Originally Posted by Pom_Chch

It is possibly due to you not having a valid work visa/permit. The issue with SMC is that it takes months to come through, which puts employers off. I'm not sure if there's any other visa or permit you can get so that you can start your job before your permanent residency comes through SMC. It sounds as if MrsFychan's husband obtained a temp visa, but I'm guessing you have to have a job in order to get this.

The issue I mentioned before is that a lot of companies don't understand the immigration process. The reason my partner was successful is because he received a job offer from a company on the accredited employers list. The other companies that he applied to who were not on the accredited employers list were not interested even though there was shortage of people with the exact skill set my partner has. It seemed like unless he already had permanent residency or citizenship they just weren't interested.

Originally Posted by Stephen Jones

As Mrs Fychan says....you need the job offer in order to get the temp visa.You can then work on that visa while the PR Visa is being processed.

Originally Posted by Pom_Chch

Yep, I thought that might be the case. I wasn't 100% sure as we did not do it this way. I say apply to the accredited employers. The only two employers who were interested in my partner when he was applying were two that were on the list. All of the others with very similar job roles who weren't on the list had no interest.