IELTS and choosing NTRUST Singapore as my migration agent for Australia visa

Books.. Practice.. Score!

Many of my friends and relatives were asking me how my family applied for permanent visa in Australia. My answer was always, "I used an agent". Then they will ask me which agent. I tell them I used NTRUST, a local company in Singapore.

Since I haven't tried other agencies, I cannot compare them with others but I was very satisfied with their service. Of course, hiring an agent does not mean I would do nothing and just wait for our visa to be approved. I needed to prepare for the IELTS, an English exam that would add points to my eligibility.

At first, I thought I needed to enroll on some English course specializing in IELTS for me to get a better chance of obtaining a high score. But because of my busy work schedule, I decided not to. I purchased some books, if I my memory serves me right they are from the publisher Cambridge and just study on my own. Despite going home late at night, I dedicated one hour of practice before I go to bed. I even asked my wife to help me practice. She wrote some questions that are most likely to be asked in the speaking exam such as "Tell me something about yourself", "What do you usually do during your free time?", "Who do you look up to?" and a lot more. I even recorded my own voice while practicing and listen to it to know which parts I can improve!

Let me tell you, it was not fun practicing but because I really wanted to give my kids a better future, I just did what I needed to do - practice English. I took the test and after 2 weeks of waiting for the result, I obtained the score I needed. I got at least 7 on each band (not bad!) that made me eligible for skilled migration. I have a friend (whom I guess speaks English better than me) who took the IELTS twice before getting his target score on each band. He said he did not practice for his first exam because he was too confident that is why he failed. On the second one, he practiced and even got a minimum of 8 on each band.

So there, PRACTICE is the key to IELTS.

Back to my agent, after submitting my scores, the process went smooth. I was updated with the progress of my application. I gave them all the necessary documentation they needed for the application. We thought it would take about 1 to 2 years to get approved but surprisingly, our visa was approved in 7 months only!

You are not required to use an agent but if you are not confident in handling your application, just use one. Using an agent would cost you more than applying on your own but it would be totally worth it once you get the visa!