In our interactions with many of our valued clients, we have found that one common question remains unanswered - the difference between an immigration lawyer and an immigration agent. Here, we will provide you with an in-depth analysis of this question and reveal the important similarities and differences between the two.
Firstly, let's focus on the situation regarding legal services for migration in Australia. Australian law strictly requires that anyone providing paid migration visa services must hold a Migration Agent's Licence issued by the Australian government in order to legally practise. You can go toAustralian Migration Agents Register website Access to the licence records of each registered immigration agent and their relevant sanction information.
Therefore, whether you choose an immigration agent or an immigration lawyer, as long as they perform immigration legal services, they must hold an immigration agent's licence. In other words, an immigration attorney is actually a licensed lawyer with an immigration agent's licence.
To become a migration agent in Australia, applicants who are not practising lawyers in Australia must complete and successfully pass a course in migration law required by the Migration Agents Act. Typically, the course takes about six months to complete.
Adhering to the spirit of the British legal tradition in Australia, in order to become a qualified lawyer, you must complete at least three years (some dual degree programmes even require five years) of law school, through the systematic accumulation of legal knowledge and professional training, and at the same time through the bar college, exams, or up to one year of internships, to have a full understanding and mastery of the major areas of law in Australia, before being qualified to practise as a lawyer. Admission to practise as a solicitor. According to the Australian Migration Agents Register website, there are currently close to 5,600 registered migration agents in Australia, however, only about 1,400 of them are accredited as migration lawyers.
In addition to the differences in length of study and practice requirements, migration lawyers in Australia are subject to the multiple constraints of the Solicitors' Practice Act and Code of Ethics, as well as the Migration Agents' Code of Practice, in the course of their practice. In contrast, migration agents are only required to meet the service standards of the Migration Code of Practice. There are significant differences between migration agents and migration lawyers, both in terms of knowledge and standards of practice.
Next, we will explore the unique advantages of immigration attorneys. As immigration attorneys, they are first and foremost attorneys before they are immigration agents.
Migration law, as an important part of the Australian legal system, means that migration lawyers are not only required to provide migration legal services to their clients, but must also have a deep understanding and knowledge of other related areas of law. As legal professionals, migration lawyers are able to provide their clients with expert advice on other aspects of the law, particularly those areas of the law that are relevant to the lives of migrants such as family law, business law and property law. However, migration agents are not qualified to provide legal services other than migration law to their clients, as they have only completed the migration law component of their studies, and Australian law expressly prohibits any non-legal professional from providing legal services to their clients.
As the number of business and investment immigration applicants continues to grow and the barriers to entry for business immigration are increasing, the advantages of the industry for immigration lawyers are becoming more and more apparent. They are often able to provide professional legal advice on business establishment, co-operation and shareholding structure according to the specific needs of their clients, assisting them in constructing corporate structures, conducting due diligence and issuing legal opinions. These areas are difficult for non-legal professionals to enter, and only immigration lawyers with knowledge of business law can handle them. In addition, medium-sized law firms of general size are usually equipped with lawyers specialising in other areas in addition to immigration lawyers, in order to meet the diversified legal service needs of their clients.
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