Marisawright

Thanks so much. What about Gosford area? X

 

Avoid Gosford itself. The smaller towns on the Central Coast (e.g. Umina Beach) seem to be popular with Brits, though Sydneysiders tend to look down their noses at it. Impossible to commute by car to Sydney because the traffic is so bad, but it's about an hour on the train.

Hi there. An agent told me we have to have been working for 3 years for a 457 visa. Is this true because another agent said the past 12 months would do? He has been working for this company for about 18 months but before that was self employed as a builder which is not the job he is going for.

Needtoknow, who are these agents who've been giving you this advice? Are they MARA registered? There are some good agents out there but there are a lot of shonks as well. I think you need to find yourself a good agent like @wrussell who's on the forums here, and get the right story.

The lawyer from the company that does the applications told me specifically that they tried for 4 years but the government knocked it back to 1.5 years. I'd just like to know the truth. I asked to see the documents she submitted and she refused.

Well that tells you something.

Hi,

 

Can you help me further with this please? I would very interested in applying for this.

 

Thanks

I suggest sending a message to WRussell and arranging an initial consultation, he's a MARA registered agent and will be able to advise you.

Definitely get a Working Holiday Visa (WHV). That gives you the right to live and work in Australia for a year - and if you do a few months of farm work, you'll be allowed to stay for a second full year.

You wouldn't be able to teach on that visa, because you can only work for six months with one employer - but it's an ideal opportunity to take a year out before you settle down to your teaching career.

Right now you simply don't have the option to get any other kind of visa, as you don't have enough work experience. Whereas you can apply for a WHV and it is usually approved within a day or two (yes, really!).

As Quoll says, he will need to apply for a spouse visa. If you have funds to buy a house and it's been sitting in the bank for at least 12 months, then you should meet the financial requirement no problem.

However, he will only get a visa for 2.5 years and then he'll have to apply again, and will have to meet the financial requirement again - so you need to consider whether you'll still have enough savings left over after buying your home. Pension funds don't count to meet the financial requirement, it has to be money that's available as a lump sum at any time. The next visa he gets will be limited too, so there will be a third application to make, again meeting the financial requirement, before he can get indefinite leave to remain. So you have to look at your budget and may have to settle for a smaller home so you can keep enough savings aside to meet the financial hurdles.

My 457 application done by my company lawyer was approved today... but only for 1.5 years, not for the usual 4. Is this common? I can't get PR with a 1.5 year 457 visa. I paid my company 3000 dollars for their lawyer to do my application and now this..

 

I think my company did this intentionally ...

As far as I'm aware, it's up to the company to set the length of the visa so I'd be suspicious too, though not for the reason you mention. Maybe they don't want to commit to a longer contract.

Hi there, I hope my experience will help you!

 

Hubby and I came out on his 457 in July 2011, we knew it was a temporary visa and therefore did not sell our UK house, and put all our possessions and car in storage - we treated it as an adventure knowing we may never get permanent residency but we had no kids and felt it would be awesome to work in another country and live in Sydney. All was going well but my hubby was told he would be made redundant 9months after coming over - we were gutted but always new the risks, also back then you only had 28days from the time you finish to find a new sponsor or leave. Thankfully they gave him about 4months notice of the redundancy and asked him to stay until the end offering a good package to do so.

 

During that 4 months my company decided to sponsor me so we then went onto my 457 visa which was awesome and we continued as normal, hubby stayed until the end and then found a new job with no worries. I had been at my company and on my visa for nearly 2 years (which is when a company can decide whether to sponsor you for PR) and guess what...... I got made redundant - again we knew the visa was only temporary but being so close to PR was heartbreaking - Anyway the good thing was that the rules had changed and instead of 28days we now had 3 months to find a new sponsor or leave the country - All the time we knew we had everything to go back to in the UK except jobs - We had had an awesome time in OZ and it was a great life experience so if we went home we knew we had had a blast!

 

Hubby's new company (massive Telco) didn't want to lose him so guess what - we got sponsored again! YAY! We did make a pact though that if redundancy happened again we would not try for another 457 and go home with awesome memories. Well that was 1 year and 11 months ago and the company want to sponsor him/us for PR via the 457 pathway - We are over the moon and have already done the police checks and medicals ready to submit in March - they have already enlisted a agent for us and have given written guarantee of his job etc... Obviously its not final until we get the PR, anything can happen and we are not getting comfy until we see that PR grant but its an exciting time for us. I am 38 and my husband is 48 so it was now or never for him due to the age limit of 50.

 

The moral of my story is that the 457 visa IS only temporary, there are no guarantees and redundancy does strike (twice in our case!!!). You need to come with the attitude that anything can and will happen and you have to be prepared to go home to the UK - many do not make it to PR via this visa. We have been on a roller coaster ride for nearly 5 years but have loved every minute of living and working here and are looking forward to hopefully calling Oz our permanent home but like I said until I see that PR grant I am still prepared for anything.

