stu_69

Hello all - I hope this is the correct place to ask this?

I hope everyone is well. Anyway straight into my question.

Myself and my wife met while travelling in Australia on working Holiday visa 3 years ago. We have been back in the UK for 3 years now and we have wanted to go back to Australia since day one but we have hit a wall ever since. She is 31 and I am 25 if we went down the PR route she will be 10 points short with the new increase (she is a qualified journalist with 5 years experience). I have 130 points but I work in Network support with 6 years experience but no qualifications (I am completely self taught or on the job training) so I would not get through the screening. I am going to do the CCNA exams in a few months but again I don't this would be enough. In 2 years time I would qualify for RPL but the only problem is 2 of the companies I worked for early in my career have gone bust and no longer exist. So that's our situation at the moment.

We have been looking at various routes back into Australia for the past 3 years but have got nowhere. We contemplated going over on a tourist visa and were going to try getting work and get sponsored by a company or agency (I understand this has all changed since I was last over there) but we figured this would be too risky so abandoned the idea. We also taught about moving to NZ and eventually moving over the Oz after a few years but we could not bring ourselves to move to a country we have never been to on the off chance it might get us into Australia.

My wife has been looking at going back to Uni for a few months now (we had put Australia out of our minds and decided to just get on with life in London) and she started looking at doing a masters in Sydney and how the visa works and all that, this has now completely opened a Pandora's box as we have seen a glimmer of a way into Australia.

So here are the questions she is going to apply for a journalism masters (with one other option) to Sydney uni in the next couple of weeks now assuming she gets accepted and gets the visa our understanding is that she would be allowed to work 20hours a week part time but there would be no restrictions on the hours or work I do.

If this is the case I want to try get a decent 3rd Line IT support job and try get sponsored as soon as possible ( I am presuming it is still possible for agencies to sponsor you?) - this would then increase our visa to 4 years and hopefully in that time we could somehow make up the requirements to apply for PR.

So what is the IT job market like in Sydney these days when I was over there in 2001 it was ok, it took me a while to get work but once I did I got a steady flow of contracts earning about $35 a hour. Is it still like this?


So are we mad to be trying this route? Will it all end in failure? Is there too much of a risk hoping I will get a decent job and get sponsored. Our biggest problem is when we came back from Australia we were broke and in debt which took us a long time to clear and get back on our feet. We have very little savings (circa £10K) and thats it. The course is going to cost about $18k plus visa's, travel etc. Which will almost clear us out and should we have to come back to London in 18months time we would be back to square one (although hopefully not in debt again). So what you guys reckon?

Sorry about the huge post but I started typing and could not stop.

Cheers
Stu

lynnlovessun

It must be awful to want to go so bad and not have enough points - Why don't you get a proper migration agent to advise you of all your options as there are so many types of visa's - the cost of seeing an agent surely must be worth it to get some proper advice. You should check that they are MARA registered - Go Matilda are highly recommended on here and George Lompard is another agent to post frequently on the immigration forum.
Even if you don't use an agent to apply at least use one to get initial advice on the options you have - i'm sure there will be other options like lodging a bond or being sponsored by a state - but most people won't know enough to advise you properly on here - your situation seems fairly complex?

Good luck,
Lynn

samnrob2

This is most unlike me as I have always suggested people get their visa the DIY way...however I agree with Lynne. It seems like an absolute minefield of information to plough through.

I reckon an agent will be your best bet. Even if you get some useful pointers from people on here (there are a few sometimes! ) it still sounds like a 50-50 chance - at best.

It all depends I guess on how much you are willing to take risks and/or how long you are willing to wait.

Good luck either way with whatever you do.


Rob

claire edwards

Definately go to an agent, they will advise you on the best possible route. I had my skills assessed without having a degree in it, it was quite a bit of work, but I now have my PR visa.

On the sponsorship front (I looked into this too), it will mean you are tied to that particualar post (Works for lots of people, but not everyone). I spoke to a company that does this, here's the website www.freespirit.com.au

If you are determind as you say you are, I'm sure you will find a way, whether it be now or in a year or so.

Good LUCK!

Jonahs_mummy

We looked into this route also & as far as we could make out if you are listed as her spouse on the application, the job restrictions apply also to you.....

