Ausvisitor

52 minutes ago, KCart said:

I live in London but not those areas.what areas in Sydney would you advise ? I have been told to avoid Western sydney ..

Even that is a bit outdated. Certainly western Sydney isn't as pretty or gentrified as the eastern suburbs or the north, but it isn't the hell-hole people think it is (it was but no more).

Also with the build of the new airport in western Sydney and the expansion of the metro to Bankstown by 2024 as nd Parramatta and the new airport by around 2028 those western areas are going to become very popular with people seeking affordable space, and with that sort of migration comes huge uplift in services and property values.

Certainly don't discount the west unless you are getting your advice from someone who currently lives in the west.

It's their words not mine, but they mean the exact opposite. You need a job offer of outside WA. If applying for a 190 in WA you don't need one...

On the age topic, yes Australia used to be (and sir tof still is) a bit ageist when it comes to older employees.

However I've noticed this last 6 months that is changing. The demand for people is meaning they would quite happily take what ever resource they can and to be frank, the most recent generation's attitude to hard work seems to be pushing most employers towards shunning youth and employing older people who are used to actually having to work...

You mention Sydney north shore / Eastern suburbs...

I get that's where everyone wants to live, and your friends and family may have lived there for decades, but housing is astronomical out there.

You are going to need/want a 4-bed with some outside space. Well I haven't seen a habitable one of those in that area under $3m in a long time, and we are looking daily.

Not to "rain on your parade" but unless you already have around 1-1.5m dollars in deposit a house in that area that would accommodate your family is probably unaffordable 

Best advice is to stop comparing the school systems. 

Yes your middle kid is now a seasoned UK high school attendee, but that's in the UK in AUS he is the young kid on the block.

The two systems are so different it's not worth comparing.

Now what is worth knowing is university fee status. In Australia a PR or citizen attracts home fees when attending University, in the UK you need to have been resident for the three years prior to attending University to be considered a home student.

If your kids plan to go to uni in the UK or you think you might do 5 years here then go back this will becomes a problem (specifically for your youngest)

I think WA (generally) offers 190 visas to those with a valid job contract (more than just an offer). Unless you are already in WA (for 12months or more) then this isn't usually applied.

On top of this, because they know job contracts can fall through you need to show proof of funds, it's about $30k for a couple 

A MARA agent could assess your situation and give you a true opinion on likelihood of entry and the criteria you'd have to meet.

WA is the hardest state to migrate too (unless you have a 189 in which case it isn't the states decision where you go). You will find your journey easier if you are happy to live in another state for 2 years first

They might do it as Loopylu suggests but I suspect not.

COVID vaccines where basically a turn up and get (yes you should have had a NHS number but they ran a don't ask don't tell policy so we could vaccinate people in the country at the time)

To get the vaccination in the UK for a 6 month old you are invited you don't make the appt yourself so as they don't have you listed as residents you won't get called.

And the vaccinations aren't an emergency need, if you are a few months late it won't be an issue, so it won't be covered under reciprocal care 

15 hours ago, Jon the Hat said:

You guys are funny.  POMs move here mostly because they have family here, because the weather is good, or because buying a home is cheaper.  Are there nicer more interesting places?  Sure, but they are also more expensive.  There were nicer and more expensive places in the UK too, and most of the migrating POMS didn't live their either.

Exactly why I live in Sydney's Inner West, wanted a nicer more interesting place. Loved in the thick of it in the UK, didn't want suburbia out here, but you do have to pay for it

9 hours ago, Steve Elliott said:

THE A-UKFTA was passed in Australian parliament on 22 November 2022. So now it is just waiting for UK parliament ratification. Last year, the age limit of Dames and Italians was raised to 35 so I can't see the age limit increase for UK citizens not happen. My opinion is that this is imminent so will provide you with some options.

 

That's rather sexist and elitist raising the age for Dames but not Knights of the Realm!

The problem you will most likely run into is that even once you've done the 2 years to get an IT related skills assessment, because the IT career path is so popular it is extremely competitive and so you really should talk to an agent about methods to make yourself as attractive an applicant as you can

I would say it is unlikely. I work for an organisation that is pretty progressive when it comes to letting people work from wherever they want but even so we can only work in the UK under these conditions...

