Mims Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 Hi there, Some help would be very much appreciated. My husband Steven and I are in Australia at the moment travelling on a working holiday visa, Steven is a plumber back home in the UK which I know is on the skilled list here so we hope to get permanent residency. I was in contact with Go Matilda the migration agent who I had read on here were good however the guy sent me one email and hasn't replied to the questions I replied with and it's now been weeks, if that is how it's going to be I would rather do it on our own! I thought we had enough points for the 189 but go matilda suggested otherwise but never explained where I was going wrong, he did seem to think we could get a different 4 year visa though but never specified which. I have seen comment to the English test on here and it seems to me this guy didn't take into consideration the extra points from that, he didnt mention doing such a test, it's pretty close if we haven't quite got the points for the 189 so surely we can bump them up with this test? Plus I know we need to go through the process of getting stevens skills assessed and then I believe the wait for the visa to come though can take 12 months so time is of the essence given that we have been here 3 already and we can't go home and set up life once more there for just a short period. We are thinking we could extend our working holiday visa for the 2nd year but its not good for Steven to be out of plumbing for too long as that will stand against him on the visa application and I believe it's $3500 for him to get licensed prior to having a long term visa and $750 once we have one so from a financial perspective it doesn't make sense to do it now, trying to get plumbing employment without being licensed though doesn't seem very feesible. So my questions are, how can I be certain on my own how many points we score and do items like the English test bump the score up and is it dependent on how you do in the test as to how many extra points towards your visa you get? Also if anyone has any advice on where to go to get plumbing skills assessed that would be very helpful. And in regard to migration agents, I would rather save money and do it myself but if it is beyond my capabilities if anyone has experience with good agents who actually respond it would be great to have their details. Also am I right in thinking we can apply for a visa without sponsorship of any kind and then apply for jobs once we have the visa? Plumbing is a difficult field to get sponsered in, there aren't lots of big companies its more self employed and sub contractor work. This is proving stressful already as we want it to happen so very much, I know that we haven't even scratched the surface yet though, I just want to get my head around everything before I start wasting money doing it wrong! Thanks in advance for any help given, it is much appreciated. Miriam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silencio Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 First priority would be the skill assessment. As long as it's on the SOL you'll be fine. IELTS is important when your partner could gain 7 or more points in each band like you mentioned to collect the necessary points. You also might get extra points from state sponsorships, when your hubby's job is on a state list, for example SA or WA would give you 5 points. Why go matildas doesn't state which visa they recommended seems a little bit weird to me. Be aware that for many migrants applying for a visa is a nerv wrecking matter. Your patience will be tested over and over again. Preparation (translating of docs, long mailing route, skill assessment backlog) and arrangements (late arrival of ss documents due to unpredictable mail services even with 'priority' + medical online uploading issue) were the main issues for us whereas the visa application itself was very smoothly and swiftly in our case. PR would be the best option in my opinion. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaunfreo Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 I understand you do get extra points for the IELTS but it has to be at the highest level which is 8 , would recommend doing some practice tests as many people do struggle to get the higher level without practice,even if you have spoken English all your life also the immigration web site has an area where you can assess if you would have enough points for migration, good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mims Posted March 5, 2014 Author Share Posted March 5, 2014 Thanks both for your advice, I'm looking to get the skill assessment booked ASAP and the IELTS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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