Southern Cross Visa and Migration Services

Australian immigration advice from Melbourne

Southern Cross Visa and Migration Services Pty Ltd is an Australian firm based in Melbourne dedicated to providing comprehensive immigration and citizenship advice. Its team consists of Registered Migration Agents who work across all areas of Australian immigration law and policy. The firm presents itself as specialised, personalised and professional, with over twenty years of combined experience among its agents.

The service is designed as direct support for the applicant: understanding their situation, designing the most suitable visa strategy, preparing and lodging the application, managing it and acting as intermediary with the Department of Home Affairs and other authorities involved.

Visas and services handled

The firm handles a wide variety of Australian visas, including:

• Visitor visas
• Student visas
• Family visas
• Temporary work visas
• Skilled worker visas
• Working holiday visas
• Resident return visas
• Employer-sponsored visas
• Graduate visas
• Investment and global talent
• Tribunal appeals
• Character waivers

The Registered Agents

The firm has two directors and principal Registered Migration Agents.

Alfonso Varela

Director and Principal Migration Agent, with registration number MARN 1278626. He holds a Bachelor of Laws from UNAM (Mexico) and has an Australian Professional and a Graduate Certificate in Australian Immigration Law and Practice from Victoria University, as well as a Master of Migration Law and Practice from Griffith University. He speaks English and Spanish fluently and understands Italian and Portuguese. He has practised law for numerous years, with experience in property, corporate and immigration law. His areas of expertise include citizenship, general skilled migration, partner visas, parent visas, business visas, student visas, employer-sponsored visas and visitor visas. He has also dealt with multinational corporations and clients from a wide range of cultural backgrounds. He is an Australian citizen and migrated to Australia in 2010. He has worked as a Registered Migration Agent since 2012.

Ivanna Cheng

Director and Principal Migration Agent, with registration number MARN 1066462. She has worked as a Registered Migration Agent since 2010, with experience with speakers of English as a second language in sectors such as wholesale trade, building development and hospitality. She recently completed a law degree at Deakin University and received the Supreme Court Prize 2021 for topping her graduating class. She previously obtained the Sir John Monash Scholarship for Excellence for her double degree in Commerce and Music at Monash University, continued with an Honours and holds a Graduate Certificate in Australian Immigration Law and Practice from the ANU. She has extensive experience in complex cases, Administrative Appeals Tribunal hearings, employer-sponsored visas, business visas, skilled migration, visa refusals and cancellations, citizenship, resident return visas, family visas, visitor and student visas. Her primary area of expertise is employer-sponsored visas, where she has serviced ASX-listed companies, small businesses and not-for-profit entities.

Firm profile

The firm operates from an office in Melbourne and targets applicants who need guidance in a regulatory framework it describes as complex, with individual circumstances differing in each case. Its service model is based on direct dealing with the client and comprehensive case management.

Location and contact

Office 1432, Ground floor 470 St Kilda Road Melbourne Vic 3004 · Phone: +61 (03) 90185205 · Email: info@southerncrossvisas.com.au