Marisawright

Yes. That's my point. With UK agents, there is no requirement for a qualified agent to sign off. Like I said, in the cases I know about, a qualified agent never ever saw the applications or anything about the cases. I'm not going to trawl back through all the posts on here to find them, you can do that if you like. Not saying people shouldn't use DUC, I'm saying people who use a UK company should ask the questions and make sure their case is actually overseen by a qualified person.

Is that the only reason you're moving? In that case, I'm worried. If both you and your wife were really keen to move to Australia for whatever reason, then I'd say, money isn't the most important thing in the world. You will be financially worse off for a while, but you'll manage, and if Australia is where you really want to be, that's what really matters. But if you aren't wholeheartedly committed to the move and excited about it? Then I agree with Bluequay. Don't move as a family. You go over on your own, stay with your brother and try and get your business up and running. Give it six months (or more if you need to). Then you'll know for sure what your income will be. Go and actually look at houses to see what you can afford. Discover what life is really like in Australia when you're actually living there, which is nothing like when you're on holiday. Sure, it will be hard to be separated from your family, but isn't that better than uprooting the whole family, disrupting your daughters' education, then finding you've made a dreadful mistake? Look at it this way. It's going to cost you a lot of money in air fares, shipping, buying new furniture, getting set up in a new home, etc etc. You have an idea how much bigger a mortgage you'll have to carry if you move. You have an idea how big a dent that's going to make in your life savings. Thirty years ago when people migrated, the wages were so good and the houses so much cheaper, you could get your head down, work hard and within a few years, you'd have earned that money back, and then it was all jam from there. Nowadays, with the cost of housing, many migrants take years and years to build up their life savings again. But of course, if Australia is where they always wanted to be, they feel it was worth the sacrifice. I'm not sure you will feel that way. Iif you're only moving to give your daughters a 'better start', then I recommend thinking about what, exactly, you mean by that. Will they get a better education in Australia while they're still at school? @InnerVoice might be able to answer that for you. If they want to do university or college, they'll find their choices far more limited in Australia than they are in the UK, just because our population is so much smaller. I don't know how the fees for further education compare -- I've been Googling and all the information is for international students, not local ones. If that's an issue it would be worth checking. I'm guessing that's not what you're thinking about, you're thinking about when they're adults. Did you know that more than half of all young Australians (age 18 to 29) still live with their parents? Over 70% of young Australians think they may never own their own home. Young Aussies have a great lifestyle but it's questionable whether they're any more financially secure. https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/more-than-70-percent-of-young-people-believe-they-ll-never-be-able-to-buy-a-home-20230223-p5cn01.html I'm sure Cheery will come along to berate me for being a negative Nellie, but in your shoes, I'd be going over on your own and establishing a safe foundation for your family before you send for them (though do remember, you must all visit Australia within a year of being granted your visas, or you'll lose them). If that idea doesn't work for you, then I'd say, stay where you are. All of you head over for a holiday with your brother before your deadline, to activate your visas. Then forget about it and get on with life. When they're older, both your daughters will be able to come to Australia on a WHV (working holiday visa) for 2 or 3 years and after that, would very likely be able to reactivate their PR visa and stay if they decide Australia gives them a better life. Which they might, or they might not. My niece came on a WHV and loved it, so much she was desperate to migrate. Then later on when she was posted here for work by her company, she realised that ordinary working life was a bit different, and that she preferred the UK in the long term.

Exactly. Would you let the architect technician design your whole house, without ever consulting the architect? That's the point I'm making. Forget DUC for a moment, I'm talking about the general principle. If someone uses an Australian-based agent, they know that a qualified agent will always be in charge of their case and making the decisions/offering the advice. In a UK-based firm, there's no such requirement, so it's possible (and does happen) that a qualified agent is never involved. That's the risk, and that's why the cases I know about, went wrong.

Absolutely true. But that's why you check the reviews and get recommendations, like any business. Personally I'd rather engage a company which have good reviews AND I know I'll be dealing with someone who's gone through the hurdles to get registered. If I were hiring a tutor for my nephew, I'd rather engage someone who's done the teacher training, and not just someone who works for a teacher and has all the text books in front of them. Same thing.

They're not allowed to do that in Australia. They have staff who assist in admin roles but they can't give advice. IMO there's a good reason for that. For instance, while we've had a lot of members happy with the service from the Down Under Centre, we've had a few members who lost out on a visa, or wasted a lot of money, because DUC staff gave them the wrong advice. If they'd been registered agents instead of minions, those people would have some comeback.

You pay the money from the HSBC account into the Wise account in pounds sterling. That way you don't pay HSBC anything for currency exchange. Then you get Wise to convert it to AUD.

But you can't get a ETA if you're a citizen of that country.

