Beffers

1 hour ago, AussieBeth10 said:

Thank you both. Very helpful advice.

 

Beffers - your situation is similar to ours, only I'm the Aussie and he's the Englishman.  Our girls are dual nationals.  We've been together for 13 years.  So it appears we will stick with the 309 visa and get it sent off as soon as we come up with the funding.  The form has not asked me for any proof of finances/mortgage/family life etc like people have mentioned, I've not had to attach any documents to the application - only fill out sections regarding our home/money/relationship/social circumstances.  I hope I'm not missing something! 
How did it all go for you once you arrived?

You will be given access to a screen once you've submitted which allows you to upload all the evidence. You get a limited number of uploads and so put things together in compilation PDFs. We uploaded loads of evidence, so start compiling all your files now. It takes a fair bit of time to get it all together. 

Given all the comments since my last comments and more information coming to light, I'd speak to an agent if I were you, to make sure you're going down the right path. They can guide you on your best options. 

13 minutes ago, Quinkla said:

They are only interested in marriages or registered relationships. Anything else can be explained as dating or house-sharing. 

Or non-marriage relationships where there have been children arising from the relationship, as that child will need to be declared etc.

How long have you been together? 

I'd say for for the 309/100 and providing your evidence is worthy and you've been together for a number of years, the. He would qualify for the 100 permanent residency straight away. 

We had been together for 14 years, me British and Aussie hubby and a daughter with both passports, who was almost 6. We had 12 years of defector evidence, and our Stat Decs and own Statements backed all this up. We had enquired at Australia House in Londom and they said providing we were fastidious with our paperwork, and told us how to present the information, and not to bother with an agent, so we did ourselves and it took 3 months from start to fi ish last heR and we went straight to PR. We've now been in Australia just over a year.

That said, Partner Visas have been under a lot of scrutiny and you'll have read elsewhere on this Forum that some refusals and appeals have been discussed, so you may wish to discuss your application with an Agent to reassure yourselves that it's the best option for you.

In terms of his career, I wondered whether my own government clearance had given me a quick turnaround but I don't know that it did make a difference, or whether we were just lucky. 

Whatever you decide, good luck!!!

22 hours ago, Aussiepom said:

This isn't round one for Telstra.  I have a friend who had been working there 10 years (also English) who was made redundant around this time last year.  He got a stonking payout lucky bugger.  Telstra is a massive business, I wonder where in the business those job cuts are coming from?

Judging from press release, one in four middle management are being cut.

Normally marriage and defacto/long term relationships I think, although someone else may comment to confirm.

You submit the application first and then you'll be given access to the upload screen for both you and your partner. 

1 hour ago, Madis said:

Hello and sorry for a long post. I'm new to this forum and after about 9 months of trying to deal with the visa details I have realised that it can be even more complicated than I previously thought. I would like to ask some advice and tips from this forum. Thank you for any help! But before, I would like to explain where we are currently:

1. A little bit about our family:

• Me - 32y old (33 at 29.03.2019)
  • Qualification:
    • Bachelor degree on ICT Project Manager (graduated in 2009)
    • Masters degree on ICT Business Analyst (graduated in 2011)
  • Job experience:
    • Different positions in IT sector (mainly Software Tester) - since 2008
    • Product Analyst in IT - since 10/2014
• My wife - 33y old
  • Qualification:
    • Bachelor degree on Marketing (graduated in 2008)
  • Job experience:
    • Different positions in journalism and HR
    • Manager/Owner in her own company specialised on event planning - since 2011
• 1st child - 5y old
• 2nd child - 1y old

2. Where we are in visa process so far:

I have finally got all the papers together and applied for EOI, as ICT Business Analyst (261111) my skill, with following points:

• 189 - 60 points
• 190 - 65 points
• 489 - 70 points

For that I:

• Got my diplomas and latest employer referal translated to english, signed by a laywer and applied for assessment by ACS
• Got my successful qualification assessment by ACS
• Took Cambridge English CAE test - scored 194 points and C1 level, Proficient level for SkillSelect
• Applied with that information for EOI

3. Our plans:

We are planning to move to Australia for at least 4 years, most probably permanently. I was planning to move to Australia and start working in the end of this year (2018), followed by the rest of my family after about 2 months or so, after I've had time to settle in and prepare everything for my family - settle in with new job, get familiar with environment, find a place to live etc. Our first child would need to go to school in the beginning of next year so time pushes us. We have planned that my wife would take some time off from work for the first year or two to help children settle in to different environment. And so I could concentrate on my work. We are currently leaning towards Perth, Brisbane or Melbourne. Most probably Perth, but it all depends of what job offers are on the table.

