Phil73

Hi all

I am self employed and work from home in IT/E-Commerce and most of the work I do is for a US company and has been ongoing for at least 2 years.

I wanted to know if it was possible to emmigrate to Australia as a self-employed IT contractor and effectively continue to work from home doing what I currently do?

I would of course look at paying tax in Australia therefore paying into the system over there, however I didn't know whether this was an option or the only way I could get in would be to be on the skilled shortage list, which effectively I am not.

Any advice on what my options are would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Phil

slackbloke

Hi Phil, I am an IT contractor and work for a UK based organisation from home. However, I have permanent residency which allowed me to emmigrate. If you don't meet the criteria for a PR visa I don't think there is an obvious route in. Have you used the DIAC website to assess your suitability?

Pollyana

You need to start here - www.immi.gov.au and work out if you have sufficient skills etc to qualify for a visa.
If you do qualify for a skilled independent visa then you could do as you propose and only carry out offshore work rather than working onshore, however if you settle here permanently you will be liable for tax here on your worldwide income, whether you look to pay it or not!

Phil73

Hi - thanks for the replies.

Pollyana - do you mean this list? - http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/_pdf/sol-schedule1-2.pdf

My work is not specifically listed on here. Does this rule me out staightaway? I've effectively worked for myself for the past 12 years therefore I don't specifically fit into one of these categories. I also don't want a specific job - the hope was just to do the same as I am doing here, but instead of paying tax in the UK, to pay Tax in Oz. I'm beginningto think that this isn't possible but hoping otherwise.

Thanks
Phil

Bermudashorts

Once you have a permanent visa, you can do what you want when you get to Australia, so that isn't the issue. The issue is getting the visa and unfortuantely if you are not in an occupation on the list, then no you are not going to qualify for a visa under the skilled migration option.

RedDragon2008

Phil

Try having a look under the business migration visa's

slackbloke

Not sure what you mean about working for yourself - it is irrelevant; it is about the type of work you do rather than who you work for or how. So what type of work do you do? And it's not about you getting a specific job; they want the right skilled people available in the workforce; after receiving PR it's up to you what work/job you do.

Phil73

Hi and Happy New Year.

Appreciate the reply. I understand now. I've worked in internet mail-order for 12 years. I've built stores using web-based ecommerce platforms, have experience in SEO, PPC and many other skills related to this that go towards running a e-Commerce business. I don't however have any paper qualifications therefore I don't know how I would be assessed or if I fit into a relevant category.

Thanks
Phil

Bermudashorts

In some occupations, experience can replace qualification. The skills assessing body will determine whether your experience is enough or not, that is their job. But you do first of all need to identify a specific occupation from the list and you have mentioned that there is nothing on there?