1) you must have the right to work in the UK (sounds like you do)

2) no more than 8 weeks at a time without returning to Australia. This is a taxation issue (both corporate and personal). I'm sure there is probably some leeway on duration but it wouldn't stand as a financial qualification for a visa because by definition it can only be a temporary income

One of the accountants on here may have more details, but I'm my view it seems like it isn't really a starter other than as a way to have a short term income on landing

36 minutes ago, Marisawright said:

In theory, yes.  The problem will be, is there be another visa he'll be eligible for?   He could apply for a student visa, but I hope you have very deep pockets because the fees for international students are very high -- and then at the end of the course, he'll be back where he started.  

I'd say he has only one option.  He needs to stay in the UK until he's fully qualified in his trade.  Then he could come to Australia on a WHV, work in his trade for the 3 years, and that would give him enough work experience to apply for a proper skilled visa (a 189, 190 or 491).  

I agree with this, but with the important caveat that the trade needs to be on the "wanted list".

The problem is that this process (qualify, who and skilled visa) will take 5-6 years to complete. No one can safely predict which trades will be on the list next year never mind 6 years from now

Dependency is a difficult one to prove, we had to do it as s our daughter turned 18 between doing the medicals and getting the grant (4 weeks). If we had applied a month earlier we would ha e missed a bucket load of annoying paperwork.

Unless you can prove you have been paying for his accomodation (not in the family home) and all his living costs (food, clothing, transport) you will be very unlikely to show dependency so you need to put that aside and start looking for other options, unless a really good agent has some other insights I am pretty sure the dependence route is a non-starter

We looked into this as I did similar.

When speaking to UK clients whilst they didn't mind me not being on site they weren't happy with a 12 hour time difference.

Some where so we looked into insurance, the cost is prohibitive if you do the work outside of the UK, most company insurers won't touch you for the mandatory insurances and instead tell you to open an Australian subsidiary.

Tax is a disaster, honestly it will be easier to setup as a Australian entity and contract with your UK clients as an Australian company billing them in pounds and agreeing to contracts under UK law.

Also it will make the move to local clients easier 

So at 47 because of how the new pension was brought in (and the smoothing out of the entitlement to state second pension) I now have fully paid my NI needs to get a full UK pension, no matter how much more NI I pay I will never be entitled to more state pension.

So in my case it would be completely crazy to offer to pay NI contributions, however OH isn't in the same position and we will look to pay them in the future (only needs 7 more years out of 20 possible years and we might move back so no point paying now as we end up over paying and there is no refund process)

10 minutes ago, Ollie2212 said:

I’m not “planning on”. If you read the post, “I have” already bought a one way ticket. We have also gone ahead with a migration agent to guide us. You don’t need to buy a return ticket I am going with intention to live the rest of my life there. I have £25,000 banked should there be any issues and I have to buy a return ticket. 

Cool, that's fine I was just querying it as I know the US, Canada and the UK won't allow you to enter their countries on a one way ticket unless you can show some other travel document (already paid for) that shows you leaving before your tourist visa expires 

If AUS doesn't have a similar rule (and I'd expect your agent would know if they did and wouldn't be recommending this route if that was the case) then you are all good! Good luck with the move

Private insurance is so common because of the Medicare levy surcharge.

My surcharge would be over $6k. The cost of my (relatively minimal) health insurance is $3.5k per year.

So already saving $2.5k. Then we get $400 optical and about $1k dental (we are entitled to more but haven't needed more) that we use.

Would also need ambulance cover at $150 I'd we didn't have private medical.

So out insurance premium after taking out repayments and ambulance cover is $2k but saves us $4k+ in tax

So whilst I don't agree with private healthcare, I am certainly going to keep paying for it whilst it saves me that sort of money, I'm sure I'm not alone...

20 minutes ago, Marisawright said:

That used to be true.  I worked for three different companies who simply wouldn't employ candidates who were on bridging visas.  As a manager, I found it very frustrating because it meant I often couldn't hire the person I wanted.   However with the current staff shortages, I expect (or certainly hope) that employers would have got to the point where they can't afford to be so rigid.

We certainly won't, we rarely even employ people on the 491 visa because the nature of our work means we can't guarantee where you would need to work.

No way we are employing anyone without PR or our own sponsored visa. Just the way it is ...

