides free and confidential mental health services at Migrant Resource Centre Tasmania.

For more information about MRC Tas response to the crisis in Afghanistan please see the news page.

Stress increases your risk of infections, accidents, emotional decisions or mistakes.

Being separated from your loved one’s is stressful.

When you also fear for the safety of your loved one’s, it’s important to take extra good care of yourself.

  • Getting upset, angry or distressed easily? Plan so that you are not exposed to upsetting or unhelpful media.
  • Trouble sleeping? Plan for quality rather than quantity. Wind down to prepare to sleep and plan for cat-naps during the day.
  • Find people to talk with. Talking helps diffuse feelings and helps make sense of things.

The Phoenix Centre provides free and confidential mental health services.