Tell us what you’re hoping for.
The visa number comes second.
Registered migration agents on Barkly Street, Footscray. In person, by phone or by video.
First consultation $165, 45 minutes, including GST.
Choose the one closest to you
Visa ending soon, or been refused?
Call us. Please don’t send a form or an email and wait for a reply. A message sitting in an inbox doesn’t stop a deadline, and a registered agent needs to look at your dates.
We answer Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, Melbourne time.Outside those hours, leave a message and we’ll call you back the next business morning.
Call (03) 5550 0391Have these beside you when you call
- The letter or email from the Department, if you’ve had one
- Your current visa grant notice, or the date your visa ends
- A pen. We’ll tell you exactly what happens next.
Don’t send these through the website. If we work together, Samira sends you a secure upload link.
Who you’ll see, and how to check us
Every adviser here is a Registered Migration Agent. You can look any of us up on the government register by name or MARN before you book.
Linh Pham
Registered Migration Agent, principal
Linh started Kestrel and sees most partner, parent and student matters herself, along with refusals. She runs first consultations in person, by phone or by video.
-
Mekdes Alemu
Registered Migration Agent
MARN 0000000 (example)Check the registerMekdes looks after employer sponsored and skilled matters, for businesses and for the people they hire. She’ll tell you early which parts of the work are for the business and which are for the worker.
አማርኛ AmharicEnglish -
Samira Khoury
Client Services Coordinator
Not a migration agentSamira books appointments, sends secure upload links and keeps your file in order. She can’t give immigration advice, but she’ll get you to someone who can, quickly.
العربية ArabicEnglish
This is an example site, so the MARNs above are placeholders. A real practice shows each agent’s own number here, linked to the register.
Languages
- Advice from our agents in
- EnglishTiếng Việtአማርኛ
- Bookings and admin also in
- العربية Arabic, with Samira
- Any other language
- A professional interpreter, arranged when you book. Tell us the language and we’ll set it up for the whole appointment.
We’re registered migration agents, not lawyers. If your matter needs a solicitor, we’ll say so and help you find one.
The first consultation
One conversation about where you are now, what you’re hoping for and the realistic ways there. You don’t need to know which visa you want.
45 minutes, one price
$165 including GST, paid when you book. Example pricing.
- Who you see
- A registered agent, Linh or Mekdes, matched to what you need.
- How
- At Barkly Street, by phone, or by video from anywhere.
- Bring
- Your passport details and any visa or Department letters. Have them with you; don’t send them before.
- You leave with
- A written summary of your options and the next steps, emailed within two business days.
- If you go ahead
- A written agreement and fixed-fee quote before any more work starts.
- Need to move it?
- Free to change up to one business day before.
Calling from overseas?
Video appointments run on Melbourne time. Pick a city to see our hours in yours.
9am to 5pm in Melbourne, Monday to Friday.Worked out from today’s clocks, daylight saving included.
From first talk to a decision
Four steps are ours. The last one isn’t, and we’ll never pretend otherwise.
Assessment
The consultation. We look at where you are, what you’re hoping for and which pathways are realistic, including when the honest answer is “not yet”.
Agreement
A written service agreement: the work, the fixed fee, the stages and what isn’t included. You get OMARA’s Consumer guide when you sign.
Preparation
We gather the evidence with you through our secure client portal, never by email or the website form, and check every document before it goes anywhere.
Lodgement
We lodge the application, send you a copy, and tell you whenever the Department is in touch.
The Department decides
The decision belongs to the Department of Home Affairs, not to us. We can’t promise an outcome or a timeframe, and no agent has a special line to the Department.
If the answer is no, we talk through whether a review is possible.
Our fee, and what’s paid to others
Two different kinds of cost. Your quote keeps them apart, so you always know which is which.
One fixed fee, in writing
For the work in your agreement, including GST, paid in stages. We quote it after your consultation, once we know the visa, how many people are applying and how much evidence there is.
No total before that. A number given without an assessment would only be a guess.
Not ours, listed separately
These are set by others and depend on your situation. Your quote names each one and who you pay.
The Department’s visa pricing estimatorQuestions people ask first
Can you help with my situation?
Most of our work is partners and parents, students and graduates, skilled workers and employers, and refusals and cancellations. If it’s outside what we do well, we’ll say so at the start and point you somewhere better.
If you’re seeking protection, you can get free and confidential advice from a specialist, government-funded refugee and immigration legal provider. We’ll give you the details for Victoria. Home Affairs explains it here.
What happens at the first appointment?
45 minutes with Linh or Mekdes, $165 including GST. We ask about where you are now, your history and what you’re hoping for, then talk through the realistic options. You get a written summary within two business days.
What will the whole thing cost?
Our fee is fixed and quoted in writing after the consultation. It depends on the visa, the number of applicants and the stages. Government charges, health checks, police certificates, skills assessments and translations are separate and listed on their own lines.
Can you guarantee my visa?
No, and be wary of anyone who says they can. The Department decides. What we can do is give you an honest read of your options, prepare a careful application and keep you told at every step.
My visa is ending, or I’ve been refused. What now?
Call us on (03) 5550 0391 in office hours rather than emailing. Some refusals can be reviewed by the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART). Whether yours can, and by when, is the first thing we check, so have your letter with you.
Can you help if I’m overseas, or in my language?
Yes. Video appointments run on Melbourne time and we confirm the time in yours too. Our agents advise in English, Vietnamese and Amharic; Samira takes bookings in Arabic as well. For any other language we book a professional interpreter.
How do I send my documents?
Through our secure client portal, once we’re working together. Samira sends you a link. Please don’t attach passports or personal papers to an email or the website form.
We never put your personal details into an AI tool without your written consent.
Who handles my matter?
One named registered agent, from the consultation to the decision. Their MARN is on your agreement, and you can check it on the OMARA register.
What if I’m unhappy with how you’ve handled it?
Tell Linh first; most things are fixed in a conversation. You can also complain to OMARA, which regulates registered migration agents. OMARA can’t order an agent to refund fees, so tell us directly if it’s about money.
Get in touch
- (03) 5550 0391Mon to Fri, 9am to 5pm Melbourne time
- Client portalExisting clients: documents and updates
Passports, certificates and relationship evidence go through the secure portal, never the website form or email. Only the agent on your matter and Samira can open them.
Nothing about you goes into an AI tool without your written consent.
- Address
- Level 1, 84 Barkly Street
Footscray VIC 3011 - Phone
- (03) 5550 0391
- Hours
- Monday9am to 5pm
- Tuesday9am to 5pm
- Wednesday9am to 5pm
- Thursday9am to 5pm
- Friday9am to 5pm
- WeekendsClosed