emmaj Posted September 9, 2008 Share Posted September 9, 2008 Can someone point me in the right direction please? Hubs and I want to move to oz (obviously) and if Hubs cant relocate with his current employer we would ideally like to move via a sponsored offer however we know that these can be hard to get. So we are thinking of starting the visa application process ourselves as a back up. Hubs skill set (IT) is on the ‘wanted’ list, so which visa is it that we have to apply for and how easy is it do apply for on your own rather then going via an agent? Also what are the costs involved in gaining a visa? And last question – what kind of time scales are we talking about in gaining this type of visa? Many thanks Emma x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saunders clan Posted September 9, 2008 Share Posted September 9, 2008 Hi Emma, I think as hubbys skills are on the wanted list then you should be looking at a 175 skilled independent visa. This gives you the most freedom once in Oz (for example, you are not tied to any state). There are also 176 visas which are the same but are state sponsored and are probably suitable if you do not have enough points to apply for a 175. Some people use and agent yet lots don't. Some people say they didn't and wished they had whereas others used one and wondered why! I suppose what I am trying to say is it's up to you. I would phone some up and get as much info from them as possible and then see how you feel. Agents fees alone are anything from £1500 upwards. You then have the other costs to pay such as the visa application fee, medical and police check costs, etc. I am sure more people will give you their opinions soon. Good luck Kate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emmaj Posted September 9, 2008 Author Share Posted September 9, 2008 Hi Emma, I think as hubbys skills are on the wanted list then you should be looking at a 175 skilled independent visa. This gives you the most freedom once in Oz (for example, you are not tied to any state). There are also 176 visas which are the same but are state sponsored and are probably suitable if you do not have enough points to apply for a 175. Some people use and agent yet lots don't. Some people say they didn't and wished they had whereas others used one and wondered why! I suppose what I am trying to say is it's up to you. I would phone some up and get as much info from them as possible and then see how you feel. Agents fees alone are anything from £1500 upwards. You then have the other costs to pay such as the visa application fee, medical and police check costs, etc. I am sure more people will give you their opinions soon. Good luck Kate Many thanks for the info Kate, thats much appreciated. I didnt realise agents fees were so expensive to be honest. I think we may have to try and go through the process on our own as money wise its the difference in taking the cat with us or not :no: Emma x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saunders clan Posted September 9, 2008 Share Posted September 9, 2008 Many thanks for the info Kate, thats much appreciated. I didnt realise agents fees were so expensive to be honest. I think we may have to try and go through the process on our own as money wise its the difference in taking the cat with us or not :no: Emma x What you can do is maybe use an agent for the hard part of the visa application (which is getting through the skills assessment) and then go the rest alone. Not all offer this but many do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emmaj Posted September 9, 2008 Author Share Posted September 9, 2008 What you can do is maybe use an agent for the hard part of the visa application (which is getting through the skills assessment) and then go the rest alone. Not all offer this but many do. Do you know a company that offers this? I think its worth a phone call. Many thanks Emma x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest aspinall Posted September 9, 2008 Share Posted September 9, 2008 Do you know a company that offers this? I think its worth a phone call. Many thanks Emma x Hiya Emma, My hubby is in IT too. He had to get his ACS skills assessment before sending off our actual visa. We looked at an agent too but because of the fees thought we would try it alone. The ACS bit is really hard, my OH spent months preparing everything. We read and re-read the guidelines etc and submitted his ACS app, it came back within a few months with no further requests for info etc. We did the same with the visa, and anything we were unsure on we were lucky enough to find an answer on here. Even with all that said a lot of people on here have used an agent who logs on here as ptlabs who is really good at helping IT people through the ACS etc. We contacted him when we first looked into this and he was really helpful. Like I said we decided to brave it alone but we were quite a straightforward app. If yours is more complex it may be worth paying to get some help. Hope all of that helped! Good luck whatever you decide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saunders clan Posted September 9, 2008 Share Posted September 9, 2008 Do you know a company that offers this? I think its worth a phone call. Many thanks Emma x Definitely Alan Collett of Go Matilda. He is a member on this site but you may as well go to his website (google 'go matilda') and give him a call or email. I am sure there are others too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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