Migration Law

Whiteley Ironside & Shillington provides expert legal services in Migration Law.

Whiteley Ironside & Shillington can assist with the following practices areas of Migration Law:

Australian migration law is ever-changing depending on the Government’s policy at the time. Changes affect current and future migrants and those who depend on migrants to work in their businesses or support their families.

As the only migration lawyer in the Central West, we assist small businesses, large corporate clients, and individuals to help achieve the migration solutions that best suits them.

For migrants and their families, we consider current immigration status, visa history, skills, experience, and qualifications to advise on the best course of action to achieve the favoured outcome.

In the current climate with access to skilled labour becoming increasingly difficult, we have assisted many businesses secure skilled migrants through employee sponsorship on 2-4 year subclass 482 visas, 5 year subclass 494 visas and permanent residency under various streams for their resourcing needs.

Our team can assist with all migration matters, from sponsoring a partner or family member to come to or stay in Australia to dealing with complex issues, such as a waivers of visa conditions, visa refusals and cancelations. We are experienced advocates in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) and judicial review in the Federal Court.

Our experience includes: 

  • acting for employer and employees in Orange’s restaurant industry to secure skilled employment migration with a pathway to permanent residency;

  • successfully granted a second skilled migrant visa for a diesel engineer, notwithstanding the applicant was older than 45 years;

  • successfully acting for a medical professional to overturn a work restriction condition, applying for permanent residency, allowing our client to live and work in Australia;

  • acting for a 190 skilled visa applicant and their family working to work in agricultural science;

  • acting for an applicant in successful partner visa, despite a history of overstay and breach of conditions;

  • drafting submissions and obtaining a waiver of section 48 (3-year ban) compassionate and compelling circumstances;

  • acting in the successful grant of a grant of partner visa whilst waiting for the appeal on an unrelated visa application, notwithstanding partner living overseas;

  • acting in the successful grant of a partner visa for couple who were not married or de facto at the time of application based on extensive submissions and evidence of religious beliefs; 

  • obtaining permanent residency through the partner visa for a local health professional within 12 days, overcoming the section 48 bar they were subject to;

  • successfully petitioning for a grant of a partner visa despite the sponsor having a past criminal record;

  • providing compelling legal submissions in response to a character concern arising from a misunderstanding; and

  • obtaining work rights on a Bridging Visa E allowing the migrant to stay in Australia and support his Australian-born child whilst awaiting the outcome of a cancellation appeal.

Get in Touch

Contact the experts at Whiteley Ironside & Shillington Lawyers for Migration Law issues across Orange, Bathurst, Molong, Dubbo, and Central West NSW. Contact our office today on 02 6362 1866 to schedule a meeting with the one of our migration law experts.

Questions before getting started?

  • "Michael Shillington has acted for me for almost all the time that he has been a Solicitor in Orange. As my business has grown Michael has advised me in a no nonsense manner and I have always been satisfied with his service."

    Greg Haines, John Parsons Hotels

  • “I have been in Orange for about twenty years. During that time I have purchased and developed a number of vineyards and have required legal advice about all aspects of my business. I have received prompt and personal attention.”

    Justin Jarrett, Jarrett Wines

  • “Michael Shillington has been my solicitor for over 20 years. In that time he has acted for me in a range of transactions and has provided me with practical and helpful commercial legal advice. I have always found Michael to be approachable and prompt with his advice and service."

    Dino Cunial, Orchadist

  • “Vanessa and her team at WI&S have been the best immigration lawyers and solicitors I have ever come across. My immigration situation in Australia was extremely complicated having had a declined work visa and being on numerous bridging visas whilst an appeal was conducted but the team helped me along the whole journey to now being an Australian Citizen. Communication is evidently paramount to the team at WI&S and detailed explanations of every step of the process is absolutely second nature to them. Although my personal process was complicated we were successful through every stage of my status from declined work visa to stage one partner visa to permanent resident and citizen. I felt the supported every step of the way and had complete confidence that my questions during the process would be answered in a detailed and punctual manner. Looking back on the process, I would not have wanted to go through the rigorous journey without the team at WI&S - I feel so lucky to have come across the firm and could not recommend them enough to anyone wanting a reliable, professional and genuine legal firm to help with any of their legal needs. Thank you so much!”

