This week's candidate is Andrew McAuley, Migration Agent at Visa Makers, and assists both individuals and businesses to prepare and lodge visa applications with the Department of Immigration. Andrew recently joined the community as is available to help anyone with any visa related questions for their friends or family members.
Tell us about your business experience, and how it lead to where you are now.
Growing up in Wales I always had a connection and fascination with Australia. We had relatives living in Perth at the time that used to come back to Wales with stories of endless sunny days, white sandy beaches and (my favourite) weird creatures that could kill or at least give you a nasty shock. I was lucky enough to visit Australia as a backpacker in 1997 and decided to move permanently in 2009. I decided to contract a Migration agent back then to help me apply and it was during this process that I started to think that this would be an interesting career. I certainly got to know first hand what an emotional roller coaster applying for a visa to Australia can be.
I hold an Honours Degree in Business Management from Aston University in the UK and completed a Graduate Certificate in Migration Law from the Australian National University. I am an accredited Registered Migration Agent based in Perth.
In a nutshell, we assist both individuals and businesses to prepare and lodge visa applications with the Department of Immigration. However, we know that it is much more than just obtaining a visa. The visa gives you with a clearer vision of your future, lets you plan ahead and in many cases gives you the hope of a happy and prosperous life in Australia. I find it very rewarding to help people achieve this every day.
What ideas are you exploring at the moment, and what are you working on?
As you may be aware there have been some huge changes made to the visa and citizenship rules over the last month. The Turnbull government, if not closed the door, have certainly made it far more difficult for a wide range of people to access permanent residency in Australia. The effects of this will no doubt be felt over the next year or so in the numbers of migrants deciding to make Australia their home. As such, we are currently having to re-evaluate the visa advice we provide to clients as this has changed considerably since the changes in April 2017. At present we are also exploring the different ways we can better use technology in our business to improve our systems and processes.
Who are you looking to connect with and what areas of expertise can you offer them?
It would be great to connect to people with a technology-based background. I guess that is everyone in Flux so no problems there. I can help anyone if they ever have any visa-related questions for their friends or family members. We specialise in employer-sponsored, skilled and all family-based visas.
What do you love most about the Spacecubed community?
I am just 2 weeks into my time at Flux and so far I have been very impressed with the work setup and amazing access to a whole range of networking and mentoring activities. Last week I went to the random coffee morning, met some very interesting people and came away feeling pumped and motivated. I can’t ask more than that!!
Connect with Andrew and Visa Makers:
www.visamakers.com.au
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