Basic knowledge

Please could someone give me some advice.

Me and OH and two kids aged 20 and 17 both still live at home.

We are 43, and OH is self employed spray booth installer and part-time decking builder/semi skilled joiner. Im a house wife.

It is our wish to move to Victoria.

My Grandfather immigrated there in the 60's but is now deceased.

I have been reading through the forum and searching internet for about a year now and it would appear that its not an easy country to get in to, could anyone advise me on our chances of completing the required entry qualifications. We would also have money to fall back on if that would help but I read somewhere that funds dont matter now because of a fraud situation within Oz immigration dept.

Thankyou so much for any advice given x

Helen

I would recommend speaking to an agent they will give you a free assessment and let you know which visas would be available to you. We used Ian harrop and were very pleased with their professional service.

Good Luck

The Clarkes

Hello Helen

I agree with TheClarkes that your best bet is to contact some migration agents at this stage.

Ian Harrop is first rate and very highly regarded, plus he is a very nice man. His contact details are here:

Registered Australian Migration Agents, UK - Ian Harrop and Associates

Since you want to move to Victoria, I would suggest contacting Go Matilda as well:

Go Matilda - Your Gateway to Australia - Contact and Feedback

The good thing with them is that you can phone them in Southampton to start with.

I know from your earlier thread that you have been wondering about the possibility of a visa based on the idea that Hubby runs a successful business of his own presently and could do the same in Australia. I know absolutely nothing about the relevant visas in this group beyond which bits of the DIAC website to suggest reading:

Business - Visas & Immigration

Australian Business Skills Entry Booklet

If a visa in this group would be a possibility then I would strongly recommend Go Matilda. The reason is because the boss, Alan Collett, is a Chartered Accountant in both jurisdictions as well as being a Registered Migration Agent. It seems to me that he has the perfect combination of skills for this group of visas:

Go Matilda - Your Gateway to Australia - Contact and Feedback

Beyond that and turning to your post:

....two kids aged 20 and 17 both still live at home.

 

Once a child reaches 18, merely living at home still is not enough. What is your 20 year old doing, please? Is s/he a full time student?

We are 43, and OH is self employed spray booth installer and part-time decking builder/semi skilled joiner. Im a house wife.

 

Definitely discuss OH's occupation with an Agent. They are very good at figuring out what to call Hubby so as to comply with the requirements of the SOL if it becomes necessary to consider the SOL:

http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/pdf/1121i.pdf

....I read somewhere that funds dont matter now because of a fraud situation within Oz immigration dept.

 

What happened was that until 31st August 2007 it was possible for visa applicants applying under General Skilled Migration Program (ie no employer involvement) to invest $100,000 in a designated investment operated by some of the State Treasuries. The money was held for a year and it was worth an extra 5 points towards the GSM Points total. However a completely new visa regime came into force on 1st September 2007 and the Capital Investment Scheme as it is called was abandoned for everyone except existing visa applicants who were planning to use it.

The fraud was not within the Department of Immigration. The fraud was perpetrated by a bank official working for the National Australian Bank. I assume that the State Treasuries must have got wind of the suspected fraud on the bank because West Australia pulled out of the Capital Investment Scheme in July 2007 and one by one the remaining participating States followed.

The result is that some 4,000 visa applicants have been left high & dry for over a year with no sign of the Australian Government coming up with a viable solution to the problem that it got them into in the first place. What on earth possessed the Federal Government to offer visa points on the strength of purely voluntary participation by some of the States baffles me.

However, it is not possible for anybody who applied or applies after 1st September 2007 to get caught up in this debacle so it is not relevant from your own point of view.

Talk to Ian Harrop & Go Matilda, I would suggest.

Best wishes

Gill