The skills test is just for the visa. Employers in Australia aren't interested in it.

It's not semantics if you express it badly, and what you said could only be interpreted as "the 186 is better than the 189 for most people". I'm glad you've now clarified that's not what you meant, for the sake of anyone finding this thread in the future.

Beggars can't be choosers -- which means, people who can't manage to get what they really want, have to settle for something. Whereas in your original post, you said the 186 was better than the 189 or the 190 (and I quote, "There are only a few professions (teacher, nursing, doctors, spring to mind) where you'd be better off going down the skilled route (189/190) as opposed to a ENS/186).

I couldn't disagree more. I agree that the 189/190 is a lottery but once you've got it, you've got your PR and are free to do any job you like and live anywhere you like. With the 186, IF your employer knows what they're doing (not all do), you can be pretty confident you'll get the visa -- but it comes at a cost. Take a browse around these forums and you'll find legions of people who found themselves trapped in situations where the employer takes advantage of the situation. Not giving pay rises or bonuses, demanding unreasonable unpaid overtime, and so on. The employee has to put up with it, because they can't afford to pay back the relocation costs and/or they're afraid they'll lose their visa if the employer complains. It's especially rife in the hospitality industry but it also happens in corporate environments.

Oops! Choose just one, otherwise no one will invite you.

...however, PIO posts do appear on Google search and others may read this one later. You very helpfully posted some info about what you would've done, had you fully understood the 186. I'm just clarifying some other points for completeness.

Triplicate post - glitch in system?

Application costs Hide Becoming an approved sponsor under the TSS 482 visa program: AUD420 Nominating a visa applicant for the TSS 482 visa: AUD330 Nominating a visa applicant for the ENS 186 visa: AUD540 (subject to stream and location) Paying the Skilling Australians Fund levy: the amount depends on the business turnover, and in some subclasses, the proposed period of stay of the employee. The levy payments are tax deductible. You must pay for all costs associated with becoming a sponsor and nominating and sponsoring an applicant. You can't transfer these costs to the visa holder or their family members.

multiple posts - glitch in system

You say he has "been with' his partner for 12 months. To qualify for a partner visa, they must have been in a de facto relationship for over 12 months. De facto means the equivalent of marriage. They have to prove things like living together, sharing living expenses, shared finances and also prove the date their relationship became de facto. The period when they were dating does not count for anything, and the baby makes no difference. I agree with Raul. It's time to pay for proper advice.

There are visa fees which the employer must pay and visa fees which the applicant pays. By law, the employer is not allowed to ask the employee to pay any of their visa fees. I agree that it's usual to repay relocation costs if you leave early. These days, relocation costs aren't usually generous so it sounds like you were lucky there.

Good article, and describes the situation accurately as I understand it.

I'm curious what this means? Legally, the employer is very limited in what they're allowed to ask the employee to pay for.

However the agent is working for the employer, not for you. If they're a good agent, they wont mislead you, but they might not disclose all the downsides or risks because it's not their job to warn you of those -- you're not the client.

10% of one month's interest won't be much, unless you have an awful lot of money in your account. Worth doing for the convenience of having a ready-made proof of address when you arrive, IMO. Besides, the bank won't usually start withholding the 10% until you tell them it's a permanent change and not just a holiday

It was on the undertaking you signed when you applied for the visa. It's understandable, because it costs the employer a great deal of money and time to recruit you, so they want to be sure they get a return on their investment. In reality, you may be able to leave your employer early without any problems. It depends on the employer. If they don't make a fuss and complain to Immigration, nothing will happen and you'll be fine.

If you're going with the state system then I agree, there are restrictions. However I believe there are private schools which will offer HSC by distance ed. I was suggesting he do that instead of the GCSE, not as well as, obviously.

Is there any chance at all that you could make the move this year instead? As you probably know, GCSEs are completely valueless in Australia (because there is no longer an equivalent quallification here), so he's going to be wasting a year studying for no benefit. Also as Quoll said, it would be stressful for him to miss most of Year 11 and just do Year 12. Though he may be able to do the same subjects, the chances of the curriculums matching are very low. In Australia, most schools go straight through from Year 7 to Year 12, but in NSW there are a few "Senior Campuses" that do just Year 11 and 12. Worth checking to see if such a thing exists where you're going. Here's one example (in a lovely part of Sydney, BTW): https://oatleysnr-h.schools.nsw.gov.au/ If he can't stay in the UK to do his A levels, I'd question the point of doing his GCSE's. Could he start studying for his HSC this year by distance education? I know very little about it, but I'd say it would be worth investigating. https://www.acc.edu.au/blog/everything-you-need-to-know-about-distance-education/ https://www.aussieeducator.org.au/education/online.html