4. My concernes and questions:

1. I have realized that 60 points for 189 is currently not enough to get invited, the current cut off seems to be 70 or even 75 for my profession. I see that I might be able to get more points from:
   1. 5 points - getting my wife to get her skills assessed as Marketing Specialist (currently in the list) and do her English exam aswell;
   2. 5 points - add more work experience. I have currently added only my recent Product Analyst work experience to my assessment (as it's the only closely related one for ICT Business Analyst, the rest of my experience is also IT related, but mainly in IT Quality Assurance). I currently have 3-5 years of experience which gives me 5 points. Getting my work experience to 5+ years would give me 10 points. What do you think - would that be possible?;
   3. 5 points - come and work in Australia with another visa, get work experience for 1+ years and add it to my EOI;
   4. Minus 5 points - in about 9 months I will be 33 years old and I will loose 5 points instead. Meaning that all above would be pointless if I don't get an invite within the next 9 months. Am I right?;
   • So here's my question - given my timeline (work in Australia by the beginning of 2019), do I have a shot to get visa though 189, 190 or 489 by that time at all or should I start looking for alternative ways (482 or other)?
2. I've tried to get everything set up on my own, but I hear and read warnings that people might get rejected for silly mistakes. I have quite a lot at stakes here, due to my whole family needs and plans.
   1. Should I use help from a migration agent, based on my situation?
   2. How much would that service cost me about, given the fact that I've already got so far?
   3. Can you recommend a good migration agent that would suit my needs?
3. Should I find a job first, get 482 (or something else), work and live in Australia for a year or two and follow another path for a permanent visa? My end goal would be to apply for citicenship and stay in Australia permanently. What would that path look like?
4. Finding a job. I've started looking around and I have a few questions:
   1. Should I use a recruitment agency that is specialised on expats or it doesn't really matter?
      1. If yes, which recruitment agency would you recommend?
   2. If I apply for a job as an expat, are the employers generally up for sponsoring my visa? What should I pay attention to?
5. What should I keep in mind getting visa for my family members aswell? As I've understood so far, all the visa forms I've been interested to (189, 190, 489, 482) give me the opportunity to include my family aswell
6. Any other thoughts/ideas?

I will be very grateful for your input, even the smallest ideas and suggestions.

I don't know much about the visa stream you're interested in, but have the following two comments:

Firstly, due to not quite having enough points, and other factors you mention, use an Agent who can assess your situation properly and provide a proper assessment.

Secondly, you'll probably find it easier to get a job once you have a visa, as most employers can't offer work to someone who doesn't have working rights. But. Erin Networking, lots of Aussie firms look at LinkedIn so make sure that's up to date. Put the feelers out and network with agencies in your chosen locality but bear the above in mind about work rights etc.

good luck!

Sounds like you need to apply for a 309 visa. Your evidence will need to prove you're a genuine as-good-as-married couple. There's lots of info on the 309 visa on these pages, and there's a Partner Visa booklet you can download from Immi website.

On 25 June 2018 at 22:42, DrSMW said:

Thanks all for those helpful comments - good advice there. Ideally I'd like to live closer to the beach, or at least sea shore but on the other hand from what I can see unless I take a train or tram which stops directly at Brunswick, I'd have to go into the city and then back out, which I don't want. East-west travel in Melbourne seems to be a bit of a challenge.

I'm told I'd have a parking place but I'm guessing with one car in the first instance I'd rather leave the car for milady, so public transport it will be. Thanks for those suburb suggestions, I'll look at them.

Beffers, it is RMIT. I am super excited about the job but that's just one part of life. Thanks all for your replies, keep them coming

Drop me a line with any specific questions, happy to help!

