Left it too late : (

Hello everyone,

Im Jim, 46 from Crawley, West Sussex in UK.

I have just returned from a 3 week holiday staying with friends in Brisbane & Kewarra Beach, Cairns.

Being a single man now after 30 years of marriage Australia has always been by dream destination & unfortunately 20 years ago when I wanted to emigrate my now X wife was not interested.

Obviously I absolutely fell in love with Australia especially Cairns and thoughts of emigrating entered my mind.

After finding this very helpful forum and doing some reading up it seems I have absolutely no hope as I do not have a degree or any career on the wanted list and being 46 I’ve left it all a bit late.

So good luck to everybody livin the Ozzy dream…..

Hello everyone,

Im Jim, 46 from Crawley, West Sussex in UK.

I have just returned from a 3 week holiday staying with friends in Brisbane & Kewarra Beach, Cairns.

Being a single man now after 30 years of marriage Australia has always been by dream destination & unfortunately 20 years ago when I wanted to emigrate my now X wife was not interested.

Obviously I absolutely fell in love with Australia especially Cairns and thoughts of emigrating entered my mind.

After finding this very helpful forum and doing some reading up it seems I have absolutely no hope as I do not have a degree or any career on the wanted list and being 46 I’ve left it all a bit late.

So good luck to everybody livin the Ozzy dream…..

I'm not aware of anyway you can migrate but you can spend a significant amount of time in Australia if you don't need to work - lots of people spend 6 months in the UK and 6 months in Australia. Time to start making a retirement plan?

Hi and welcome to the forum.

You may not be able to gain a permanent visa, but as mentioned, you can still spend a lot of time there. Also, please feel free to continue contributing to the forum as not all of us live in Oz or will ever live there

Thankyou for the reply

Have you checked the CSOL list?

Have you checked the CSOL list?

Sadly, at 46 it is unlikely to make any difference as it is almost impossible to get enough points as no points are awarded for age.

What about a 457?

I was thinking (it might be a long shot) but the RSMS 187 visa where you have to be under 50 with a skill on the CSOL or RSMS list and a willing sponsor. I think the 457 you have to have skill on the 'more skilled' SOL list?

Hello everyone,

Im Jim, 46 from Crawley, West Sussex in UK.

I have just returned from a 3 week holiday staying with friends in Brisbane & Kewarra Beach, Cairns.

Being a single man now after 30 years of marriage Australia has always been by dream destination & unfortunately 20 years ago when I wanted to emigrate my now X wife was not interested.

Obviously I absolutely fell in love with Australia especially Cairns and thoughts of emigrating entered my mind.

After finding this very helpful forum and doing some reading up it seems I have absolutely no hope as I do not have a degree or any career on the wanted list and being 46 I’ve left it all a bit late.

So good luck to everybody livin the Ozzy dream…..

If it helps you, or at least provides some consolation, then you should reflect that living somewhere is far removed from a holiday.

I am very happy here but many find that what they leave behind is more important than what they gain when they make a move permanent.

If you plan your future retirement well you could enjoy some very long visits here and maybe get the best of both worlds. Best of luck Jim.

Thankyou : )

I'm 44 and also always wanted to go to live in Oz and given up one opportunity in Australia and one opportunity to migrate to New Zealand both cause of the ladies I was with at the time. Now I have been offered a position in NSW as I'm a Diesel mechanic I want to take this opportunity as I'm single again. I know its a dream and I always wanted to go but one needs to be sensible - my salary in the UK is £16hr and in Oz they offering me AU$28hr which I believe is about £16 but worry as its more expensive living down under as I do not have a house to sell or any money saved up to take along so what I get paid is what I have but is it worth it? will I live the dream? I know it about the lifestyle not the money but one has to survive.

Dreams can come true even as oldies so don't give up.

Should I take the position on the salary offered?

Hints, tips and suggestions welcome

Thanks

I'm 44 and also always wanted to go to live in Oz and given up one opportunity in Australia and one opportunity to migrate to New Zealand both cause of the ladies I was with at the time. Now I have been offered a position in NSW as I'm a Diesel mechanic I want to take this opportunity as I'm single again. I know its a dream and I always wanted to go but one needs to be sensible - my salary in the UK is £16hr and in Oz they offering me AU$28hr which I believe is about £16 but worry as its more expensive living down under as I do not have a house to sell or any money saved up to take along so what I get paid is what I have but is it worth it? will I live the dream? I know it about the lifestyle not the money but one has to survive.

Dreams can come true even as oldies so don't give up.

Should I take the position on the salary offered?

Hints, tips and suggestions welcome

Thanks

I'm guessing this is on a 457 visa for four years - if you're happy to go and live/work in Australia for 4 years that's fine but once that ends you'll be 49/50 so probably no opportunity to stay permanently.

The salary isn't on a par with your UK salary - don't be confused by the poor exchange rate at the moment AU$28 is equivalent to around £13 per hour so you would have to adjust your lifestyle accordingly. I would tend to say it's not worth it, the people that do well in Australia are those that increase their income - to be honest I'm surprised a mechanic doesn't earn more in Sydney as trades tend to do well.

Whether you'll 'live the dream' depends what your dream is and what the 'lifestyle' is you want. We moved knowing our income would be less but thought the 'lifestyle' was worth it. What we found was the lifestyle was really no different & since we had less money for us it was actually worse.

