2129venice

Hi,

I am interested to hear from people emigrating from the UK under the
Visa Class 139 and not using an agent. I have just sent the relevant
froms off to the Engineers Australia for my qualifications to be
assesed, which should take 4-6 weeks. I am using my sister who lives
in Australia as both a assurance of support and a sponsor.

I would just like to hear from people who are going or who have been
through this process. I am happy to recieve any guidance or advice.

I am a little concerned because I have read that they are changing the
rules in July 2006.

Posted via http://www.mymigration.net

brian0

Hi,

While I am not in the UK I did go through the 139 visa route, and even had my qualifications assessed by IEAust as well. I applied from the US, so probably very similar issues/timeline to the UK as the US would be considered a "low risk" country. In my case my brother was both my sponsor as well as assurer. I did not use an agent and everything went fine with the exception that my CO seemed to lose the copy of me and my wife marriage certificate I sent in with the initial application and a small glitch in the medicals where the Dr. forgot to fill in a page of my daughter's medical form and failed to sign their photos. All these things were easily fixed and didn't seem to cause any delays. The biggest delays I saw were the CentreLink delay in my brother doing the AoS in Melbourne (2 month wait for an appointment!) and a delay of about 4-6 weeks when DIMIA ran out of visas in June 2005. This last one meant I had to wait until the new quota came into effect on July 1st 2005.

Doing the application without an agent was pretty straight-forward but it's a lot of paperwork, which can be overwhelming at times. I thought it was worth it for the amount of money I saved and I'm pretty organized about those types of things, so it wasn't too difficult.

You are correct about the changes coming to the 139 visa class. The current view is that it will be eliminated as of July 2006 and replaced with a temporary resident visa which will require that you live in the designated area for 2 years before getting PR status. According to the agents on here you should get your application done and submitted ASAP as the July date is not set in stone and it might change sooner. Once your application is submitted though you are OK as it will still be processed as a PR 139 class visa even if that goes away before you get your grant (at least that's what the agents have been saying!).

Good luck and let me know if you have any specific questions!

Cheers!
Brian

CathnPaul

There is another 139 thread which you may gather info from. It was started by OrangeO.

2129venice

brian0 Wrote:
    > Hi,
    >
    > While I am not in the UK I did go through the 139 visa route, and even
    > had my qualifications assessed by IEAust as well. I applied from the
    > US,
    > so probably very similar issues/timeline to the UK as the US would be
    > considered a "low risk" country. In my case my brother was both my
    > sponsor as well as assurer. I did not use an agent and everything went
    > fine with the exception that my CO seemed to lose the copy of me and
    > my
    > wife marriage certificate I sent in with the initial application and a
    > small glitch in the medicals where the Dr. forgot to fill in a page of
    > my daughter's medical form and failed to sign their photos. All these
    > things were easily fixed and didn't seem to cause any delays. The
    > biggest delays I saw were the CentreLink delay in my brother doing the
    > AoS in Melbourne (2 month wait for an appointment!) and a delay of
    > about
    > 4-6 weeks when DIMIA ran out of visas in June 2005. This last one
    > meant
    > I had to wait until the new quota came into effect on July 1st 2005.
    >
    > Doing the application without an agent was pretty straight-forward but
    > it's a lot of paperwork, which can be overwhelming at times. I thought
    > it was worth it for the amount of money I saved and I'm pretty
    > organized
    > about those types of things, so it wasn't too difficult.
    >
    > You are correct about the changes coming to the 139 visa class. The
    > current view is that it will be eliminated as of July 2006 and
    > replaced
    > with a temporary resident visa which will require that you live in the
    > designated area for 2 years before getting PR status. According to the
    > agents on here you should get your application done and submitted ASAP
    > as the July date is not set in stone and it might change sooner. Once
    > your application is submitted though you are OK as it will still be
    > processed as a PR 139 class visa even if that goes away before you get
    > your grant (at least that's what the agents have been saying!).
    >
    > Good luck and let me know if you have any specific questions!
    >
    > Cheers!
    > Brian
    >
    > Thanks Brian,
    > You have given me enough assurance that it will not be such a task to
    > fill out the forms, I have already done most of it and I have even got
    > Form 40 filled out which my sister has done for me.
    >
    > I have read through the check list that comes with the form and they
    > ask for a family tree and proof of relationship with the assurer. I
    > presume proof of relationship would be that the parents on the birth
    > certificate would be the same as mine. What did you do about the
    > family tree, how elaborate did you get.
    >
    > Thanks for any help you can give me.
    >
    > Kevin

