Guest London2Sydney Posted July 28, 2009 Share Posted July 28, 2009 We are hoping to move to Australia early next year for start a new life for our family (kids aged 12, 4 and one on the way!) My husband is currently looking for a transfer through his company, hopefully to Sydney. We are not sure how long this could take but we are very sure about the move. I would like to start applying for our Visa's now (reading other posts lead me to believe it can all take a while) and if he hasn't managed to get a transfer by early next year then do the move and my husband find another job (which I would do anyway but he is really keen to stay with his current employers) I am clueless about the whole visa process, I have done an on-line skilled visa eligibilty assessment and got 140 points (not sure how good this is?) and am keen to get the whole process started asap, my main question is - what happens if whilst we are going through the visa process he gets a transfer? can we just pull the application? Also (like I say clueless about all of this) what do we do about visa's if he does get a transfer? do his company sort this out for us? I assume this would be a lot quicker way of moving there? Any help is understanding all of this would be greatly appreciated!!!! Many thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mongrel Posted July 28, 2009 Share Posted July 28, 2009 We are hoping to move to Australia early next year for start a new life for our family (kids aged 12, 4 and one on the way!) My husband is currently looking for a transfer through his company, hopefully to Sydney. We are not sure how long this could take but we are very sure about the move. I would like to start applying for our Visa's now (reading other posts lead me to believe it can all take a while) and if he hasn't managed to get a transfer by early next year then do the move and my husband find another job (which I would do anyway but he is really keen to stay with his current employers) I am clueless about the whole visa process, I have done an on-line skilled visa eligibilty assessment and got 140 points (not sure how good this is?) and am keen to get the whole process started asap, my main question is - what happens if whilst we are going through the visa process he gets a transfer? can we just pull the application? Also (like I say clueless about all of this) what do we do about visa's if he does get a transfer? do his company sort this out for us? I assume this would be a lot quicker way of moving there? Any help is understanding all of this would be greatly appreciated!!!! Many thanks! It doesnt matter if he gets a transfer or anything ,you still need a visa depends if it is skilled , there are migration agents who ca advise you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Gollywobbler Posted July 28, 2009 Share Posted July 28, 2009 Hi there Welcome to Poms in Oz. There are two ways of tackling a "company transfer" to Sydney. One is that the Australian limb of the company (probably) will sponsor Hubby for a visa. That might be a temporary subclass 457 visa to start with or it might be the immediately permanent ENS subclass 121 visa. Information about the ENS 121 visa is below: Employer Nomination Scheme (Subclass 121/856) Employer Sponsored Migration Booklet - Australian Immigration A key characteristic of employer sponsored visas is that there is no points test and a pre migration skills assessment, whilst always desirable, is not always essential. And of course an employer sponsored visa cannot happen without employer involvement! ************************************************************* The alternative route is that you decide you are going to move to Oz whatever happens, so you look into the possibility of obtaining a skilled independent visa instead. This second group of visas are also known as the General Skilled Migration or GSM Program. With the GSM visas, a pre-migration skills assessment is essential, they are also all subject to a points test and the three visa subclass numbers which are likely to be relevant to you are one or more of subclasses 175, 176 and 475. Professionals and other Skilled Migrants - Workers - Visas & Immigration Australian General Skilled Migration Booklet ********************************************************** GSM visas take longer to process than employer sponsored visas. Therefore what sometimes happens is that the employee starts the process of obtaining a GSM visa but then, to get the employee out to Oz quickly, a subclass 457 temporary visa may be used as a stop gap: Temporary Business (Long Stay) - Standard Business Sponsorship (Subclass 457) http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/booklets/1154.pdf Alternatively, if there is enough, reliable employer support you might not bother with the GSM route at all. *********************************************************** How old is Hubby and what is his occupation please? Please chose from the list below: http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/booklets/1121i.pdf The list above is called the SOL. Personally I find the ASRI list more useful: A-Z Occupations List - Australian Skills Recognition Information It describes all the same occupations as the SOL does but it provides some detail about each one