Adam Grey

Certainly something to consider but I would personally exhaust other avenues first before looking into a business visa, especially if going alone.

If you're looking at skilled independent migration there a couple of issues that immediately jump out: 1) The occupations you mentioned for yourself have extremely strict skills assessment criteria through the AIM and unless you have a very large business it's very unlikely that you meet their requirements. 2) If your wife has no recent relevant experience in the occupations you mentioned she's unlikely to meet the skills assessment criteria as well. An initial consultation with a good Registered Migration Agent would be able to look into all the aspects of your matter and then devise a pathway to move forwards on (if one exists). They're definitely more than form fillers.

Ok that's good, if you're sure your present employment is relevant and meets the criteria for the issuance of points you can claim it. I've just had a quick look at the VIC criteria for 489 and even they are specifying the requirement to have a job offer, so for that option it may be a case of waiting to see what NSW or WA include on their lists over the next few weeks. Unless you happen to have a family member living in a designated area of Australia? You also mentioned having trade qualifications but them not adding up to a diploma level? Might be worth clarifying what qualifications they are and whether they can be deemed equivalent to an AQF trade qualification.

Unfortunately there's bad agents as well as good agents, seems like you found the former. In the assessment letter ACS gave you when was the exact date they considered you as 'skilled from' and what employment did they consider as relevant post 'skilled from' date?

Sure about that? Are you still working in your nominated occupation?

But he wouldn't be OK if his 457 visa was cancelled in Australia

You would've been given a bridging visa A when you applied for the 820, but it does not come into effect until your 457 visa expires. The issue that you're going to face is that the BVA contains the same condition as your 457 visa which stipulates that you must not cease work for more than 90 days, so if your 457 is cancelled due to your lack of work, your BVA will be cancelled too. If this happens while you're inside Australia you would become unlawful. I'd suggest taking professional advice from a MARA registered agent before embarking on this path. Previous advice on this forum regarding this particular scenario has been wildly inaccurate from some members. All the best,

Thats the first thing I'd clarify before worrying about who's going to pay for it. As part of your 457 conditions you must work in the nominated position or be re-nominated. This also has the effect of resetting your 2 year qualifying period for the ENS TRT stream. They do allow a degree of promotion and duty changes, but a significant role change would not be acceptable.

I just don't understand why people like Quinkla feel the need to give such advice if they're not sure of it's accuracy. I will no doubt get accused again of having an agenda here, but thousands of people get their visas rejected every year because they did not understand the regulations. They can lose thousands and have their dreams shattered. I'm quite happy to say forums are a great place for general guidance but people need to realise that if they start talking about specific legal matters and are wrong it can have consequences if people followed it. I've seen plenty of these cases first hand, I've also heard agents speaking about the same topic. People have blindly followed information from forums and people have got rejected because of that. People can hide behind any of the 'it was only guidance, the poster should have checked themselves, the forum has a disclaimer, this is a think tank' type arguments, but I question why someone would willingly contribute to the general confusion and rejection rate? If you know the answer and can help, then help. If you don't know the answer, just don't post! Why would you guess at it? Even worse in this case, Quinkla guessed at an answer for a question the OP didn't even ask.....I really don't know why you do it. lastonealive - You can play at being coy if you want, but saying "......Or would it be bad for business if it were that simple" is a clear insinuation that I have an interest in making the process sound difficult or withholding information about the form you mentioned. I'm not a fool and neither are the majority of people on this forum. I don't understand why you felt the need to make such a comment without being sure that the process really was "that simple". As Ramot and CG have rightly pointed out, there's far more to it than that. I think I've said enough on the matter now.

It wouldn't solve their hypothetical issue, which is an issue that they should avoid in the first place anyway. I advised they should ask the paid legal professional they already employ before taking any hypothetical action. You just muddied the water trying to prove a point, question the validity of my advice and imply I would profit from it......Helpful.

