tonia

hi

here is our situation

my husband is a unqualified highly skilled painter and decorator who has been self employed on and off for his working life (15years). He has no accounts for past 3-4 years as he has been "slap his wrist" working cash in hand whilst i worked.

we have spoken to a few Migration Agents and have received conflicting advice, but have an appointment arranged with one in 2 weeks.

anyway, we were told by one agent that he should get qualified to NVQ3 level before attempting the TRA application, but that he would not need to provide accounts evidence.

another agent said he did not need to be qualified. I have researched the TRA website and it appears he does not need to be.


on TRA application it states you need to provide written statement from accountant with periods worked so that over rules the agent who said my husband would not need this.

also my husband only uses 1 supplier through choice and good discount - but TRA ask for 3 - so will that put a STOP to the application too?

We are asking for opinions as the agent we are going to see wants £150 for the appointment in 2 weeks and we dont really want to pay for this if we can find out in advance if this is just a waste of our time.

any help and suggestions would help - we desparately want to go to Oz, but if its not worth doing due to not having the right info then we may have to wait until we are "ready with all the necessary papers".

many thanks

WESTLY

TRA are somewhat unpredictable.

It is difficult, but not impossible, to obtain a positive TRA skills assessment without trade training.

In the absence of trade training TRA want evidence of 'Skills Transition', which involves showing a period of supervised work under a qualified tradesperson. If an applicant claims to have 'jumped into a trade' and performed the full range of skilled duties ab initio, there will be a problem.

The last client we represented was unable to obtain employment references for 7 years of his 13 years of trade employment, but he WAS able to show his salary payments for the entire period by means of salary advice slips and he WAS able to provide evidence of having completed relevant short (a few days here and there) 'professional development' courses.

We submitted 143 pages of certified documentation and a two-page covering letter and our client received a positive skills assessment in 6 days, and we lodged his visa application. As far as we know TRA did not conduct an 'integrity check' and just as well, because our client turns 45 in 6 days from now.

In this case a representative of our company conducted three lengthy consultations with our client in his home country and we had to use FedEx courier to return the application form to him to be properly completed and for further VERIFIABLE evidence to be provided.

Our client was no fool and he finally understood, after 5 months, that we are only as good as the evidence he could provide.

There is NO margin for error, and it is unprofessional to lodge an application that can, or indeed should, be improved.

By the way you MUST send DIMIA copies of every document you lodged with a skills assessment and it is good practice to keep a copy for your files, so you need at least 3 certified true copies of everything. Never give your last copy of anything to anybody! And of course, you keep the originals.

In the case above case we have 500+ pages of documentation, including originals, emails, advice letters, on file.

If you have an issue with the taxation authorities, this could come back and bite you if DIMIA conducts and 'integrity check' and ask for taxation records at some stage of the process. If there is an unresolved taxation issue it is possible that this could adversely affect a visa application. You might want to seek a professional opinion and get your taxation affairs in order.

It is one thing to get past TRA and quite another to satisfy the DIMIA ‘recent work’ experience and ‘specific experience’ criteria for a particular visa subclass.

You might have visa options you have not considered, about which a properly instructed Registered Migration Agent could advise you. Presumably the ‘agent’ you contacted has formed the opinion that you have at least reasonable prospects of making a successful application and perhaps proposes to undertake a detailed assessment of your case.

You do not need ‘all the papers’ to seek an opinion, but you should obtain as many as you can and be very clear about what more you can obtain. It might not be a good idea to invest £150, or any other amount, if you cannot provide ALL the information needed for a Registered Migration Agent to undertake professional assessment of your case and advise you about your possible visa options.

It is unlikely that Registerd Migration Agents in possession of the full facts of your case will offer 'conflicting opinions' about your basic eligibility, but they might well differ about your best strategy.

This is not professional advice or legal advice. I know nothing about the particulars of your case, and I do not want to know. If you are going to seek advice about migration, consult a Registered Migration Agent and obtain a written opinion.


Best wishes

Westly Russell
Registered Migration Agent

Alan Collett

I'd be mindful of the fact that as well as securing a positive skills assessment classification from TRA you will have to provide evidence of recent work experience to the Department of Immigration:

- for 12 out of the last 18 months if you are applying for a Skilled Independent visa (subclass number 136), and

- for 3 out of the last 4 years if you are intending to successfully claim points for Specific Work Experience.

Given the "cash in hand" nature of the last 4 years this may well be the biggest hurdle you face ...

Happy to have a freebie chat if you would like to send me an email with your telephone number.

Best regards.

paulf

As a thought do you or your husband have any family already in OZ?
I,m just thinking of other points you may get.

tonia

no unfortunately we do not have anyone oz to help us

thanks anyway