Advice with ozzie visa's please!

[ozziewannabe]

Right basically we desperatly want to emigrate to perth.
But the big problem is we dont have a trade.
Theres me, dh, ds and dd
We have sis and bil out there already who would sponser us and said we can live with them for 2 years.
We have been told the stdent visa would be a good idea but dh has just turned 29 and you have to be unders 30 so time may be running out.
Also there is the 2 year working visa, is there any way we could stay in oz after doing this? as my husband has a good job and is contracted until retirement and jobs where we live are hard to come by so it would be a risk if we may end up back in england!
Either one of us would be willing to study in oz and but you can only work 20 hours i believe but would the other one of us be able to work full time.
Child care would not be a problem as my sister is willing to do this.
BIL could get my husband a job easily where he works.

Does anyone have any numbers i could ring up?
Ive tried various websites but its just soooo confusing!
help us get to oz.

Forgot to say we have been for 2 bouts of 6 weeks and are going back for another month in the new year!

[ozziewannabe]

bump x

[quokka]

sorry not sure I can help as the people I know have had jobs they desperately need in oz. I think there is a visa you can get if you bring a large amount of money into the country to invest in property or a business. Not sure if you have a large wad of money but maybe family could help you invest? I come from perth and now live in s'pore, I hope you get in!

[quokka]

there must be website that has a list of all jobs they need and you can see if one interests you and then study for it. I strongly suggest you do this asap before you hit 30!

[VickyA]

What do you propose to study? I think you can be any age (although under 45 for subsequent permanent residency) for student visa - I'm hoping to get in via that route doing a postgrad diploma in HR to get me in with local customs and local networks... Like you we don't have trades, so I'm just hoping that with a local qualification, an employer will look at me and be willing to sponsor me for employment, which involves convincing the immigration people that I fill a niche which is difficult to fill with Aussies... Apparently it's not that difficult, but if it doesn't work out we'll have an 18month stay in Adelaide, spending our equity then come back and work our backsides off to get back on the property ladder.

If one of you is doing a Masters level qualification, the other can work full time, if that helps... They're not exactly cheap (HR would be c.£10k) but worth it if it's your only way in...

Have you looked at British Expats forum? You'll find recommendations there of agents who'll give you a free inital consultation, so at least you know which direction to head in...

Good luck!

[ozziewannabe]

Unfortunatly we dont have a large wad!
We would make a bit when we sold our house but I very much doubt that would be enough!
Think we are going to have to go down the studying route.
How much do you think we'd need to invest in something? MIL & FIL r well off!!!

[ozziewannabe]

Hi vicky - I have no idea what we could study and we both only have gcse's and didnt do any further study.

[VickyA]

What do you both currently work as?

[ozziewannabe]

I am a sahm before this I was doing restaurant/bar work and my husband works at a power station in the changing rooms

[ozziewannabe]

he did do a first diploma in engineering at college after school!

[quokka]

my friend just got in because he's an engineer

[VickyA]

Your best bet's contacting an agent, and maybe posting on this thread - BE retraining thread
It seems to be a complete minefield, with so many options and moving goalposts, so get expert advice before getting your hopes up or ruling it out...
Hope this helps, and all the very very best!

[ozziewannabe]

he's far from an engineer but its something to look into, maybe a bit more study in that department!

[quokka]

I'm sure you will be able to find out what jobs they need the most (to get the most points) and take it from there. But I agree it is a minefield and would be easier and less painfull to get a company to access you so you are fully aware of all your options.

[neuroticlady]

Hi ozziewannabe, I remember how stressful all this can be but the good news is you can do it, even if it feels like it's an uphill battle to get the points/work out what visa to go for.

Best bet I'd say is to take advantage of dh being under 30. It really is much harder once you hit 30 to get your hands on a visa, any visa, into Australia. Investigate this option straight away! And maybe take advantage of your trip in the new year to seek out decent immigration agent/job opportunities etc. Employers sit up and take notice once you're in the country, but in our case they didn't take us seriously when we were simply emailing from England.

For what it's worth, we were both over 30 - BAD - and work in advertising - even WORSE. (Although a 'good' job pay-wise it is hardly crucial on the skills list, so it gave us crap points. Basically there was no way we were going to make it in on the points basis so we had to investigate other ways and like you a big fat wad of cash wasn't an option either ) So next we tried to go through an agent back in London at a place called Global Visas but they were a total waste of space. In the end the way we did it was:

1. Sneaked into Oz on six month tourist visas.
   
2. Started going for interviews the instant we were here - and had been emailing contacts in the advertising world before arriving. (Does your DHs job transfer to over here... is there a similar position he could chase up in this way?)
   
3. My DH landed a full time job with sponsorship to give us temporary residency status. The good news is we were IN. The bad news is corporate sponsorship ties you into that company; if they kick you out, you get kicked out of the country unless something else turns up pretty fast... so it's a bit of a noose around the neck and we were keen to move onto step 4 as soon as possible!
   
4. The second we could apply for permanent residency (after two years?) we got all the paperwork together - it's a bit of a nightmare as they want everything from school exam results to police checks - and got permanent residency. Permanent res status is the crucial one as you're no longer tied into a job with sponsorship and it's much easier to do stuff like buy a house over here, leave the country for a bit etc.
   
5. Next, as soon as we could (another two years? It's amazing how you forget) we applied for and got Citizenship. This was a doddle after permanent residency. Yay! I think the whole process from first arriving to Citizenship took 4 years which I gather is pretty fast.
   
   I don't know if any of this helps... long winded way of trying to say it's absolutely possible, you just have to find the 'way in' that suits you, your ages, your circumstances. We found it infinitely easier once we were actually in Australia, even though we had to come in under a tourist visa, as we were able to look for jobs and get on with finding a decent immigration agent etc. So you could feasibly get cracking with lots of this on your trip out in the new year.
   
   Lots of luck with it - you'll get there, don't worry!

[neuroticlady]

Just noticed you say BIL could get your DH a job easily at his place. If it's with temporary residency status I'd say go for it - you're already at step 3!!

[ozziewannabe]

oh wow thanks for that, I'd be up for doing something like that but my dh will be worried it will not happen and we'll have to come back to england then have no job and no house!
Going to speak to bil tonight so we'll talk about it in more detail.