macnet1

HI I’m an Aussie (UK expat) citizen now (7 years) and have a Son in the UK who will be 21 in July next year.

He is due to finish his Mechanical apprenticeship in Feb and will have been working in the industry for 5 years.
His partner is of the same age and is a Teaching Assistant/ Nursery Nurse in the UK and is qualified for the role. They plan to come over in August from the UK.

My question is what sort of visa should they apply for and should they do it before coming across or wait until they get here and come on Student visas?

I’m happy to sponsor if needed.

I would value your advice and experiences

Cheers folks

msmyrtle

I guess the first question is does your son and his partner even want to immigrate to Australia?

Assuming they do, in response to your questions:
Do you live in a regional area? Not sure if sponsoring is all that beneficial (but I could be wrong).

They are young enough to apply for Working Holiday Visas if they want to come over for a year and have a look/travel around. Note that this is a temporary visa and should be treated as such.

If they come on Student visas they will have to be students and study something... which can be very expensive as international students. There is also no automatic pathway from student to PR anymore.

Finally if they do pursue a more permanent visa, note that the '5 years in the trade' does not count as skilled work because he has not yet completed his apprenticeship

Pollyana

Did your son not get a visa at all whrnyou got yours? Or was he declared as non-migrating dependent?

Bermudashorts

They have decided to move over in August but don't know what visa? Visas can be hard to get and need to be the first consideration. They cannot wait until they get there to sort a visa as everybody needs a visa before boarding the plane.

Firstly did your son get a visa when you did? If he did, then he could probably sponsor his OH. If he didn't that makes things a lot harder.

Student visas are a huge financial drain and in most cases will not lead to anything permanent. Personally I would not even think about it.

I think that skilled migration is the best bet if they want to move permanently. I think your son would be the more likely applicant, except he may need to get some post apprenticeship work experience to pass skills assessment. This is something he would need to look into.

If he does need the post apprenticeship work experience, I would recommend they put the idea on hold for a couple of years until he has it. Coming on a working holiday or something at this point could just leave him with a patchy work record that makes skilled migration harder.

Family sponsorship stands for little. He would need to be able to meet the criteria of skilled migration anyway. And if he does, then in fact he would be hindered as the family sponsored visas have low processing priority and are a less desirable "provisional" visa as well.

macnet1

Hi thanks yes he wants to live here... and I live just outside Brissie.

Thanks for your reply

macnet1

Hi guys I was note on my Immigration application (long story)..

this is a challenge - what if there is is a company who is willing to sponsor him as a mechanic ? There plan is to defo come out in August.. I thought it would be a little simpler based on the fact IM his father.

This is going to be more of a challenge than I thought folks

Pollyana

Do you mean he was not on your application - at all?
If he is your son he should have been declared as either a migrating (coming with you) or non-migrating (staying home) dependent. If he wasn;t mentioned at all DIBP may wish you to explain why not, and I doubt you could offer any sponsorship. As his father if he had still been dependent on you, or under 18, it might have been easier for you to get him here. Too late for that now.

If a company will sponsor him thats a possible route. He will need them to apply for the sponsorship to start with,and make him a firm job offer.

Bermudashorts

Didn't understand your first sentence, could you clarify? Your son would have had to be on your immigration application, the only question is was he a migrating dependent or non migrating dependent.

You being his father makes no difference to his visa status, he is an adult and needs to get his own visa.

They have to get a visa before they come in August. WHVs are a great visa for young people to explore the country, but they usually do not lead to permanent residency. Also as a newly graduated apprentice on a WHV, he might find getting work and certainly getting sponsorship difficult.

If long term / permanent move is really the goal. I stick to my original advice, to get some post apprenticeship work experience and apply as a skilled migrant down the line. I think he could shoot himself in the foot by disrupting his career with long term holiday visas at the moment.

Lucky4u

There was a possibility if he was not married then he may com as dependent kid

Pollyana

He has a partner and a job. He is not a dependent child.

nairn545

Hi macnet1.

I was in a similar situation, where my dad emigrated 6 years ago when I was 17, but I was declared as not migrating with him due to me starting an apprenticeship in the UK. 6 years later and I have had to go down the skilled visa route. It makes no difference at all that you are a citizen, other than you could sponsor him. Unfortunately, it took me over 12 months to get a skilled visa, so your August date is very unlikely. I think the best option for them would be a working holiday visa as someone else has already mentioned.

MarkHoath

The simple answer is they apply for a Working Holiday Visa then when they find work convert to a 457 Visa. Its exceptionally hard to find work while overseas unless you have an existing relationship with the employer.

Neither of them has sufficient points to apply for GSM and the time frame only allows an application for a temporary visa.

Pollyana

But its not that simple is it - not every employer either can or will sponsor for a 457, and even if the employer is willing one can't just "convert" a 417 to a 457, one has to actually apply for the 457 and meet all the criteria.

MarkHoath

I think you are being pedantic.

The original question is "My question is what sort of visa should they apply for and should they do it before coming across or wait until they get here and come on Student visas?"

The simple answer is "Working Holiday Visa".

This is a forum, I'm not about to go into every possible option, the pro's and con's and then come to the same conclusion. If OP's want Migration Advice, they should pay for a consultation, if they just want the opinion of the general public. They can use a forum !

Pollyana

I don't think I'm being pedantic. One cannot "coinvert" a 417 to a 457. One has to apply for a 457, its a totally different visa.
Also to lead someone to think that just because they have a job on a WHV they can get automatically get sponsored by that employer for a 457 is just not fair.
I agree that they could ask a migration agtne and pay for the advice, they should also research DIBP's website, which is always a sensible thing to do when looking into visas for Aus. But many years on the forum tells me and others that a lot of people will take what is written here and assume it is correct and complete information. You may think its pedantic, we prefer to think it is helpful.

And if you think that the terminology on the Aus forum gets pedantic at times, try our US forum.