SellotapeLiz

Hi there, I've just joined the Expats site as I'm trying to get in touch with anyone who can offer me advice, moral support etc on trying to find a permanent visa path into Australia. My husband and I are not on the skills on demand lists, we don't fit into any of the other visa categories - there must be a way into Oz - we're nice people!! I'm going round in circles attempting to get help and information from Australia House and all associated organisations. Feel like I'm banging my head against a wall, which is how I've ended up trying to seek out real people who might give me some pointers on getting started.

Would be really grateful for any useful contacts.
Louise, Cambridge

Oz Rascal

Hi Louise,

What do you and your OH do for work at the moment? How old are you both?

I've read quite a few stories of people who didn't qualify under their current situation who then went and retrained in a new job. That's why I was asking how old you are to see if this was an option??

Cheers,

Colin

SellotapeLiz

Hi Colin, thanks for your quick response.
My better half (aged 43) works for a national building company as a Signalman / Banksman for cranes. He's got 'tickets' for using various pieces of machinery, eg cherry picker, scissor lift, dump truck. He's got working experience of concreting, slab laying and groundworks, but has never undertaken any formal training or appenticeship for building works; I'm a part time customer advisor for a retail chain (yawn). I'm 39 and we have two boys aged 5 and 6.
My father is an Aussie citizen of 14 years.
We have a property to sell which would give us a large amount of capital for settlement.
Any ideas would be gratefully received.
I'm sceptical about using a migration agent purely because I don't know of a reputable one.
Louise

Oz Rascal

We are using a very good agent, Go Matilda, Alan Collett often posts on here as do other agents - most of them will give you an initial free assessment. I think getting in touch with one of them would be a good place to start to set you off in the right direction - www.gomatilda.com.

Best of luck.

Colin

Oirish

You can invest a $100k i think and go under one of the business visas.
Easier said than done.

SellotapeLiz

Many thanks for that Colin. I'll give Go Matilda a try straight away.

And to you Oirish - thanks for the investment idea.

Feeling a bit more positive now.

The worst thing is that we've been pondering the idea for over a year, and now we're 100% decided, it such a downer to find out how hard it is just to get a visa.

Louise

Oz Rascal

Don't want to burst the bubble on the 100K idea, but I've got a feeling this is no longer an option - Go Matilda will be able to advise you though.

Babsw

can you get sponsorship throught your father or another option is a student visa, all though thats expensive but I would suggest you get in touch with an agent-we use tony Coates, he's often on here.

Oz Rascal

You would be able to apply for a family sponsored visa assuming your Dad is a PR or Citizen, but you are unlikely to meet the points requirement still (100 on a family 176 visa) without having a job on the SOL.

SellotapeLiz

Yeah, my father wants to sponsor us, but even so the criteria for family visa options don't seem to apply to us.

Louise

Oz Rascal

Making yourselves eligible to claim points for a job on the SOL is your sticking point. If you can overcome this, then, yes, the 176 family sponsored PR visa would be an option for you.

SellotapeLiz

Thanks for your tips. I've been in touch with Go Matilda's John Sylvester and he is not hopeful of us obtaining a 'skills' visa.

Have you or anyone you know ever used **************** in Egham, Surrey?

Louise

pigletinoz

I'm currently using the above mentioned agents and paying a fortune for the priviledge! They advised us that our only option was a student visa as my childcare qualification and 20 years job experience counted for nothing. So now I'm about to embark on a new adventure as a mature student doing hairdressing. The student visa IS an expensive option, but if your desire to be in Australia is as great as ours and you have enough cash from the sale of your house to support you for 2 years, perhaps a career change might be an option for you. The agent however, failed to inform us at the beginning about the 20 hour work rule and I had to find out about that myself. We're just hoping to make enough from our house sale to pay rent, tuition fees etc. and still enjoy our new life!
Good luck with whatever you decide

SellotapeLiz

Hi, I too have just taken a migration advisor on board, and have cautiously just paypal'd $399 for the first consultation. I didn't use the Egham people in the end. I do hope I get some worthwhile advice for my money - but my husband and I agreed that I'm not getting anywhere doing my own research, so just before we give up completely we may as well take a chance on some professional help.
It's very interesting that you've been advised to migrate on a student visa. Do you know if this is for permanent residency or a specified period with a possibility of permanency?
Would love to hear all your details as you go along. I'm new to this site too and also a mum and it would be a great stressbuster to have someone to occasionally converse with online as the things go forward.
Best of luck to you.
Louise

Oz Rascal

Louise,

Why are you paying someone for a consultation? Most agencies (eg. Go Matilda, etc.) will give you advice on what type of visa to go for free of charge.

I did mention the other day that a lot of people post here about retraining. As far as I'm aware, the Student visa is for a fixed amount of time - I think 2 years and it's right that you can only work 20 hours per week on that visa so it does make money very tight.

I'm sure you would be able to get some free advice rather than paying someone for it.

Have you visited www.immi.gov.au as there is a step by step process on the site to find out what type of visa suits your purposes the best.

Good luck,

Colin