 

There are good and bad stories about the 457 visa but is was the only option for us as we are not on the skilled SOL list only the CSOL which needed sponsorship- it is not for everyone - we have also been very lucky that we have been re-sponsored when redundancy hit.

 

I hope this gives you an insight into the ups and downs of the 457 - I am glad I did it, its been a great life experience but you must come with the mindset that is it temporary and nothing else or it will eat you up worrying about getting PR or going home.

 

That's exactly how I was suggesting the OP should proceed, treat it as an adventure and be prepared to come home at any time.

@Huntersmommy - just to help put things in perspective, one of my friends moved up from Sydney to Darwin with her new hubby last year. For the first six months she was constantly on Facebook in tears, she hated it - and she's Australian born and bred!! She is stuck there because her husband is in the navy (as she says, it's OK for him, he doesn't even have to bl00dy live there himself, since he's off on a ship most of the time!).

However she is much happier now because she's met up with a great bunch of women on facebook

Maybe you could try something like that? Not saying it would convince you to stay, but it might make things more bearable till you can work out what to do. You don't have to be a good dancer, you don't have to be young or sexy or thin (I'm 62 and I go to belly dance class), and you don't have to show your tummy either. It's a wiggle and a good giggle.

As my last post said we have the potential to go out on a 190. I wouldn't be doing anything illegal and as for the risks involved yes it worth it. You won't get anywhere without a gamble my children are 1 and 2 they are too young for school but i wouldn't be commiting to anything without my own financial security if anything went wrong.

Your original proposal - going out on a WHV and a tourist visa with the intention of staying - IS illegal. If you have the potential to go out on a 190 then that's the way to go.

I do think you have some serious thinking to do. It sounds like you may have to choose between your relatives and your children, because there is a real possibility your children will find it impossible to migrate by the time they've finished their studies and gained enough years of work experience to even apply - after all, by that time they'll be settled in jobs, they may have met the love of their life (who may not want to move to Oz) - they may even have babes of their own!

Even if they're willing to migrate, it's getting tougher and tougher all the time to do so. I don't know what occupations your children are studying for and whether they're on the SOL or CSOL now - but Australia's economy is in a downturn and unemployment is going up, so the SOL and CSOL are getting shorter and shorter because there are enough locals to fill the jobs.

On reflection, maybe a 457 is the way to go - treat it as an extended visit so you can spend real quality time with your relatives, but don't sell your home and be ready to come back at the end of it to be close to your children.

Hi again Nemesis. If the company goes bust or lays him off can he get a job elsewhere and therefore stay in Australia?

Tip: when you are replying to someone, click the "reply with quote" instead of just "reply", it makes it easier for others to follow the conversation.

If he got laid off then yes he could get another job anywhere in Australia - BUT you only have 90 days to leave the country so he'd have to get the job within that time. And the employer would have to be eligible to sponsor for a 457 so it's not as easy as getting any job - many employers just don't want all the hassle of dealing with immigration unless they're really stuck for staff. It's illegal for companies to manufacture a job just to get someone a visa, so it would be a big ask to expect your brother's company to do that.

My husband doesnt have enough years behind him to qualify for a Skills Assessment for a 189 visa so we are looking at going over on a 457 Sponsorship. We want to come out in March so he can see employers and really sell himself. I have 10 years of bar experience (2 yr supervisor) so I was thinking. If I come on a WHV and my HUsband comes on a ETA long stay with the children. I can work (upto 6 month) and he can look for a job.. but if the place I was working offered me a permanent position would I be able to take it and switch visas and add my husband and the kids onto it?

As others have said, your plan won't work because what you're proposing would be illegal (you're not supposed to apply for either a WHV or a tourist visa with the intention of staying permanently) - and if you all rock up together with lots of luggage and all your certificates etc, Immigration is almost certain to smell a rat and put you on the next plane back.

Besides, it would be disruptive to the family (what will your kids do for education?), with only a small possibility of being allowed to stay.

Even a 457 visa is a risky business for a family. It's just a temp job - that's all it is. You've got no job security: if the company goes bust, or decides to restructure, you're out of a job and you've got only 90 days to leave the country. In some states you'll have to pay full school fees for the kids, and you won't be entitled to any benefits. The employer may say they'll sponsor you for PR in the future, but they're not under any legal obligation to do so - you can't sue them if they change their mind, which many do.

If you can afford it, you may decide it's worth it for the adventure - but most people say it costs £20,000 to £30,000 to emigrate, and then almost as much if you're forced to go home again, so you really have to decide whether you can afford to gamble that much of your savings.

