George Lombard

Hi Ben, Ovarian cancer is generally quite dangerous because of delayed diagnosis, it sounds as though you've dodged a bullet, good job. Health criterion 4006A applies to secondary applicants for a 457 visa. The Department runs an algorithm to determine what costs are possibly associated with the condition and if your wife's assessed costs are more than $40k for the period of the visa then the employer may be asked to provide an undertaking that the costs will be met by the employer. Best to get proper advice if this arises. Cheers, George Lombard

Hi GFunk, NAMO seems to be this: http://www.health.nsw.gov.au/nursing/pages/default.aspx . Best contact them direct. Cheers, George Lombard

Hi Orca, The ACS does assessments based on work experience and qualifications - unless there was a significant IT component in his qualifications he would need to go down the RPL route with ACS - you can read about it on their website: https://more.acs.org.au/migration-skills-assessment/information-for-applicants . Make sure your husband factors in the ACS deeming date, ie they will deduct some of his work experience giving him a period for which he can claim work experience points which is shorter than you will initially think. Cheers, George Lombard

Hi Rossco, You've got to mention the conviction in your form and also your arrival card but no this isn't serious enough by itself to warrant refusal. A 12 month sentence means some form of imprisonment, even if suspended or with some sort of virtual element such as weekend detention. Cheers, George Lombard

Hi PN, No chance to extend the application period on either a 190 (state sponsored) or 186 (employer nominated) but if you're waiting on ANMAC you may well be going through the sponsorship process again, either way. What do ANMAC say? Cheers, George Lombard

Hi Emma, There's not much specific there that I can help with. Choosing a CRICOS course needs to be done carefully with consideration of both the SOL and the pass mark in SkillSelect; getting an employer to you sponsor you is the holy grail, that depends on so many options and imponderables that you'd be better off seeing an agent and putting all your cards on the table. Good luck! Cheers, George Lombard

Hi Phoebe, Check with AITSL - they're quite approachable on this kind of issue and there's no point relying on the Department of Immigration methodology as all the skills assessing bodies are independent. Cheers, George Lombard

Hi Jay, I'd just second what Mark has told you. Holding a subclass 820 doesn't entirely excuse you from not advising the Department that your relationship has broken down but it's less disastrous than being on a bridging visa and switching partners. Cheers, George Lombard

Hi Claire, If you're already engaged with an agent who has encouraged you to lie on your application form to the NT government then I wonder what other dishonesties are involved in your professional relationship :-( Cheers, George Lombard

Hi Gary, The 457 visa is not affected by the "one fails, all fail" rule and given that the health criteria for that visa only apply to the period of the visa, you should be able to bring your father with you. It's also possible for you to enter into an indemnity with your employer with respect to PIC 4006A if necessary. On the other hand, COPD is likely to significantly impact any possible permanent visa application and you should be aiming at a waiver through the subclass 186 temporary residence transition pathway, which may be complex. Good luck! Cheers, George Lombard

Hi Michael, Yes the date resets. You might want to do a new EOI just in case the pass mark comes back down to 65 points for accountants but this is unlikely. Cheers, George Lombard

Hi Belinda, There are many advantages in obtaining your Australia PR but no, it's your personal choice whether to be included in his application or not. You might want to calculate the cost of adding you now as against the cost of none of you being eligible for pensions, Austudy, etc later on. See https://www.humanservices.gov.au/customer/enablers/new-zealand-citizens-claiming-payments-australia for example. Cheers, George Lombard

Hi Ankit, From your user name and history I assume you're about 29 years old so it looks like 30 points for age and 10 for English (but note that "overall" isn't the key for scoring points, you mustn't have any score under the minimum, in this case 65 on the PTE Academic test). Delhi Uni degree should be worth 15 points so the critical issues are claiming work experience points and the choice of occupation if you have a choice. Software Engineer is currently at 65 points (indeed all the SOL IT occupations are at 65 points at the moment) so you'd need 5 claimable years of work experience (for 10 points) or some other point scoring options. Note that the ACS deeming date policy would deduct either two or four years from your claimable work experience. Also worth noting that a lot of the major Indian consulting firms tend to make it hard for people to obtain evidence of their work experience by having a policy of not authorising employment references. Good luck! Cheers, George Lombard