What good is incorrect advice? How does that help anyone? The OP has an agent so how exactly does your first point stand up? Perhaps you should ask the owners of a forum if they want it to be a place renowned for incorrect, potentially damaging advice? There's a lot of knowledgable members and moderators who put a lot of time and effort into correcting incorrect advice, but it would be far easier if people simply didn't reply if they did not know the answer. Guessing does nobody any favours. Check out the 500+ posts I have given very comprehensive and valuable information. I'm very willing to answer freely. My answer in this thread is also comprehensive: "There is another thread with processing times" - correct and would mirror the intention of this thread "Times vary wildly due to factors in and outside of an applicant's control" - correct "It should be used as a general guide, not an indication of what will happen" - correct "He should seek advice from his agent (who he has already engaged so would cost nothing) if he wants to do anything that will effect his current visa" - correct again and only mentioned to avoid the damage your comment may have caused. There's no point in me discussing the ins and outs of bridging visa classes with the OP because a) the OP never mentioned it, b) he has already engaged an agent that will advise and c) I don't know his circumstances. Seems like a pretty comprehensive and accurate piece of information, nothing more I can really offer the OP on the subject. So who is more helpful? The person given correct, comprehensive advice or the person telling an OP that asked about processing times they can leave their employment and rock up to DIBP to get a bridging visa E? I've sniped at you because you've given terrible advice multiple times and then questioned my integrity and intentions when I corrected it. When I first joined, without any foundation you questioned my intentions, going so far to check the MARA registration of everyone in my company and enquire about my place of work. If you don't wish me to correct your advice, do not give incorrect advice. Again would it be more helpful of me to ignore incorrect advice? Or do you think perhaps the forum members might find it more helpful if I tried to.....You know........Help them? I completely agree comments that simply say "consult an agent" can be unhelpful, I like to at least point out why I think people should if I'm going to make a comment like that. The vagueness of answers sometimes given by agents is often a result of a lack of information from the poster. Unlike yourself, agents have a professional code of conduct they abide to and guessing or making assumptions about a poster's circumstance can lead to bad advice which isn't good for the poster and damages the reputation of the agent. In those instances it's actually bloody great advice to suggest someone get all their info together and consult an agent rather than rely on a forum 'think tank'. Many agents including my own company offer free initial assessments, so financial gain does not come into it. If poster's gave more information I'm sure they'd receive less vague responses. I also agree with you that I don't think this is the best place for me. I seem to be spending more and more time having to defend my correct advice, having to defend the integrity of my industry and responding to crap like this. I get no benefit from this forum other than my own satisfaction of helping and I think I can live without that so I'll leave you to it. If you want to carry on giving terrible advice to people be my guest, just have a conscience when you read the posts that crop up frequently titled "Help! My visa just got rejected" and ask yourself who is wrong here.

Very helpful, thanks for your contribution.

Not everyone can demonstrate they have a compelling need to work, relying on this path would be foolish. Please refrain from slander too....Quite a pathetic response when all I'm trying to do is give the OP free factual advice so they can avoid a potentially catastrophic situation. Fortunately the OP appears to have his head screwed on, but others do not. I'll re-iterate a third time, think about the consequences if someone follows any advice written on here.

So the OP sits on a bridging visa E for possibly a year while the partner visa is being processed? What can they do during that year Quinkla? I'll re-iterate again, I wish people would refrain from advising if they do not understand the system. The OP could suffer serious consequences if they followed your advice, please think about that before you post. Keano - Processing times vary wildly depending on a large number of factors both in and outside of your control. There's another thread with onshore partner processing times I believe, but use it as an average guide, not a guarantee of what will happen in your case. I would very strongly suggest consulting with your agent first before you do anything that may effect your currently held visa.

Presuming you're a British Citizen: IELTS (if required for points) anytime before submitting the EOI Vetassess or another TRA-approved RTO anytime before submitting the EOI Points advice if you feel you really need it Submit EOI Police clearances and medicals can be obtained anytime you want but only have a 12 month validity. If you have a standard UK qualification like an NVQ 3 and you fully familiarise yourself with what will and won't be counted as work experience, then you may be able to save yourself the points advice fee. Over-claiming work experience is one of the main causes of rejection in this visa though, so please research thoroughly.

No, Vetassess do not give points advice for plumbers with their assessments, that would be done through TRA. Ridiculous when you think about it, TRA outsource the main assessment work to Vetassess but then you have to go back to TRA with pretty much the same documentation if you want points advice. Should point out that points advice is an optional service. The overall issuing of points lies with the DIBP and you can submit an application without it.