The wise advice is to wait for the visa before you do any thing irreversible. Can you rent out the house while you are tourists then once you have the visa return and sort everything out? By then you will be in a position to know what you're likely to need and when.

Maybe not a good idea to do this - one of my friends did this, and because the property took several months to sell, they ended up being hit for capital gains tax (because the property became classed as an investment property).

Better to sell the property before leaving the UK, and put it in the bank. Then it's just savings and there will be no tax due on transferring the money.

Thanks for your response... My hubby is a carpenter and I am a care manager but I'd be looking for evening care work.

I will check out cronulla for sure, thank you. Is it hard to find work outside of Sydney then? X

 

For most people, yes. In your case, it might not be so bad - your hubby would probably have to set up in business for himself if you live in coastal town, but it's very common for elderly Australians to move out to the coastal towns in retirement so I would imagine there could be a demand for your skills there.

Living in Sydney itself is very, very expensive and unless you're from London, you'd likely find yourselves worse off financially there. Living in the country and commuting in would mean a commute of at least an hour and possibly two - Sydney is very spread out! To give you an idea of distance, Wollongong and Newcastle are both nearly two hours by train from Sydney CBD, so Nowra/Ulladulla would definitely not be commutable!

I'd suggest looking at living in Newcastle, Wollongong, Lake Macquarie, perhaps up as far as Coffs Harbour. Newcastle has a great beach, some lovely family-friendly suburbs, it's on the doorstep of the wineries and it's affordable.

I haven't been to Nowra for ages but though it's a reasonable size, it was a bit run-down and depressed last time I visited. Kiama is very nice but I wonder if there would be enough work.

Seek.com.au is the best place to check out jobs. If you take a note of the agencies or companies that are advertising there, it would be worth ringing them up to ask for an honest opinion on job opportunities (do ring, don't email - emails are more likely to get the brush-off)

Domain.com.au and realestate.com.au are the main real estate sites. If you are looking at Sydney, bear in mind that property prices vary greatly across the city - you can pay double or treble the price for the same house depending on how close to the coast or city it is.

I tried as primary teacher but my degree was 3 years and not accepted, so it will be my partner who is a maintenance manager. He will have to apply as a fitter. I would have to pray that the kids would follow.

If the kids wait until they finish university then they would be adults, and they would have to have the skills and experience to qualify to migrate in their own right. So they wouldn't be able to join you for a couple of years at least after finishing uni, assuming their occupations are even eligible.

It sounds like this decision is very important to you - if that's the case then it's really, really false economy to skimp on paying for proper advice from a MARA registered agent like @wrussell who's a member here.

I have nothing against aussie folk, just, I don't like it here.

 

Oz is like that fit guy at school who you have a massive crush on then you get to go out with him and realise he's a massive dick.

It's DARWIN that's the massive dick. As I'm sure you've gathered from all the posts, the average Australian wouldn't like living in Darwin, never mind a Pom. So give the rest of the country a break!

 

*****Ok so I just want to point out before I start that this thread is based on my OWN experiences. Ok?? I know a lot of Brits/Aussies are extremely proud of OZ and can get the arse up if someone says something bad BUT lets not forget, it doesn't work for everyone!

 

So, yes, maybe its a rant post that not everything is as wonderful as it seems over here. Ive very jealous for people who do come here and love it! Id love to make it work, but deep down, my heart belongs to the UK...where I can get a job!

If you met someone who'd moved to England, and they were saying the whole country was sh!t because they didn't like living in Slough, would you think that was fair? That's the reason Australians get upset, because what you hate (and you're entitled to) is DARWIN, not Australia. The Northern Territory is a unique place, completely different from the other states. People seem to either love it or loath it. Many Australians wouldn't live there - you'll see newbies asking here about going to Darwin and they'll often get a barrage of people telling them "don't do it!".

Anyhoo, none of that helps you - just sayin' that if you are having a rant, referring to hating Darwin rather than hating Australia would avoid some of the abuse.

The ideal answer would be to move somewhere else in Australia - if your oh loves it, then he'd be happy in Queensland too, and you'd find Brisbane a lot more civilised. I know two years seems like a long time but if you could agree a plan, it might make it more bearable. The other option could be for you to move to Brisbane yourself, get a job and see how you like it - if you're happy there, then once your visa restrictions are up, he could move to join you.

we'll explore for a while & do some of the tourist things on our list while we have the chance.

Good luck with your move - but do bear in mind that since you're going to spend the rest of your life in Australia, you're going to have plenty of chance to do "those touristy things" on weekends and holidays, so there's no rush!

@The Smith Clan - just don't let your sister turn it into too much of a holiday! If you want to make the right decision, then at least two of those three weeks should be spent touring the suburbs and going to look at houses to see what you can really afford, checking out schools, and making appointments with recruitment agencies to discuss your prospects. You should go to the supermarket with your sister when she does her weekly shop so you can see what prices are like.