Posted via http://www.mymigration.net

brian0

Kevin,

In fact I did not even send a family tree diagram as I simply missed that bit of information when I was filling in the forms. I realized after the fact that I didn't send it, but my case officer never requested it. I would guess that in very straight-forward relationship situations like having a brother or sister sponsor you there is less of a need for the diagram. Obviously I did include both my and my brother's full birth certificates which showed we both had the same parents, which clearly shows the relationship. If you were getting sponsored by a cousin I would think that the chart would be absolutely necessary and very helpful to the CO as the relationship between all the required birth/marriage certificates might not be obvious. Still, saying all that and knowing what I did I would still include a simply one showing you, your brother/sister and parent's names. You don't need anything elaborate as all you are trying to do is graphically explain the relationship between you and your sponsor.

Cheers,
Brian

LSH

Hi

One big piece of advise i can give is make sure your AOS (Assurer) has the right income level for the Centre Link judgement day! Many people fall at this last hurdle even after doing all the work required.

Leo

CathnPaul

That is what I have found and I am note even at putting the app in stage!!!

Glad I am doing it now, before hand though

Marie's big sister

Hi,

I am just about to make an application under this sub-class. I am currently gathering in the evidence required for TRA. I was unaware of the fact that the visa was being eliminated in July. This is of concern as I have held out until now as my sister, who is my sponsor, will become an Australian citizen at the end of March. Delaying until then meant that our application goes to the front of the queue. I wish I'd just prepared it and submitted it in November now (my sister had been living in 4019 for 12 months in Nov) I have another sister who is Australian and now lives in 4055 but has only been there a few months. The rest of my family live too close to Brissie for this type of sponsorship.

Does anyone know how likely it is that the date for the change will be before July? as if it happens in March I think I will be too late.

I thought I had things under control, I have a schedule of things to do but now I'm worried.

I have also chosen not to use an agent. I went off to an emigration exhibition earlier in the year and most of the agents had never even heard of a Designated Area Sponsored Visa. I therefore resolved no to be so lazy and get on and do it myself. So far it seems relatively straight forward. The documents for the TRA should go off very soon and I am planning to have the application and form 40 ready to go by the time I get TRA approval (if all goes well).

I also noticed that one of your responders said that he had sent off the police checks after the main application I had thought that it was only the medicals that I had to arrange after the submission of the application.

Good luck with your application I will keep checking to see how you are getting on.

Susan.

JAJ

There is no real advantage to delaying a skilled sponsored application until your sister becomes an Australian citizen. However you need TRA done before you can proceed any further.

Also - have you checked to see whether you are also eligible for Skilled Australian Sponsored (subclass 138) or even Skilled Independent (subclass 136)?

Designated area sponsored is an *option* rather than an obligation and this distinction will become important when the new temporary visa system comes in. Impossible to say whether it could happen in March/April, but it's likely by July.


Jeremy

CathnPaul

Hi Susan

People who use agents are not lazy either (as your post suggests), but it is an option for some to cover all bases due to some complications. The worry you have mentioned can be significantly reduced using a good agent. As can finding the correct information, especially the police checks. (wanted to get that out of the way)

I think you may be best having a read of www.austimeline.com where you will be able to see the meds and pcc's and at what stage they are requested/ or unrequested as the case may be. But it is the police checks as well as the medicals that are required after app lodgement. They can be front loaded as soon as you have your file number.

It may be worth you having a read of DIMIA too, so you can see the checklist of requirements on there. The police checks are noted.

JAJ is right about it being July when they are looking to change the 139 to a temp visa. But have a look to see if you qualify for the others, just in case.

Marie's big sister

Thank you for your reply. Unfortunately, due to changes in occupations my husband and I would not qualify for subclasses 138 or 136 for at least a further two years. I am a newly qualified lawyer and will not have sufficient PQE until 2008, I will also be approaching 45 by then, so may as well have a criminal record! (Well perhaps that's a slight exaggeration) My husband was a plumber for 16 years but switched to farming when we found the property we now have in Cornwall. As farmer is not an occupation on 'the list' the easiest way for us to apply to emigrate was to meet the basic requirements for sub class 139 by way of my husband returning to plumbing for six months. This became possible as one of my sisters moved into a designated area in November 2004.

It would be very disappointing to miss the deadline for the 139 although I know it would not be the end of our plans to join the rest of my family (I have four sisters, four nephews, a niece, my father and a step mother in the Brisbane area and was raised there until my parents divorced in the late 70s). There is no doubt that this is the most straightforward option currently available to us.