Just playing Devil's advocate: are you sure the factor that the agent believes will cause an issue is the fact that you'll be seeking work?

May I ask why you continue to use them if you're unhappy with the service? I'm sure you're free to terminate the engagement. It it would be wrong of me to comment on the advice received. I would suggest that if you take the opinion of a migration agent looking at your whole range of documentation, and the opinion of people on a forum looking at a tiny range of your information, you're going to get very different advice.

Don't worry, I was just being cheeky. Those questions ask if they received assistance in filling out the form. In Australia a person giving such assistance has to be a registered migration agent or an exempt person such as a close family member or consular official providing they don't charge a fee.

What will you write in Part J - Q45,46,47 & 48? :biglaugh:

I almost put my fist through the screen when I saw the new website today, took me ages to find what I was looking for too. Put your occupation in the search box here and it will tell you the experience requirements, I don't believe they've changed at all: http://www.vetassess.com.au/Skills-Assessment-for-Migration/General-Occupations/Nominate-an-Occupation

You can apply for the baby to have citizenship by descent through the embassy in London. They'd then be a dual Citizen and never have to worry about any visa issue in either country.

Yeah he should get a positive skills assessment and be clear that everything else regarding his points is in order before submitting an EOI. If he's a UK passport holder applying as a carpenter it will be through the Offshore Skills Assessment program which is done through a TRA-approved RTO.

Excellent. Goes without saying the ease of transferring should be made clear when they're making the decision. Hope it goes well,

Wrong wrong wrong wrong and wrong. You haven't got a clue what you're talking about. - I've seen hundreds of people similar to the applicant position go down a WHV>457>PR route. Funnily enough recruitment consultant is one such industry that loves UK graduates like this. You said he is "pretty much limited to bar work". Wrong. - You say he doesn't have a relevant qualification and won't get any experience in a skilled position in Australia? See above, wrong again. He MAY not find it, but he'll certainly find it easier from within the country on a WHV. - A 457 visa does not always require the company to demonstrate they can't find local labour, in the OP's case it would be very unlikely to apply. Wrong again. - A company has to show they meet training benchmark commitments if they have been trading for more than 12 months. Audit able training plans aren't a necessity. Wrong again. - A 457 visa doesn't always require experience. The degree alone would be sufficient for a large number of occupations. Wrong again. - You said that broadly speaking he should reconcile himself to living without his son. There are more options other than the above. Wrong, and unnecessary. - You said he would be best advised to learn a skill or trade? Really? He's 21 years old, just finished a degree, doesn't seem too sure where he wants to live and yet you think he's best advised to spend another 5 years learning a trade and gaining the experience required for skilled migration? So wrong. Is that enough for this discussion? And nowhere have I said the OP should contact my company. I've been contacted privately by lots of people on this forum and I've given them further help, but I don't think my company has ever actually taken a client on from here. I knew when I joined here and other forums that seeking clients would be pointless because a) Even though our company has 4, I'm not a registered agent b) You can't directly advertise your own services, and c) Other companies already had a strong cross-referral presence here.....Yet I'm still here, still giving out free and accurate information, where exactly is my financial interest in all this? The admin here aren't silly, if anyone tried to use it solely as a way of advertising their business they would be out the door. Yet you see a few agents and also myself quite welcome here....Could that be because we give out good, honest information? Many agents give out free assessments and the WHV option suggested can be completed by his son. Even if he hired an agent to complete it the cost would be minimal. So again where is my financial interest? We have plenty of clients and if we didn't this forum isn't the place to seek them! I don't have any interest in painting a rosy picture, but I do have an interest in painting an accurate one. You and many others on this forum seem to take an interest in spouting absolute nonsense as if it's fact, with little thought of the consequences if someone actually followed your 'advice'. You imply I have an agenda (not for the first time) without knowing any facts, yet you're happy to continually post advice that is opinionated and untrue. What agenda do you and others have for giving advice without knowing if it's correct? OP came here for advice and left by the end of it more confused, berated for not doing something and getting some shockingly bad advice......Not good and seems to be happening a lot on here recently. If people don't know the correct information they should refrain from advising.