You are going at a time of year when the weather is COOL by Queensland standards, so keep that in mind when judging the weather!

Sorry to say, but I get the strong impression your husband has absolutely no intention of living "international". It's not that he's lying - he's convinced himself that if you stay in Australia long enough, you'll learn to love it as much as he does. So his tactic is delay, delay, delay in the belief you'll be fine in the end.

I see two clues to that - one is the idea of having "a couple of years" experience in Australia before moving to your new home. Why? There is nothing special about Australian experience, it won't ensure him a better job when he moves - quite the opposite in fact, because (as he already knows from working in the UK) employers have an annoying habit of undervaluing experienced gained in another country. I suspect that once he got a job, he'd find reasons why he can't leave just yet - he's in line for a promotion, he's got a chance to get experience on a really exciting project, etc etc - and you'll still be waiting five years from now.

The other is this idea of "somewhere international". Have you discussed where, exactly? Have you talked about how he will pursue his career in a country where English isn't the first language? For most degree-level jobs, he would need to speak the language very fluently, so what languages does he speak, and how well?

Successful marriages are all about compromise but sadly, when it comes to deciding which country to live in, there's no halfway house - it's one or the other. One of you will have to make a sacrifice. In your case, you'd have to give up your country AND your family. In his case, he would only have to give up his country. I know that for some people, country is very important but the scales do seem a bit uneven to me.

Actually I've never worked in an accountancy firm either, I'm talking about finance roles in large corporations

Now that the dream is within touching distance we are panicking! Mainly the financial side of things, we have a great life and beautiful home here in the UK and although it is something we want to do we are worrying that we may end up giving it all up and not getting a job! We want to live on the Gold Coast but presuming he is likely to have more chance of a job in Brisbane.

Much of the Gold Coast is easily commutable to Brisbane. Accountancy is a very competitive field though, and most of the big companies have their headquarters in Sydney and Melbourne so it could be an uphill battle. One problem for accountants is that there is so much competition from immigrants from Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong. When I was in Sydney it had become rare to meet an accountant who wasn't Chinese! There is so much competition for accountants now that it's likely to be taken off the SOL.

Though I wouldn't normally recommend it - migrating is an adventure you should ideally do together - in your case I'd be suggesting he go out alone, find a job AND work in it for a few months to make sure he's going to be happy, before you join him.

If you were living in an old house and were unhappy with your life in the UK I'd suggest you just take the chance and go - but it sounds like you are risking a lot if you do that. After all, you may love it - but consider that every migrant goes expecting to love it (they wouldn't go otherwise!) yet about one third return. Those are not good odds when you think about it!

Can anyone give specifics outside of personal reasons how you think the uk has changed since you were gone

I think all countries are changing in similar ways due to globalisation, a lot of the problems you see in Australia are happening in Britain too. I think the big problem for migrants is that once you're a migrant, YOU change!

When you migrate your eyes are opened to different cultures, different ways of doing things, and the longer you're in your new country (unless you've managed to find a British enclave), the more your lifestyle changes to suit your new situation. Even if you don't like it, there will be things you enjoy as well as things you dislike. Then when you go back to the UK, you may find you can't slot straight back in to your old life and habits because you've been exposed to all those different influences.

To give you a silly "for instance" - growing up we used to eat Aberdeen rolls and my sisters still think they're a great treat. Then I went to France on work experience and got used to eating light, fluffy croissants. Aberdeen rolls are made to the same recipe as croissants but instead of being fluffy, they're squashed into a dense, slightly greasy patty - after France, I couldn't see the attraction AT ALL, and of course my family were indignant at me "disrespecting" a local icon!

The longer you've been away, the more of these trivial differences will occur and they can mount up until you feel quite uncomfortable back in your home country.

Also, of course, there's the rose-tinted specs. It's human nature to be nostalgic for the good things - who wants to dwell on negatives? - so when we leave a place, we're inclined to forget why we left! Even if you left the UK for positive reasons not negative (i.e. you were seeking adventure not running away from something), that can still be a problem. Why did you feel you needed an adventure? Why wasn't life in the UK enough? Why will it be different if you go back?

I'd say you need a MARA registered agent - if you have any chance at all, it will be very limited so you'll need to know exactly what to do, when.

I know it is tough for you but sadly, Australia just doesn't want migrants over 50. The problem for them, is that if someone emigrates at 50, they'll work in Australia for 15 years and then be entitled to a FULL Australian pension and all the benefits that go with that. Clearly, only 15 years of work isn't going to pay for what could be 20 or more years of pension, plus aged care, plus the higher medical costs associated with old age and death. So a migrant over 50 is likely to cost Australia more than they contribute.