Hi Sheraz, The 457 visa can be granted when you're either inside or outside Australia so I don't see any problem with you arriving earlier. Just check with your sponsor. Cheers, George Lombard

Hi Sam, Generally I'd be reluctant to give advice online about proving a partner relationship, there are many permutations. If on the other hand you're unclear about the mechanism, it depends on whether the partner's application has been granted already or is in process. Either way you'd use your Immi Account to generate the appropriate application. Good luck! Cheers, George Lombard

Hi CD, The processing times for the subclass 190 visa are quick enough for most people to just go straight ahead with the medicals and in fact the Department's current policy is to ignore the "first entry date" for general skilled migration applications, but you should consider your planned migration timetable and try to do the medicals so that you don't feel pressured to migrate prematurely. So my answers to your questions are: 1. Do them now unless you might be delaying your initial migration for some reason. 2. Proof of booking is perfectly adequate. Cheers, George Lombard

Hi Michael, There are times when I wouldn't approach an assessing agency for an opinion on work experience and this is one of them. The assessing agencies will give an advice about which ANZSCO Code suits you but they don't apply the Migration Regulations or the Department's guidelines - the PAMS - which allow for work experience to be considered for the points test if it's "closely related" to the assessed occupation. Unfortunately you might need professional advice on that issue, it's not always straightforward, see http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/sinodisp/au/cases/cth/FCA/2013/1301.html . Cheers, George Lombard

Hi DR, There's an old joke about how your migrating to Australia now will lower the average IQ of both nations (lol) but there's no problem with you having failed to take up an earlier visa. When the DIBP talks about taking your "migration history" into account they're more concerned with your having breached visa conditions or having become illegal in the past. cheers, George Lombard

Hi Dreid, Best to let the employer sort it out - a resident return visa sounds like a lost cause on those facts and almost any visa allowing your wife to work will give you an equivalent right. cheers, George Lombard

Hi Joobles, I really hate criticising agents publicly but I would seriously suggest you need a second opinion. cheers, George Lombard

Hi Joobles, The "agent" doesn't sound very reliable. There's no such thing as an "expired" conviction for Australian migration purposes, everything must be declared. Cheers, George Lombard

Hi TM, Unfortunately the NSW government does not disclose its pass marks for the subclass 489 or 190 visas, largely to avoid creating expectations, but in general you should consider that they do make more than 4000 offers leading to an invitation to apply for these visas every year and to that extent there is clearly a rational basis for applying to the NSW government if you're only 5 points short of the published pass mark for your occupation, see http://www.border.gov.au/WorkinginAustralia/pages/14-september-2016-round-results.aspx . At the moment it's notable that Business Analysts are at 65 points in Skill Select and may increase to 70 points shortly, that may affect your decision. Yes your citizenship rights are calculated according to the period spent legally in Australia but be careful since any period of illegality may reset the clock. Best to check your rights through http://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Citi or http://www.citizenship.gov.au . Cheers, George Lombard

Hi Shepherdn, With respect to these occupations I suggest you try http://www.tradeset.com.au/ and just work through the stated competencies for your trades. You could also try the simpler New Zealand version http://skillshortages.immigration.govt.nz/electronic-instrument-trades-worker-special-class/ . Your wife may have migration options, I would suggest you look carefully at the SOL and CSOL and consider state sponsorship. Cheers, George Lombard

Hi Sarah, If your agent isn't aware of the limited circumstances get him/her to email me. Cheers, George Lombard

Hi Sarah, The problem with the first application is that when you apply onshore - for a subclass 820 visa - you need to meet certain criteria at the time of application, and an important one is that you need to be either married or in a qualifying de facto relationship at the time of application. Your AAT review can't change the time of application criteria except under certain limited circumstances. To that extent the second (offshore) application may or may not be justified, it depends on the precise circumstances of your situation. Cheers, George Lombard