My husband is newly qualified plumber/gas/corgie but doesn't have enough years experience for a skilled visa. He was 42 in January. I am going to be 41 in April. We have 3 children 11,8 and 4. Our only hope seems to be Student visa for me. We thought that if we got a Student Visa, while i was at college my OH could look for a sponsor doing his plumbing/Gas and then apply for a full visa that way. How does that sound??
It is all such a minefield, problems i have read seem to be
1. The cost of student visa, course, childrens education, somewhere to live. Reckon we could lose £50,000.00
2. Course I take may come off the shortage list at the end of the course.
3. Although a company may sponsor OH i have read that this is not permanent, but have also read a company could sponsor a permanent Visa ??
We do have an agent (early stages) but this web site is great to find out which questions we should be asking him and also which direction WE want to go not which direction the AGENT wants us to go.
Given that you are looking at a skilled visa the main issue appears to be your OH's prospects for securing a positive skills assessment classification from the Assessing body called Trades Recognition Australia. TRA publishes what it calls Uniform Assessment Criteria, which detail the work experience required before a positive classification can be obtained in the nominated occupation.
With relatively little recent work experience we usually look at the Skills Matching visa, subclass number 134, so long as a State Nomination can be secured as well. The Skills Matching visa has no points test, and simply required skilled work experience for 6 out of the 12 months immediately before you lodge the visa application with the Department of Immigration.
The 134 visa does though still require a positive skills assessment classification.
In respect of employer sponsored visas, permanent visas are possible under the Employer Nomination Scheme or (in certain areas of Australia - principally anywhere other than Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, and Brisbane/Gold Coast) the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme. Do a search at www.immi.gov.au for Employer Nomination Scheme, and Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme to establish the requirements to be satisfied by intending sponsored employees.
If you have an agent advising you I would ask him or her to explain fully what strategy is being recommended to you, and the timescales you are looking at for visa grant.
Hope this helps. If needs be, feel able to telephone my office in Southampton on 023 80 488777, and to ask for my colleague John Sylvester.
Best regards.
__________________
Managing Director, Go Matilda, http://www.gomatilda.com
Registered Migration Agent Number 0102534 and Chartered Accountant (England & Wales, and Australia)
Offices in the UK and in Australia
If you look at the checklist for it and then click on skills assessment, skills have to have been assessed by the appropriate body. Which one that is (TRA, VETASSESS etc) depends on what the skill is, I guess.
MANY THANKS FOR ALL REPLYS ...... But I'm still a bit confused - Although you say the 134 visa only need 6 months out of 12 experience to get your skills assessed with the TRA you need to have 6 years experience so it would put us in catch 22 as we would not get our skills assessed would we??
If you click on the link I provided for Chelle, you can read all the criteria for the subclass 134 skill-matching visa. Just follow the links.
This is what it says about how much work experience the main applicant needs:
Recent work experience requirement
To meet the recent work experience requirement, you must provide evidence that you have been in paid employment in any occupation on the Skilled Occupation List for at least six (6) out of the 12 months immediately before applying.
See:Information form 1121iSkilled Occupation List (SOL), Sydney and Selected Areas Skills Shortage List (SSASSL) and Employer Nominated Skilled Occupation List (ENSOL) (129KB PDF file)
**********************************************
If a gas-fitter is on the skills list, then it appears that Hubby would only need six months' post-qualification experience in order to be able to apply for this visa, from the above.
When did Hubby qualify in his new skill?
Also, you say you have consulted an agent, but what sort of Agent? A Migration Agent or one of the organisations that help people to find training-courses to do in Australia?
Hi Gill , Thanks for reply, Paul my OH qualified as a gas fitter in july 06. He has been self employed since qualifying as a plumber in 2004. His accounts previously did not have alot in them as he was a college alot of the time doing the Gas, but April o6 to April 07 will have alot more work experiece. Can paul have his a/cs as his 6 months work experience or does he have to be empoyed by someone??
I am just about to go into the link you gave me, Thanks
yvonne
Hi Gill , Thanks for reply, Paul my OH qualified as a gas fitter in july 06. He has been self employed since qualifying as a plumber in 2004. His accounts previously did not have alot in them as he was a college alot of the time doing the Gas, but April o6 to April 07 will have alot more work experiece. Can paul have his a/cs as his 6 months work experience or does he have to be empoyed by someone??
I am just about to go into the link you gave me, Thanks
yvonne
Hi Lynne
Sorry - I don't know the answers to your new questions but one of the agents might give you a hand. Otherwise, you could ask John Sylvester at Go Matilda, as Alan has suggested. I know they do not charge for a brief preliminary chat. After that, it is up to you whether you instruct them to help you or not.
Which firm of agents are you talking with at the moment?
The Agent is Monfort international, anyone heard of them ??
Just looked at the link for the Visa and it also says you have to have your skills assessed - back to too little experience i think. Also does anyone know how often Employers or govenments take from the Skill Matching Database??? Has anyone been chosen ?? (MIght do a new thread on that one)
What a brain strain this all is. Our Agent in saying for me to do an ACCA in Australia to qualify as an accountant as i have always done Legal book keeping, but as i have said earlier i'm not sure i want to study for 2 years and also work in between and then have to go into full time work when i finish - When would i see my children ?? The whole point of us going over was to have more quality time as a family.
Sorry to go on and on , but at the moment our life seems to be on hold and i am getting later and later going to bed because of reading so much info and getting more and more confused and fatter and fatter as i nibble and drink through the night!!!!
What did your husband do as an occupation before he trained as a plumber?
Best regards.
__________________
Managing Director, Go Matilda, http://www.gomatilda.com
Registered Migration Agent Number 0102534 and Chartered Accountant (England & Wales, and Australia)
Offices in the UK and in Australia
cheers Gill will have a look - I think the same as Yvonne though on this is it still impossible because you have to pass the TRA first and for that you need at least 6 years experience?
It says that the skill-matching visa is for people who can't meet the criteria for the skilled independent 136 visa. There is no points test for the 134, Alan says, and both he and the website say that candidates for the 134 do not need as much experience as candidates for the 136 visa have to prove.
For Yvonne, it seems that it could be a viable (and far less expensive) route than a Student Visa.
However, there are probably loads of pros and cons and I think the 134 visa is relatively new. I've read elsewhere that Go Matilda are said to have a lot of experience with the 134 visa.
If it were me, I'd ring GM and have a chat with John Sylvester about this possibility.
Ways in - how does this sound??
134 visa and TRA
hi Gill
agent and the rest!!!
