Foster carers - What about the children?

[Nikki Noosh]

Hello, this is my first post, so apologies if in the wrong thread, this is a whole new world for me.

 

the hubby and I have dreamt of making a life in oz, love the idea of an outdoor lifestyle, however not sure what the best route is as we are currently foster carers of 2 beautiful boys and also have an 11 year old boy.

 

Hubby is ex army and has driving licences coming out of his ears and I qualified as a nursery nurse with experience in school, childrens centres and family support. Last job was early years play development officer with the council.

 

Obviously want to take the boys with us, but am I right in thinking this could only be done under special guardianship??

 

would me and the hubby even be able to get a visa??

 

Whats ts the best route??

 

Thanks in advance for any info

[lebourvellec]

Welcome to PIO

 

From What you have posted it is unlikely either you or your husband would qualify for a visa.

 

There would be no way you would get permission to take the foster boys to Australia unless you formally adopted them.

 

Sorry for the bad news but unless your husband has an occupation in demand there would be no visa available. Nursery Nurse is not on the skills migration list closest would be Childcare Manager which requires a degree and number of years management experience.

[Nikki Noosh]

We are both willing to go back into education, but not sure what would be the best route??

 

Have been advised by 2 different sources, family rights group and a solicitor than can take children under a special guardianship but wondered if anybody had been able to carry on long term fostering and made the move??

 

Thanks for the reply

[Marisawright]

To migrate to (i.e. get permanent residence in) Australia, one of you needs to have an occupation that's on the SOL (Skilled Occupations List). If you do, then you need to check what the minimum qualifications and experience are, and whether you meet them. If you can't qualify, then it's a lot more difficult - there are options, but some of them are only temporary and some need sponsorship. If you're not on the SOL then the best thing to do is to have a consultation with a migration agent for ideas - there's a few on these forums.

 

However I'd say your first priority should be to work out the situation with the children, because that could be a deal-breaker. Is there a reason you can't ask the agency that organises the fostering? I would be surprised if they allow foster parents to remove children from the UK, since it would make it very difficult should the foster parents refuse to hand the children back at some later date.

 

I do know that where there has been a divorce or separation and one parent wants to emigrate, they have to get written permission from the other parent - so I would imagine you'd need the permission of the natural parent(s) at the very least.

[Nikki Noosh]

Thanks for the reply, will look into speaking to an agent.

 

We haven't discussed yet with our agency as wanted to get some info together ourselves and do some research. Obviously every case is different but in our case the boys will not be going back to birth mum and have a full care order. We have been offered special guardianship but thought it was not the right time. We have now had the boys for nearly 5 years. As special guardians you have shared parental responsibility I think with local authority.

 

 

is there any skills that Austrilia are crying out for??

[Marisawright]

 

is there any skills that Austrilia are crying out for??

 

That's not the first question you need to ask - the question is, what occupations on the SOL are you qualified AND experienced in? You can't just identify a job from the list and do a course, you still need to work for a few years to get the necessary post-qualification experience - and there's always a risk the job will be taken off the list while you're doing that!

 

IF you have the relevant qualifications and experience in one of the job on the List, then you could take a look at job sites like seek.com.au to identify job vacancies. Notice which agencies are advertising those jobs and ring/email them to ask about demand.

 

The annoying thing is that just because the Australian Govt has put an occupation on the list, that doesn't mean Australia is crying out for that occupation, so you can't judge by that. The list updates slowly and is often behind the job market. Australia is going into a downturn right now so unemployment is rising.

[Nikki Noosh]

That's not the first question you need to ask - the question is, what occupations on the SOL are you qualified AND experienced in? You can't just identify a job from the list and do a course, you still need to work for a few years to get the necessary post-qualification experience.

 

IF you have the relevant qualifications and experience in one of the job on the List, then take a look at job sites like seek.com.au to identify job vacancies. Notice which agencies are advertising those jobs and ring/email them to ask about demand.

 

The annoying thing is that just because the Australian Govt has put an occupation on the list, that doesn't mean Australia is crying out for that occupation, so you can't judge by that. The list updates slowly and is often behind the job market. Australia is going into a downturn right now so unemployment is rising.

 

 

Thanks sorry if offended

[Marisawright]

Thanks sorry if offended

 

No you didn't offend, just trying to point you in the right direction.

[MaggieMay24]

You have two separate issues - qualifying for a visa and getting the appropriate and acceptable authorisation to remove the children from the UK.

 

There are two occupation lists, the SOL and the CSOL. If you/your husband qualify for an occupation on the SOL then you can consider an independent skilled visa such as the 189 visa. If your occupation is on the CSOL, then you need sponsorship by either a state or employer. You can either start doing some research on this to decide what occupation may be the nearest reach, or speak with a registered migration agent (which you should do anyway because of the issue with the children).

 

Regarding the children, even one parent having custody of children can face an uphill battle if there's a concern that the other parent will lose contact with the child. So taking foster children out will likely be a mound of paperwork. Not saying it can't be done, but you should get professional assistance with this and see a good migration agent. There are several good agents who post regularly on this forum - WRussell, Raul Senise and Alan Collett - who could assess your situation and help you get on the best path.

 

Keep in mind that DIBP regulations, occupation lists, policies, etc. change so a long-term plan may need to have a back-up plan just in case.

[wrussell]

Here are the relevant regulations rbout removing the children:

 

4015 The Minister is satisfied of 1 of the following:

(a) the law of the additional applicant's home country permits the removal of the additional applicant;

(b) each person who can lawfully determine where the additional applicant is to live consents to the grant of the visa;

© the grant of the visa would be consistent with any Australian child order in force in relation to the additional applicant.

4016 The Minister is satisfied that there is no compelling reason to believe that the grant of the visa would not be in the best interests of the additional applicant.

 

Sometimes workarounds are possible.

 

May I suggest you consult a registered migration agents for an assessment of your prospects?

 

 

[wrussell]

about