A lot depends where in the UK you are moving from and where in Sydney you could live. If your rent will be less in Sydney it might even out.

Then again you only live once and if you have no ties and no property very little harm in giving it a try!

You will need money for the move though - the cost of shipping your belongings (or if you don't bother the cost of replacing), the cost of temporary accommodation, flights, buying a car etc.

Hello everyone,

Im Jim, 46 from Crawley, West Sussex in UK.

I have just returned from a 3 week holiday staying with friends in Brisbane & Kewarra Beach, Cairns.

Being a single man now after 30 years of marriage Australia has always been by dream destination & unfortunately 20 years ago when I wanted to emigrate my now X wife was not interested.

Obviously I absolutely fell in love with Australia especially Cairns and thoughts of emigrating entered my mind.

After finding this very helpful forum and doing some reading up it seems I have absolutely no hope as I do not have a degree or any career on the wanted list and being 46 I’ve left it all a bit late.

So good luck to everybody livin the Ozzy dream…..

Even with no skills to offer, as you say 46 is too old to migrate there now anyway.

You could still migrate to Canada or New Zealand up to the age of 55 but not sure what skills/quals you would need.

Never wanted to go to Canada myself, but I have heard plenty of mixed stories about New Zealand.

I would go the long term tourist route as advised.

it seems I have absolutely no hope as I do not have a degree or any career on the wanted list and being 46 I’ve left it all a bit late.…..

Well find yourself a nice Aussie Shelia and get married.

You don't need a degree for spouse migration.

That does seem a bit low for a qualified mechanic TBH, where is it?

I will be 48 in June and have an interview tomorrow with a plan to go on a 457. In order to get PR before I'm 50, I had hoped to get my employer to sponsor me for direct entry. Am I wrong to think that this is possible?

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I will be 48 in June and have an interview tomorrow with a plan to go on a 457. In order to get PR before I'm 50, I had hoped to get my employer to sponsor me for direct entry. Am I wrong to think that this is possible?

 

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It is possible, but, you need to be aware there is no way to force an employer to sponsor, even if it is in the contract and we regularly have people who were promised it and it never happens. It is a significant risk, particularly if you are taking a family with you. The 457 carries a lot of issues for families and many (including myself who has had 2, followed by permanent and then citizenship) think they are unsuitable for families. If you obtain a 457, you should, regardless of age, accept what it says on the tin. Namely, that you are going temporarily and will return at the end of the 457.

Even if the employer has good intentions to, the regulations may very well change preventing it. This is fairly possible as 457 is a very contentious issue politically and there are growing calls to tighten things

Thanks for your reply. A lot to think about!

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I will be 48 in June and have an interview tomorrow with a plan to go on a 457. In order to get PR before I'm 50, I had hoped to get my employer to sponsor me for direct entry. Am I wrong to think that this is possible?

 

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If you can pass the skills assessment the employer can sponsor you immediately for direct entry - it doesn't happen often as 457's allow employers to tie you to them but if you have skills they really want then they may be willing.

Thank you. Do you think that is something that I could put to them during the interview or wait until a job was offered?

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Thank you. Do you think that is something that I could put to them during the interview or wait until a job was offered?

 

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You can try, but many won't given a direct entry would mean a fairly long wait - 6 months and that is assuming you already have a positive skills assessment in place which can take a few months to do. From the employer perspective, it is a pretty expensive business and a very long wait for someone who may or not get a visa then may or may not make the move then who because they have a permanent visa may or may not chose to work for them. But, it depends on what your occupation / skills are which will govern how long and what risks they are willing to take.

Thank you. Do you think that is something that I could put to them during the interview or wait until a job was offered?

 

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Have you already got a skills assessment? Or if not, do you know how long it would take to obtain one for your occupation? It can be as little as a couple of weeks but on the other hand others take months. You cannot get direct entry without skills assessment - well there are a few exceptions, but they are very specific exceptions.

If you do have your skills assessment in hand, well no harm in asking, the worst that can happen is that they say no. I would ask a little later on, once you have the offer hand or at least know you are preferred candidate. If they do say no, the important thing is for you to decide if you would make this move on a temporary visa, with no guarantees that it would ever go permanent.

No, I don't have a skills assessment I'm afraid. I'm a degree qualified mechanical design engineer with 20+ years experience so maybe I'd pass it OK. I won't mention it and see what happens - I might not even get offered the job!

It makes me wonder why they're bothering to interview me if they think that the job has a long term future. I wouldn't employ someone who might not get PR.

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No, I don't have a skills assessment I'm afraid. I'm a degree qualified mechanical design engineer with 20+ years experience so maybe I'd pass it OK. I won't mention it and see what happens - I might not even get offered the job!

 

It makes me wonder why they're bothering to interview me if they think that the job has a long term future. I wouldn't employ someone who might not get PR.

 

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Well you you will not get a direct entry permanent visa without a skills assessment. This might be something you should get in the bag, even if this opportunity does not work out, perhaps there will be others and you are really up against the clock.

I don't think many employers think long term these days do they? In any case, they can sponsor you for a 457 visa and then another one after that and again, for as long as they need. It is of no particular interest to the employer whether you are permanent or not, many would prefer to keep you tied to them on the temporary visa.

Actually, several years ago I had a skills assessment carried out to obtain a PR visa. All was successful but due to family problems we never made the move and the visa ran out 5 years ago. Will this assessment still be valid?

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