Stacey85

Hi all, I’m new to this!
We are a family of 3, me and my partner are 33, baby boy is 18 months.
My sister and her family live in WA and have PR.
We want to make the move too.
My partner is a qualified painter & decorator ( over 15 years experience), I’m a qualified hairdresser ( but haven’t done it in years), I’m in customer service now.
We’ve seen a visa called 189 pt, you need 60 points to qualify to put forward your interest as it understand?
Could we get more points if we are able to do a joint application?
Or any advise on what to do would be fab.
We are hoping to do the application ourselves to save money, so trying to not go down the route of an agent.
We would just appreciate anyone going through or been through the process and where to start, what to do.its a bit overwhelming and I’ve googled lots of stuff aswell.

Thank you

Tuxtrip

A good place to start is with a free assessment from a Registered Migration Agent, to determine if you are eligible for a visa, which one/s, what the process is all about and what fees are involved. You will get some good recommendations on this site, but be sure to Google search reviews on any that you may be considering. My own suggestions would be Immigration2oz, Concept Australia, The Emigration Group, Visa Bureau, Go Matilda. All are registered agents with solid reputations.
You can do the application yourself, and whilst you will get lots of help from this and other sites, you need to be confident that you can sift through it all and determine what is right for your own application. Everyone's situation is different and there is much to consider. Migration law can be a minefield and you really need to be certain of the correct procedures and requirements. The application process will most likely be different now that when your sister applied for her visa.
Anyway, start with a free assessment or two and take it from there. Good luck.

Dmorgan07

You can do a points calculator on the Australian government website, just google 189 visa and it will take you to the page with all the information about the visa and the calculator.

In order to qualify to apply for a 189 visa you have to have a skill that is on the medium skills list, again I think there is a link on the same page that takes you to the list to check. Also (and sorry if this is duff info- someone will correct me hopefully😂) the visa is usually submitted by the person holding the skill, with their family on the application as dependents. You can claim points for partner’s skills but I think their skills have to be on the list too? (Again someone please correct me if i’m wrong). Either way before you put in your EOI (it’s a free thing you have to do to be invited to apply), you have to get a positive skills assessment- who you have to send this to is on the website also.

I’m currently waiting for my visa to be finalised, and was invited to apply in October with 65 points. Currently the invitation trends are that they are only offering invites to those with scores above 70, I would consider doing the IELTs test to boost points if you are only on 60 at the mo. I am a native English speaker but you don’t get any points for that. It costs money to do it but it’s worth it.

Hope any of that helps and makes sense 😊

Stacey85

Thank you 😊, I’ve just realised I’ve replied to you on your other post about getting your visa!!
Ideally we don’t want to use an agent as funds are tight untill we sell the house but don’t want to do that till nearer the end of the process. 😄

Richard_Gregan

If you have researched all avenues of your case and think it will be pretty straightforward then go for it.

If you have highlighted potential complications then professional advice is recommended. I would say that of course, but I will also say that all reputable *Registered* migration agents should offer you a free consultation which will lay out your options and flag up any potential issues for your attention. After that it's up to you whether to proceed and tackle these yourself, or opt for professional assistance.

Regards,

Richard

Dmorgan07

You can definitely do the application by yourself if you need to save money if you have a straightforward case. I think Richard’s advice is good consulting a registered migrant agent for a free consultation sounds like a good idea. We didn’t go with an agent and did it on our own, but there was times when we wished we had: we frontloaded all supporting documents, but did not know that a form 80 was needed also- this meant that our ‘straightforward’ case was delayed with a case officer contact/ further information requested, and could’ve potentially been finalised a lot earlier. I suppose an agent would’ve been able to tell us that 🙈

verystormy

I can understand not wanting to use an agent if funds are tight, but, you would be amazed at the reasons for a refusal. A friend of mine is an agent and recently had a client who had been refused for a very minor admin mistake on the paperwork. A refusal means loss of the thousands in fees and potentially even a ban on re-applying. Also, the cost of an agent is a tiny drop in the ocean compared to the total cost of migration

Stacey85

Thanks Verystormy, great advice 😊

Stacey85

Thanks, taking all on board. We have been in 2 minds to use an agent or not.leaning towards using one I’m thinking

Stacey85

Thank you, some very good points.
I think with being a working family and our evenings just being taken up at the moment with a 18 month old not wanting to sleep, we are going to find it even more stressful to do ourselves. We’ve decided to use an agent, so we don’t make any silly mistakes or anything that could jeopardise the visa.
Once our house sells we can use that to pay off the credit card.
Thank you all for your help 😊

Dmorgan07

Yes I don’t blame you, an 18 month old sounds stressful enough 😂 We would have done the same in hindsight, but it all worked out well in the end 😅 Good luck anyway, when are you hoping to do your eoi?

Also, you asked me about the IELTs test in the other thread and forgot to mention that your husband should definitely do it. It is an added cost but you need all the points you can get when you are up against all the other thousands lodging eois, it could make the difference. You can check on the aus government website for information on how many invites they are giving out each round, the date that the latest eoi which was invited, and the lowest points total. Nothing is a certainty but it can be helpful to look at to give you an indication of what is needed.

quoll

Don’t sell your home until you’ve got the visa because there’s no guarantee that you will get the visa and you’d probably hate to be homeless. Don’t underestimate the amount such a move is going to cost you, if you are already in debt it’s not going to get any better by moving across the world. Perhaps save up first and get yourself back on track so you can pay the agent and have some in reserve to be able to move comfortably.

Stacey85

Thanks for the advise, we won’t sell our house until we get the visa granted.
We aren’t in any debt so to speak either, we have a large amount of equity in our property so as soon as that’s sold we will pay off the credit card (0%) in full, plus we will have more than enough to ship, dog, flights, set up home and to put down as a deposit to purchase in the near future.
Thank you for your concern though 😊

Stacey85

Thank you, he’s a cheeky chap, but his smile makes up for it.
I’m not entirely sure about the eoi, jamie has booked his IELTS for 4 weeks time 😬.
I feel more confident know knowing to use an agent, I’m not the best with paperwork/form filling out.
I’ll keep you posted if you like.
Please keep me updated with your progress too if that’s ok. Thank you so much for your help/advice 😄☺️☀️

carcajou

Using an agent is a good idea for the reasons verystormy outlined.

As the agent will explain to you, 60 points is required to go into the pool, but is no guarantee of being selected. Each round the EoIs are ranked based on points total and right now 70 is the lowest number that's getting in.

So, the more points the better. That includes doing IELTS and trying to claim the points for partner skills if possible.

If I could also suggest - don't sell your house in the UK until you have permanent visas, and have both settled in and both have permanent jobs in Australia.