    Serena Dyer

  • “Vanessa Vazquez has been invaluable in helping my husband Rudi and I navigate Australia's immigration system. To this day we cannot believe our luck in finding Vanessa as our solicitor. Vanessa's work enabled us to stay in Australia together throughout the residency application process. Vanessa, is incredibly passionate, honest, considerate and reliable. Her work with us spanned a timeline of a little over two years. She is thoughtful and careful with the steps taken to ensure our case was successful. We like the fact that she is hands on; staying on top of every process and updating us at every stage to reduce our anxiety. Moreover, Vanessa went above and beyond when external interference may have jeopardised our case. Throughout this stressful period, she provided us with reassurance and guidance. It is clear this attention to detail was paramount to ensuring our residency status, particularly under the current volatile conditions of a global pandemic. We are amazed that you managed to fast track Rudi's application to permanent residency. We will always be so grateful to you.”

    Rudi and Kerinne Harvey

  • “The Team at Whiteley Ironside and Shillington made my process of becoming and Australian so easy. They took care of all the hard, scary paper work side of things. The things I was scared I would get wrong and then find myself in a night mare trying to fix. It was so much easier to sit down with Vanessa just once and chat all about the process and what I needed to do. I can't thank the team enough. I will now become a citizen of Australia on Jan 26th 2024 .. and I couldn't be prouder.”

    Megan Woods

  • “Vanessa was knowledgeable, friendly and efficient in providing urgent legal advice for a family member’s travel visa. I am very grateful for her help and I would highly recommend Vanessa and her team.”

    Annabelle Wood

  • “Whiteley Ironside & Shillington Solicitors advised me and my family in our visa process, fast-tracking my application for permanent residency. Vanessa Vazquez and the team were knowledgeable and skilled. They provided clear advice quickly and were always available. Since securing permanent residency, the team have helped my family and friends with other migration and legal issues. I highly recommend Whiteley Ironside & Shillington for any legal problem.”

    Maureen Besnier

  • “Many thanks Vanessa for helping me professionally in my partner visa grant. You made my dream come true and I can live with my husband here in Australia. I couldn't expect that my visa grant process would be so quicker. I found Vanessa very kind, supportive, and professional and several other qualities made her capable to be a perfect immigration lawyer. I would highly recommend everyone who is in stress regarding visa matters.”

    Aya Rehman

  • “Vanessa is an amazing solicitor, she assisted me with my partner visa application that was not straight forward one as my situation was very complicated and previous migration agents had told me it was not possible to apply, but thanks to Vanessa and how knowledgeable she is we applied with the evidence she suggested; I got my partner visa approved, got my permanent residency after that and now will be celebrating my Citizenship ceremony in a couple of days!
 Michael and Vanessa also assisted my husband and I with the purchase of a block of land, helped review the contract and the conveyancing. We are beyond grateful with their services.”

    Ale Fearon

  • “Whiteley Ironside & Shillington are migration law experts who explain the law and requirements clearly. They respond quickly and proactively pursue the Department to grant visas as soon as possible. Even though I was overseas, I was constantly informed. They were always available on Zoom and email. Vanessa took over our matter after our 187 visa was refused. Whiteley Ironside & Shillington appealed the decision to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal -AAT and won! 
For me, Vanessa has proved to be a magician in getting me the visa for which I had been waiting for years.
Since then, the team has helped some of our relatives with other visas including student visas, graduate visas and skilled migration visas. She has helped friends in complicated situations including another visa refusal, finding another way for him and his new wife to live Australia.
We are looking forward for my brother’s, my sister and her family’s immigration process handled by Vanessa - a magician for us.” 