I noted that the OP was planning on only buying a one way ticket.

Surely travelling on a visitor visa this might mean denial of boarding on the plane or refusal of entry into country?

It certainly would in the US, Canada or UK...

(Unless you can show some other means of returning. I know many Brits doing similar to Canada book an expensive - but fully cancellable - business ticket for their return so they can show an intention to leave but not lose any cash on the ticket)

On 23/12/2022 at 05:43, DIG85 said:

 

Could the rules change by the time one is ready to apply for citizenship, and possibly be backdated? Technically they could, but I find the chances that they would penalise an act that was lawful at the time to be miniscule. I can't recall any instance where a government has done that.

You don't know your European history very well then. Consider Germany 1939-1945 and what they were allowed to do legally by their government that the same country government is now prosecuting people for (even though it was legal when they did it)

There are literally hundreds of other examples of a government reversing it's stance and criminalising activities that were performed legally at the time.

You are completely wrong in your assumption on the in house team.

For one we outsource all this to external MARA agents

Secondly it isn't my line manager asking it's the head of the organisation (12k+ people in AUS and 250k+ people worldwide)

Thirdly, the advise to a holder of a personally acquired 190 visa would have diddly squat impact on an organisations ability to sponsor others (as they aren't sponsoring this one either)

I guess though truth and facts don't fit your narrative here...

On 24/12/2022 at 08:15, lucyh88 said:

If you can’t be helpful, please don’t bother reply. As I said in my post, I am struggling to understand the fees with the footnotes on the Government website. I am perfectly happy to pay for the advice, but thought I’d see if anyone here could share their knowledge before I do, at such an expensive time of year. Is this not the point of this website?

I thought Paul's response was helpful. You seemed to think 300 was a large amount for the advice you were seeking, whereas the concensus seems to be it's right on par and probably a bargain compared with making a costly mistake 

On 20/12/2022 at 16:22, DrDougster said:

There's nothing on a 190 grant letter about living in a certain state. 

It's mainly hearsay on here aside from agents, who have some experience, and little real world experience of moving state on a 190 in recent times exists.

Reading between the lines, it doesn't sound like you were moving to an area of need or bringing in millions in taxes for a particular state so I'd guess, and it is a guess, that your state won't actually notice, never mind give two hoots that you're going to move. However, if you were coming in to fill a shortage like a healthcare or technical need then you'd really just be exploiting the system and this is never going to look good.

Does it actually matter? Almost certainly no. I'd go support your family if they need you and you have the resource - mentally, financially, socially to do so.

I am not for one second suggesting your response was in direct reply to my post, but I wanted to clarify.

Whilst I do not have first hand experience of moving states on a 190, the company I work for has over 800 people employed on 190s and their very expensive army of lawyers and legal experts are all saying don't do it.

I know which advice I'm going to take

49 minutes ago, Skani said:

That's a discretionary option, not mandatory for a new arrival as implied.

It's only discretionary if you can use public transport.

If you have been living here (NSW) for 3 months you can no longer drive on a UK licence if you have PR (unless you leave the country and return)

And if you are buying a car you will pay much more than the $200 in increased insurance if you don't have an Aussie licence, so it's not a day one requirement, but it's certainly a first month need 

Also if you are renting you need to get to 100 points of ID, this is really easy to do if you have an AUS driving licence as well as a UK passport, but a real pain in the neck if you have to scrabble around in lots of "small points" proof items...

The first few months are incredibly expensive, everyone wants some dollars for something.

Driving licence well that will be $200 each to get an AUS licence. You will no doubt need a car (finding one is a tortuous experience, we found it far worse than finding a rental property).

But it's worth it, it's a great experience and once you start spending money earnt in Australia (rather than savings from the UK) it all seems great.

(I used to resent paying the huge amounts the council's charge for parking in the cities when I got here and was spending UK cash, now I've been here 9 months and spending AUS earnt money it just feels like a normal part of the cost of living)

The sooner you get an income the easier most things become

You don't need them all before you submit your EOI, but once you are invited to apply you only have a short window to supply the documents you need, so it's probably best to make sure you can get them now while you have time 

Also do you not need a skills assessment in order to show you have a skillset / career on the list and that you meet the qualifying criteria for it? If so you need most of the same employment proof for that as you do for the actual grant application