On 25 June 2018 at 22:40, Aussiepom said:

Having just been through this process i must say that both my wife (the PR applicant) and I (the sponsor) wrote 3 / 4 pages of relationship history each.  Our witnesses did too.  Our histories cited an extensive story of how we met, moved in, got married and highlighted the many things we did as a couple with other friends (all we could evidence from facebook etc).  It's interesting to read that perhaps some people are not going to these lengths to justify their relationship, on the other hand i do wonder whether we were too detailed.

Yep we were also wondering whether we had given them information overload (like 80 pages of financial evidence across 15 years)!! And most of our evidence was interlinked (Facebook post about a trip to see friends, booking.com evidence to prove travel, bank statement showing debits, friends stat Dec including the trip in their statement, joint travel evidence, etc). It was extremely tedious, but I can remember thinking at the time that if that doesn't get us across the line, then nothing will lol.

And I'm adding 2+2 together here, Brunswick + 17.5% Super sounds like RMIT - if it is, go for it. Fab uni. Have friends who work there. I used to work at Monash but have since transferred into a specialism within government. 

Get your Mrs to join UK Mums in Melbourne Facebook page. Lots of support on there.

Melbourne can be busy, traffic wise, so choose your suburb with public transport in mind. Your wife should find work but she needs to be prepared that she may not get the contract or pay she wants as a secondary applicant on your visa. Childcare is fairly pricey with places at a premium and long waiting lists, and no Childcare subsidies or help at all on a temporary visa. 

For the northern suburbs, maybe check out Templestowe, Eltham, Montmorency, and around that area. Your rental estimate is a bit on the low side and I'd be moving towards the 600/week to be more realistic. Rentals can be hideous so you'll need to choose with care. Do some basic research on realestate.com.au and check out suburbs on homely.com.au for viewpoints.  

When we came to Melbourne last year, our initial costs were flights, £1500 for family of 3 via Singapore, our 20ft container was £4500 all in, all following in $$: rental car for two weeks 500, then we got a second hand Astra for 2500 to see us thru. Rego was around 800 and insurance around 200. We had 3 weeks in an AirBandB which was about 700 all in. Then we paid months bond and months rent up front on rental which was 1716 bond and same in rent (we live in a different area) and another sum for contents insurance. We had to buy a few things whilst we waited on our container to arrive.    Make sure you also factor in private health insurance, for which we pay around 130/fortnight for a family of 3 and Ambo cover is not expensive but essential.  I think utility bills are quite high here but you can set up payment plans etc.  as a tenant, you don't pay rates, as your landlord pays those.  I think your 20K should cover a fair whack of all that.

Finally a temporary visa is just that, temporary. You need to accept that, whilst you may be able to secure PR, it's not guaranteed, the regs become tighter every year and you may be returning to UK at end of the adventure, just something to bear in mind.  The other post above about removing children is a very real one. I know two families who are stuck here as they failed to take that seriously. 

Credit history works differently here. I got a car loan without any difficulty by showing pay slips and paying a 2K deposit. It's not based on what you've done so much, but about your ability to repay. Lots of people lease here too and you can do that with a few payslips behind you.  Carsales.com.au is good for second hand cars if you wanted a cheapie to give you a runabout from the off. 

Notwithstanding all the above, we've been here a year now and have not looked back since we touched down last year. Victoria is an amazing region, and we've had a ball!! Good luck!! 

14 minutes ago, Amber Snowball said:

I hear you. In the ranges myself. Most of the houses would be knock down/rebuilds anywhere else. Look like I’ve built them! But out here they sell for proper money. 

They certainly demand top dollar for what are glorified shacks lol - think it's going to be interesting when I start looking to buy a house later this year!!

On 23 June 2018 at 14:01, Amber Snowball said:

I think it is colder this year. My biggest issue is that it is often colder inside my house than outside. Don’t understand the inability to build houses with insulation here, a sheet of plastic between the bricks and plasterboard just doesn’t cut it! 

I’m out on the eastern fringes so a few degrees colder than the city as well.

Time for a hot chocolate!

Yep I'm outer East as well, and it's certainly been nippy the past week or so. It's my second Melbourne Winter and it feels colder this year than last, but perhaps as I was newly arrived last year, I hadn't acclimatised!!

Insulation may now be mandatory but certainly where I live in the Dandenong Ranges, a lot of the housing stock is much older and older building refs were not up to much, clearly!!

