Babykiss

First of all, thank you very much for putting up this very helpful forum..
My hubby is a CPA (previously emplyed in a firm), however he has been practicing on his own now for a couple of years, I wonder what documents we need to submit to DIMIA for his case.We're applying under the Skilled Independent - Subclass 136.Your inputs are very much appreciated. Thank you.

Mark Webster

Babykiss,

Self-employment is more difficult to establish than an employee relationship.

Most relevant documentation to include would be:
- statutory declaration from him regarding period of time self-employed, hours per week, main tasks & duties
- business registration or incorporation documents
- tax returns for the business or personal
- accounts for the business
- references from clients - these should be quite detailed and talk about the period of time he worked with the clients, kind of work completed
- invoices and/or bank statements can be requested by DIMIA

Hope this helps,

Babykiss

Thank u Mark, for the speedy reply.It was very helpful. Some questions though..
1. What do u mean by 'accounts for the business'?Are u referring to the bank accounts of the clients?
2. As for the invoices and/or bank statements, is that ours' or the clients'?
3. What does a statutory declaration compose of?What does it look like?Is this like the CV as well?

Thank you once again.

Mark Webster

Babykiss,

Statutory accounts for your husband's business - profit & loss to establish the revenue level, and go towards showing that he is working full time in the business.
Invoices issued by your husband's business to show that it does have customers.

Bank statements - would be for your husband's business to show that he was receiving payment from clients.
Statutory declaration would ideally include:
- how long the business has been operating
- how many hours he works in the business
- what kind of work he does & what kind of clients he works for
- his daily tasks in exact detail

Would be done on the standard stat dec form from your country of origin.

Hope this helps!

Babykiss

Thanks again, Mark. I've a question that's off-topic, forgive me for this, but does DIMIA call up ur references, like ur clients or ur employers to check if you're really employed?

Mark Webster

They certainly can.

It's less likely for some countries than others - for example, an Iranian applicant is far more likely to get a call than a UK applicant. However, DIMIA does seem to follow up a random sample of applications from even "low risk" countries.

Have you sorted out skills assessment yet?

Babykiss

We just submitted hubby's documents at CPAA. I've heard that it can take as long as 4 months. I hope in our case it doesn't. We're from the Philippines, by the way.We've already checked our points, and even without the specific work experience of my hubby, we still pass it. Still, I think it's best to submit this as well. I'm just not sure if being self-employed will help at all.Or maybe cuz of this, we might be denied. Have u had self-employed CPA clients?Were they granted the PR visa?I'm beginning to think that being employed is much better than being self-employed, atleast in applying for one's PR visa.And how about looking for a job in AU, I think they also prefer employees right?Pls. advise.Thank you again.

Alan Collett

Well they let me in, and I was a self employed accountant!

I recall I supplied the same sort of information as Mark has mentioned, plus letterhead, evidence of advertising and marketing, and a letter from my former business partner (also a CA).

Best regards.

Mark Webster

Babykiss,

CPAA is my least favourite assessing authority for accountants. This is due to both processing time and likelihood of success (I had a case where CPAA refused and ICAA approved). As he will be relying on covering 9 of the 12 core accounting areas, you may find that it's worth also looking at ICAA or NIA if you can spare another $350.

Better to claim as many points as possible - what if they take accountants off the MODL?

Work experience is critical to the case even if you're not claiming specific work experience. This is because he must show 12 of the last 18 months of skilled work experience (ie recent work experience) - this is a threshold requirement and if you can't show this, the application must be refused.

Hope this helps,

Babykiss

Hi Mark and Alan,
Thank you for being very helpful!Still within the topic..3 years before being self-employed, my hubby had a job at an accounting firm, do we still need to pass his reference for that company?Or just references from his current clients will do?

angelico

Hi Babykiss,

You sound familiar =)

DIMIA seems to be a bit active checking for references lately. It used to be random and quite a few are subjected, but up till recently, more and more applicants are being checked.

No worries, it's a just a standard check to verifry employment references. In your hubby's case, I guess they will call up his clients.

Cheers!

Babykiss

Hey Angelico!I read in the other thread that ur meds were requested already!So excited for you!Are u in the IT field?Yes, this is Princess.Any idea though if we still need to pass my hubby's former employment records or references?Thanks.

angelico

Yep, Im IT.

I'm not exactly sure about accountants, for IT skills assessed by ACS, we are definitely required to submit the employment references to DIMIA. Remember DIMIA requires applicants to submit all documents submitted to skilss assessment bodies.

I think it would be best you provide DIMIA those references.

Babykiss

Any other stuff I've to know for this case?I've head that being self-employed would be harder..Any other advise would be greatly appreciated.Thank you to all!

Mark Webster

Babykiss,

If he wants to claim the 3/4 years skilled work experience points, he should include references going back before the 3 years.

Probably advisible, given that MODL can change at any time...

Rgds,