soniap

Hi all
has anyone applied for a visa with a child who has special needs? My son is 8 and has Autistic Spectrum Disoreder(autism). He is physically fit, at mainstrean school in London and educationally on par with his peers. He has 1:1 support in the classroom. I am a Nurse and my husband has sent his Cv to a company who have shown interest in him.

The questions I have are:
1. Is ASD likely to fail on the medical.
2. Will a visa be granted while my husband is still in the RAF.
3. I am aware that as a Nurse I could apply for a 136 visa but have no right of appeal if we were denied on my son's medical. Would an employer sponsored visa be the best option as I know there is a right of appeal on this one, or any other visa idesa.
4. If I am prepared to fund my son's education privately so no cost educationally to the state would this sway the visa.

Why is life never easy. My husband and I have so much to offer skill wise that to me far outweighs my son's special needs.

Thank you
Sonia xxxxxxxxxx

Nick11

Sorry - can't help ,but wanted to wish you luck.Would suggest you see an agent who specialises in these medical matters.Might cost you a bit,but well worth it, if you get the visa. I'm sure I've heard of one on this forum,but can't remember his name.Maybe others can help.
Nick

WS

There's a few posts if you do a search on 'Autism'.

Good luck!

iceman

I believe that the only outright failure on medical grounds is TB, but even then they usually give you the chance to undergo treatment before they will grant a visa.

The medicals seem to be quite subjective in that it relies on the opinion of the panel doctor and the LCU when the meds arrive in Australia for clearance. They look at the future needs and weigh up whether they believe it would impose any further "strain" on the system. The best thing might be to phone the local panel doctor and ask them. We did this when we had questions and they were very helpful. The other option is to have meds done upfront, but if the visa takes the best part of a year, then you have little time to validate them, so maybe not an option.

Good Luck

George Lombard

Hi Sonia,

Brief answers:

1. Depends on the condition - 1:1 support involves a lot of taxpayer's money :-(

2. In theory he should have left the RAF and have a discharge certificate prior to visa grant, but if you search for posts here involving annn, for example, you'll find that it's a bit more unpredictable in practice.

3. Better to get it right first time but yet, an ENS or 457 application would bring a right to an appeal if the employer can be bothered.

4. Sadly, no. This has been a continuing bugbear in the system - smacks of some pathetic attempt at eugenics but the justification is that they've had people make that promise and then renege on it. Personally I don't see why they don't allow people in this situation to put up a massive bond to cover the costs.

Cheers,

George Lombard

agostinism

Hi Everyone:

My son was diagnosed with Autism and the LCU in Australia has deemed him unfit to migrate to Australia. We are very sad about the news, although our Agent has recommended to seek for a third party opinion (another Neurologist) that can "minimise" the purported "significant cost" to the Australian government.

I am very discouraged from the news and I do not think I will pursue it any further. My son is my responsability, I will do for him whatever it takes to provide him with a good living and a safe and sound environment for his development and that also means allowing him to grow in a society that understands his needs.

But, if he is denied the chance to become a productive part of the society (Even before we have arrived) because of a stigma and a misconception about his condition then I guess there is not much to do about that.

I sincerely wish all of you a happy outcome on your process, I will continue harvesting my dreams of going down under but no longer as a migrant.

God Bless you All

soniap

Hi Agostinism
So sorry to hear your news. At the moment I feel very discouraged as my son is high functioning(ASD) and has so much to offer his peers and society in general. The skills my husband and I have far outweigh any needs from the australian government that he may have. We also have family out there with a possible job offer so there maybe other routes we can go. I appreciate things are a little raw at present but would appreciate any advice/agent/visas applied for. I think we are still going to go for it as you never know and I don't want to be sitting here in 10 years wishing we had tried.

Many thanks

Sonia x

JAJ

Your primary focus really needs to be on whether the health criteria can or cannot be met.

Try Peter Bollard in Sydney for advice:
http://users.bigpond.net.au/onk/