Nicole F

PLUMBER Skilled Independent Visa (Subclass 189) - Skill Assessment | HELP PLEASE! I am really hoping someone can please assist me and my partner (a UK citizen). I am an Australian citizen and my partner wants to move to Australia to live and work as a plumber but we are finding the visa process extremely difficult and confusing. My partner is 32 years of age and a qualified plumber/gas fitter in the UK with over 8 years’ experience. We enlisted the help of a migration consultant in Sydney originally and she told us initially that he should apply for a Skilled Independent Visa 189. However we have just been told by her that she provided us with the wrong information initially and he is not eligible to apply for the VISA. To be eligible for this visa and to send of an expression of interest, he needs to do a skill assessment (OSAP - Offshore Skills Assessment Program) to gain a Offshore Technical Skills Record (OTSR) through a company called VetAssess but he doesn’t meet the following criteria: “Your evidence must show you have worked in your occupation for at least 12 months within the last 3 years and must be able to be verified.” Unfortunately my partner does not meet this criteria as he has been based in Bali for the past 3 years working in another field. However prior to that he has always worked as a plumber in the UK and now wants to settle down in Australia with me, as a plumber. Is there a way around this criteria? I am now looking into the option of my partner finding a plumber to sponsor him so he can apply for sponsorship visa. However it appears even for these sponsor visas, my partner still needs to do his skill assessment to obtain an OTSR. My partner has a holiday visa for Australia currently. He flew back to the UK about a month ago to get together all his paperwork/evidence so he could do his skill assessment but now we don’t know what to do since apparently he isn’t eligible. We are really hoping there is a way for him to be able to work in Australia as a plumber. Any help you can provide will be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.