I am hoping to have everything I need for the TRA in the next couple of weeks. Again, it has been necessary to wait until now, as my husband will not have been in his current employment for six months until 11.01.2006. While I realise this employment is not necessary for TRA purposes it is essential for the DIMIA application and we did not wish to risk his position (i.e. unexpected redundancy etc - an employment tribunal is all well and good but not much use when what is needed is to clock up recent experience).

I think the best thing I can do now would be to get the documents off to the TRA as soon as possible and aim to have the rest of the application fully prepared and ready to lodge as soon as we receive the response. I have picked up from this site that the TRA are currently processing applications for assessment quicker than they had previously done, so at least that is good news. I understand that once the application is lodged it will be processed under sub class 139 even if the decision is not made by the date the rules change.

I would be grateful to know if any of what I believe to be the position is incorrect as I have had to rely solely on my own research and have no previous knowledge or experience of Australian Immigration Laws. I did visit an exhibition earlier this year but did not find any of the agents very helpful. Some said it was nearly impossible to get lawyers into the country (so why are they on the list?). I have since found out I will need to do some additional undergraduate modules to bring my LLB in line with the Australian degree. That makes sense to me and is no great hardship. Many though, did not even know there was such a thing as a skilled - designated area sponsorship sub class and those who had heard of it did not really know anything about it. I knew more than they did; and that was very little.

I thus decided I was on my own so any assistance or advice will be very gratefully recieved. As my application progresses I would be delighted to help others if I can.

Thanks Jeremy and good luck to everyone heading 'down under'.

Susan.

Marie's big sister

Many thanks for your reply.

First I must apologise. I was not implying that people who use agents are lazy; I can see why it reads that way. I am actually a lawyer. I practice Criminal law and have no knowledge or experience of Australian Immigration law and did not want the hassle of doing all the research and work myself. It was ME who was trying to take the 'lazy' option, for me that is. I am fully able to do it myself because as long as we qualify under 139 there should be little or no complications for us.

I have not been practising long enough to gain the required points for other options. My husband, although he was a plumber for 16 years has been farming recently so would need to return to plumbing for three years by which time I would be 45 and we will lose points for that. It's a bit complicated really but 139 is our best option and things will be considerably more difficult if I don't get my application in before the changes come in.

I have found the DIMIA web site invaluable and as you say the checklist is a must. I have not yet seen the 'austimeline' site but from what I've seen here it seems that it will clarify a lot of things including when each document must be submitted. It seems to help too to be able to see where you are in the process.

I had planned my schedule months ago but while I was aware that changes were possible I sort of thought they wouldn't happen just yet. In fact finding out yesterday sent me into a spinning panic! What is clear is that I really need to find more time now to update myself on what is required and keep on top of what is happening. I need to make sure I get this thing moving before I lose this opportunity to make my application under a sub class that is less hassle than some other options.

Thanks again for your reply and particularly the info about austimeline which I will check out now. All suggestions are gratefully received as I am relying on what I can find out myself.

Susan.

LSH

Hi Susan

We are currently 139 applicants (also in Cornwall) and we went for the easiest route for skills assessment, and that was not to go to TRA as they are a difficult bunch to please! We used an HND in business and finance against an office manager skills assessment, which only required a certificate (HND) to be sent in and the skills assessment was over! Time saved and a lot of work, as you only have to prove you are qualified.
So i was wondering if you had got lesser qualifications on your route to the law, that you could use to cut down your waiting time?
Thus giving you time to get your application in before July?

All the best Leo

CathnPaul

Susan have you had a look at the asco descriptions to see if you degree would qualify??

You said you havent been practising that long. Have you been practising prior to June06???

If so could you not go through the vetassess route??

Marie's big sister

Hi Leo,

That is interesting. I will look into it but I think there are particular difficulties with law. My LLB relates to the English legal system and governance. I will therefore need to do some additional under graduate modules in Australian Legal System, Administrative Law and Constitutional Law as a minimum in order to bring my degree in line with the Australian LLB. Worse still, I think my post graduate legal practice course (which cost just over £8,000 is worthless!)

This is why we decided it would be much more straightforward in our case for Garrie to go back to plumbing for six months. He has all his college records and appreticeship certificate so hopefully that should do it. I read on another thread that a clearly signed off apprenticeship of four years would be sufficient on its own (in the case of a plumber). Also, the TRA have apparently slashed their assessment times although, that won't make them any easier to please. We are almost ready to submit it all now but I will bear what you have said in mind.

Where are you in your application? Have you applied to DIMIA yet? Also, are you using an agent and if so how are you finding that? Some people seem to swear by them while I have seen other postings saying that if they had known what they know now they would have done it themselves and saved the money.

We are moving to Queensland where are you planning to go?

Best wishes and good luck with the application.

Susan.