This is what we found on the DIMIA site:

If you are granted permission to work as a ...

student (condition 8105),

• a maximum of 20 hours a week during the term, not including work that is a formal registered part of your course
• unlimited hours during recognised periods of vacation.

member of a student’s family (condition 8104),

• a maximum of 20 hours a week throughout the year for the duration of your visa.

member of a family unit under visa subclass:

1. 573 (undertaking a masters coursework), or
2. 574 (masters research or doctorate course), or
3. 576 (AusAID or Defence-sponsored),

• a maximum of 20 hours a week at all times (condition 8104), when you are studying any preliminary course
• unlimited hours, if you apply for permission to work after you start your masters or doctorate course

Going by the last bit (visa subclass 573/574) you should be able to work unlimited hours if she is doing a masters so long as you don't accept any job until she has started her studies.....

look here for details: http://www.dimia.gov.au/study/working/index.htm

stu_69

JM - thanks for the link but we already knew that. She is looking to do a masters and apply for the working visa once she arrives in the country, this would then allow me to work full-time without restrictions. As I have to give 3 months notice and I am not about to hand in my notice until everything is confirmed so she will actually be heading out about 3/4 weeks ahead of me which would give enough time to sort the visa out.

The problem is now that the course she wanted to do is almost $20,000 which is a lot of money to pay just to get a visa.

I am going to get an assessment from ASA ($50) which hopefully will tell me if I have enough to get a visa of any kind but I am not going to hold my breath.

We will have to see what happens. She is still going to apply for the course in Sydney uni as you only pay for each semester individually I would have 6 months to get a job and get sponsored - a gamble but it's possible I suppose - and this would mean only paying about $8/9k as she could drop out then.

Jonahs_mummy

stu

glad you are so clued up hun!
please let me know how you guys get on!
*thoughts for you*

JM

seang

How is she going to apply for a visa with working conditions if she doesnt meet the points now ?

Ah I guess you mean on the students visa

stu_69

She is going to apply for the student visa which allows her to work 20 hours a week part-time. And when she gets to Australia she then applies for the Student visa to allow me to work full time with no restrictions. There is no points involved with the student visa.

We want to apply for the PR visa but at the moment she does not have enough points to apply, I do have enough points but I don't have any qualifications so I fail on that one but in 2 years I would qualify for RPL and I am going to do a CCNA in a couple of months and I am also looking at doing a MCSA to complement my CV (6 years+ in IT support). But we don't want to wait to get to Australia we have waited to long at this stage and the student option gives us a chance to get into the country now with the possibility of fours of the back of sponsorship during which time we can then apply for PR.

... I am thinking this thread is more suited to the immigration section of this site, if a mod thinks so can it be moved please?

Stu

manxfamily

Stu

If you say you can get 130 points, then I suggest you definately use a migration agent and secure those points.

I too had enough points to get my visa, and like you, had no formal qualifications. I served an apprenticeship which was totaly on job training, and no certificate at the end. The company I served the apprenticeship with also went out of business and I had no reference whatsoever from that company, which I though would have been the most important reference as all my training was done there, but no, I have covered enough work experience since that point, and a statutory declaration was enough to cover the missing references.

What Im saying is without the help of my migration agent, I wouldnt have known where to start or what to do. I got my TRA assesment passed last October and I am now awaiting the medical requests.

Good luck with whatever course you take, although between the pair of you, I cant see there being any problems. No worries mate!

stu_69

Thanks for you reply mate. I am going to sit down this weekend and fill out an evalutation with ASA and see what they say. Maybe (fingers crossed) I would have enough to apply for a visa.

Stu

stu_69

I have sent a PR assesment to ASA and I am awaiting their reply - hopefully it will be good news.

We are still looking into the student visa route and my wife is preparing her applications to send of soon. I have a couple of friends in Sydney and having talked to them it looks like this maybe a good option to get in and try get sponsored which would give us 4 years in Australia and we can then apply for PR.

wargod

I am using ASA too, cracking bunch of people !!

Paul2004

Have you done the step by step guide on the DIMIA website? I am going to Oz on a Student Visa altho admittedly taking 2 children as well as my partner on mine. With the step by step guide it tells me I have to show:

Your financial requirements
When you submit your visa application, you will need to prove that you have access to at least $52,400.00 from one or more acceptable sources.

You will need to declare that you have access to an additional $44,400.00.


Now this with 2 kids as I say, and a 2 yr course.

I just did a comparison and if it's just the two of you, and the course is 2 yrs ?!?!

it comes back with these figures:

Your financial requirements
When you submit your visa application, you will need to prove that you have access to at least $19,209.00 from one or more acceptable sources.

You will need to declare that you have access to an additional $16,209.00.

Change the course duration to three years and get this:

Your financial requirements
When you submit your visa application, you will need to prove that you have access to at least $19,209.00 from one or more acceptable sources.

You will need to declare that you have access to an additional $34,412.00.


At the end of the day you have to show them you have enough money to get by.


Hope that helps, albeit if it's bad news

Good luck tho with whatever you decide. I failed the TRA and am so keen to get out there too I am going to study to get PR.

Risky, expensive, risky, expensive, risky, expensive, no guarantee!

Only shot tho, so we go with it!

stu_69

We will be able to show we have that money when required. We can borrow the money if needed from Family to show we have the funds available.

The couse she is looking at is 1 and a half years so the amount is lower and we should be ok.