    Rudaba Iqbal

  • “Thank you very much for your help, guidance, and support in getting my wife's visa grant. It is nice to see these days. Thank you again for your hard work and working extra hard to ensure our success. Vanessa- A special thank you for all your technical help over the years. I know it's your job, but it's my life- and I feel you went above and beyond, and I just want to express my appreciation. You made me feel confident and took away my worries, also helped explain each stage of the process. You are very professional but easy going in day-to-day emails.
Vanessa is the best migration solicitor in Australia I believe.”

    Mudassir Rehman

  • “My husband and I used Whiteley Ironside & Shillington Migration Services for our recent application for an Australian Partner Visa. Vanessa and the team supported us through the application process and I cannot fault the service. They were extremely helpful from start to finish and made what could have been a very difficult/confusing process simple and easy! And stage 1 of the visa was approved much quicker than we anticipated. Highly recommended!”

    Bec Louise

  • “I highly recommend Whiteley Ironside & Shillington Solicitors as migration law experts. The team advised my family on how to stay in Australia after my student visa expired. Vanessa Vazquez advised us on the student graduate pathway (subclass 485), employer sponsored migration (subclass 482 and 494) and independent sponsored migration (subclass 491, 189 and 190). Their legal advice was easy to understand and comprehensive.”

    Andrea Rivera

  • “Whiteley Ironside and Shillington Solicitors are my lawyers for my personal legal affairs and complicated permanent residency application. The team is fantastic, professional, and very knowledgeable in their practice. They easily and in detail, explain any legal advice you may need or explain any specifics to your situation. The team is approachable, and is always in contact, and will check in with you regularly to make sure you are meeting your appointments in time. They have access to resources and information that I personally couldn't have gathered, and they easily explain them to me so that there is no confusion or misinformation on my end. I highly recommend approaching them for any personal legal advice or if you need help or information with your current immigration status. Thank you to Vanessa and her team!”

    Jerry Boquiren

  • “They are amazing! Vanessa has helped me so much with all my visa work! I could not have done this alone. Definitely the best! Great advice and communication throughout. I cannot recommend Vanessa enough.”

    Jazmin Finch

  • “Vanessa Vazquez and her team, including Danielle Hughes were very professional to deal with and timely in responding to any queries. They successfully managed more than one migration process for myself and the family. 
The advice I received was appropriate and resulted in successful outcomes throughout. Thanks for the hard work!”

    Umer Farooq

  • “I came to Vanessa for help with my Partner Visa application and I can’t thank her and the team enough for how prompt, helpful and insightful they all are. Turning something extremely stressful into something stress free and manageable! I would recommend this process with Vanessa to anyone needing visa assistance.”

    Abbie Legge

  • “The team have been fantastic throughout our immigration process. They have been quick to respond to our questions and supported us every step of the way. We are very grateful for their help navigating an ever changing system and ultimately attaining our permanent residency.”

    Kathryn Colbeck

  • “Many thanks to Vanessa, Danielle, Lexi and Miki for guiding us through the migration minefield, from temporary work visas right through to permanent residency. Couldn't be happier.”

    Jack Colbeck

  • “I want to thank Ms. Vanessa and Miki for helping me to get work visa in Australia. I appreciate your immediate response for my queries. I had the pleasure of receiving excellent service from the team. I would highly recommend you to visit Whiteley Ironside & Shillington for immigration services. Thanks.”

    Aneesh Roy

  • “Vanessa Vazquez offers compassionate and thorough service to all with Migration Agent matters. It has been a pleasure to be able to work with Vanessa, who always offers advice to assist families and individuals in a timely and caring way, in the Central West of NSW.”

    Anni Gallagher, Migration Support Officer for Orange City Council

  • “Many thanks for guiding us through the migration minefield, from temporary work visas right through to permanent residency. Couldn't be happier.”

    Jack Colbeck

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