wishful

Hi Guys

We are in the very first stages of migration (Pulling all our paperwork together) for an application under the skilled migrant category.

We have family that have lived in Australia for approx 6 years now, my wife’s brother (my brother-in-law) received his citizenship just over a year ago but to meet the new score of 120+ we need him to sponsor our application.

So, that’s the straight forward part. Now the complicated part (and thanks to anyone who can answer any of these questions)

We have a son who is now just under 2 years old and he’s basically the only reason why the “in laws� (Who are in their late fifties and retired) have stayed in this country having dabbled with Spain for a few years before discovering the beauties of Oz.

When we broached the subject of Oz we had all their backing as finally they’ll be able to move out there to be reunited with their Son full time whilst still being able to see their grandson without having to sit on a plane for 24 hours. They meet all the requirements to get their residency however the complication lies with the following points:

They will still require the sponsorship of their son to get their Visa’s (As do we)

They will not want to go to Australia if we don’t get accepted for the visas; however the route they are taking sees them having to invest approx £10k in Oz so they will be entitled to the Australia health benefits etc further down the line. This makes this option quite risky financially if they then decide not to go if we get declined

If they go ahead and apply for their visa and get accepted can my brother-in-law/their son still sponsor us or could he sponsor two residency applicants at the same time?

Would it be better for us if the in-laws went out first as this would leave my wife as the last remaining member of her immediate family in this country?

If the in-laws get accepted could they wait for our application to get accepted before moving out their or would the “offer� of residency only be applicable for a certain amount of time, also if they had to go out their to have their booked stamped as it were, how soon could they come back and for how long?

Could we apply as a family unit and all move out there at the same time or would we need to apply separately.

So many questions and sorry for posting them all. I’ve searched the boards but as this whole situation is complicated a little by two separate applications which to a certain extent are dependent on each other I thought it may be best to post and pick your brains!

Thanks for your help in advance guys

George Lombard

Dear Wishful,

So many questions so little time. Where to start? Everyone in your situation needs to undertake migration planning and it's generally not assisted by putting such a long message up as you'll get a confusion of replies :-( Try finding an experienced agent where you are - if in the UK Ian Harrop comes to mind - and work carefully through all the options. I think you should start with your own prospects for PR because obviously you'll want to know they're rock solid before you have the family making arrangements on your behalf.

We occasionally deal with this kind of enquiry by phone or email and it may be that your brother-in-law wants some A-based advice but it seems to me that you're going to want to bend someone's ear for an hour or two before you're clear on the direction you wish to take.

Cheers,

George Lombard

www.austimmigration.com.au

JAJ

To add to what George has said, it's especially important to consider Assurance of Support (AOS) issues when planning something like this.

The rules on AOS are less flexible than sponsorship and often impose a more significant barrier to multiple sponsorships in a short period. There is a specific limit of not being able to assure more than 2 adults at any one time. And the Contributory Parent AOS is 10 years long, so requires special consideration.

Jeremy