13 hours ago, Katiebobbles said:

I was thinking the same too. This forum especially was super helpful for us to know what to gather etc. Maybe no one is applying from the UK and therefore we are going to be top of the pile!!!! you can but dream right.
We applied 16th June for 309/100 but hoping for a straight to 100. Medical is booked for 31st July (as timelines have been extended on immi site so want to be sure we are not paying to do it twice) and police checks are ... well on route from aus and Uk apparently, but i never hold my breath with aus post!
Would be good to hear from others in the UK at first stage to gauge how long its taking at the moment.
I am wondering if because we are at the end of the financial year if it all slows down and there maybe a bit more actuvity after July. I hope so anyway.
If you want to come de-clutter us as well that would be fab, honetly the thought of it fills me with dread!

Let's hope you get a reasonably timed grant!! Ugh the deck uttering, that's one bit I hated but we were determined to just have a 20 foot container so halved our belongings!!! Still bought my library over tho lol

2 hours ago, zx6r said:

Yes, its been a lot of help, I still check in every now and again but it's my other half on here that usually posts and keeps me up to date with things.

Our visit to Aus a few months back to activate the Visas was amazing,  it's the next part thats the super scary bit, the move!

Congrats on getting your visa. Good luck with the BIG move. It's worth all the heartache!

Assume you could use a Uk solicitor/notary to certify your paperwork on sight of originals etc. Good luck. 

10 hours ago, Dis said:

Aye, I was thinking the same - we check in on occasion and agreed, absolute godsend over the last couple of years.  I have pointed quite a few people in the direction of the forum, whether or not they choose to visit, I've no idea.  There are quite a lot of other threads and sites, so I guess people are using those, although I personally think this one is a fab tool!

Think my OH put our stats on a while ago - just waiting for the 100 eligibility next Feb.

We have found everyone's experiences and advice invaluable, and that has led to a smooth 309 visa, along with a LOT of reading, re-reading and just being careful in general by ourselves.  No agent needed, just read, take note and ask questions, whether on the forum or via the service centre.

Already packing and clearing out and we're not even moving til the end of next year - 

Glad your living the dream, can't wait for our turn!!  

You've an excited ride ahead!! Can't believe we've been here a year now and it's been great! I remember the packing and clearing crap in advance of the container arriving!! It's one weird feeling watching it chuff off down the street with your life in it!! Good luck with it all tho, and good luck on the 100!

16 minutes ago, Marisawright said:

We had this discussion on another thread and it seems that a large proportion of the refusals are people who don't really qualify - they're confusing dating with de facto, and they haven't been together in the equivalent of marriage for long enough.  Or they've failed to provide evidence of that. 

Ah I see. Thanks! 

We opened a GBP migrant account with Westpac that sits alongside our AUD current account, we just transfer money online between accounts. No fees at either end. Our bank in Uk was Barclays who are Westpac's UK partner so we avoid all ATM fees in Aus and Uk, and can transfer in either direction within 24 hours without any fees at any point in transactions.  

Just ensure you pursue the temporary visa with the view that you will be returning to the Uk at the end of it. I've seen too many people sell up, come over on a temp visa, not qualify for PR and have to move back to Blighty, esp difficult if there are kids involved. 

Do people not use this thread any more?? This was a godsend to me whilst I was going thru the process!

She has 12 months to get private health cover sorted. You get a letter when you first register with medicare. Ambulance cover needs to be set up separately. 

Bank account, set this up online before you go. Saved us time and was far easier to transfer GBP to Australia that way. 

I did my driving license straight away as I did like showing my foreign (UK) passport as ID!

I also registered with the British/UK Consulate (as a permanent or temporary resident, you're not entitled to Australian consular services only British until she gets her Australian citizenship).

Other than that, I can't think of anything more I did when I arrived on my 100 last year. Good luck!

22 hours ago, newjez said:

If you are with an Australian you go together through the Australian gate even if you have a non Australian passport.

That must've changed since last year as when I arrived in Melb, my Aussie husband and daughter when thru AU Citizens and I was told to go to other passport arrivals. My passport activated visa automatically, I had a copy of my Immi grant letter on me just in case, and I got into arrivals before them as there were more people in their queue!