and, most importantly, it says what the academic or trade skill qualification requirement is. In every case they are looking for formal, paper qualifications in addition to work experience. Therefore in addition to my two questions above, what formal qualifications does Hubby have, please? Please just tell me about all of them because sometimes a trade skill qualification obtained many moons ago may still be relevant. Cheers Gill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest London2Sydney Posted July 28, 2009 Share Posted July 28, 2009 Thanks so much for this, your information has been very informative. I have spent most of the afternoon on immi.gov.uk trying to make sense of which visa to apply for and after reading your post I think we will start the application for GSM visa and keep our fingers crossed for a transfer in the meantime. Hubby is a management accountant (qualified 2004) also has biology degree. He's 32. He's worked for the same company for almost 3 years and they are fantastic employers hence why it is his preference to do a transfer with them. We just don't want it to get 6 months down the line, no sign of a transfer and then have to start from scratch, the transfer really cannot be relied on but from what you have said it seems to make the whole process a little quicker and easier. I suppose we are like a lot of people on here, once you make your mind up you just want to go as soon as possible! Thanks again x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Gollywobbler Posted July 28, 2009 Share Posted July 28, 2009 Hi again Is Hubby a full member of CIMA? Which of the Accountancy occupations do you propose to nominate if you are given a completely blank slate with no factors to colour your judgement apart from Hubby's evaluation of what his job actually involves? I run away when I hear the word "accountant." I haven't a clue what they do and - being almost totally innumerate myself - I am happy to leave 'em to do whatever they do! This might help, though. The descriptions of the occupations given in the ASRI list are taken from the ASCO Code, which is the detailed, authoritative document. 1220.0 - Australian Standard Classification of Occupations (ASCO) Second Edition, 1997 It is worth getting the gist from ASRI and then considering the detailed ASCO description of the occupation because this is what your DIAC Case Officer will do in due course. The CO will consider Hubby's own description of his work-duties and the description provided by his employer. The CO will then consult the ASCO Code to see whether the occupation which you have "nominated" (ie euggested) is the right one. Ultimately the CO decides what somebody actually does for a living, whether it is on the SOL and how many points it is worth for a GSM visa. ********************************************************** The above said, now for the spanners in the works! It used to be the case that anybody who could score the 120 points needed for a subclass 175 visa would be told by every migration agent that the subclass 175 is the Rolls Royce of all the possible visas for Oz because it is the only one which comes with absolutely no strings attached. You get Permanent Residency in Oz on Day One and you can live wherever you like and do whatever you like by way of work (or not work at all) when you reach your chosen part of Oz. Hubby could have a complete career change and either sell ice cream on the beach if he wants to, or just loaf on the beach if he prefers. The whole thing changed on 1st January 2009 and the change is not clear from the DIAC website unless you know where to look. The Minister for Immi suddenly announced in mid-December that from now on skilled migration to Oz will be "needs driven." The idea is to work out who in Oz needs the specific skilled help, whereabouts the person or group needing the help is located, and to send the new migrants to the places and/or employers needing the help. Historically the pecking order for visa processing (give or take) was "first come, first served." That has been thrown out of the window. The pecking order now is: 1. Employer sponsored Permanent Residency visas (ENS or RSMS visas) 2. State sponsored visas 3. Independent visas (no employer and no State involvement) where the occupation is on the current Critical Skills List 4. As 3 but the occupation is only on the MODL (Migration Occupations in Demand List) 5. All other applications. The total quota of skilled PR visas for 2009/10 has been set at 108.100 visas. The Year End is 30th June 2010. DIAC have indicated that, depending on the level of demand for visas in Groups 1, 2 & 3 above, they may be able to make a start with the MODL only Group 4. They have said that if they can do this then priority will be given to those who lodged MODL only applications prior to 30th June 2008. This is a pretty clear indication that they do not expect to have enough visas to be able to do more than make a start on the backlog of MODL only applications and that the non-priority applications in Group 5 will get no processing at all during the current Program Year. What will happen from 1st July 2010 onwards depends on whether the Minister alters the thrust of the program again, whether he increases the total number of skilled PR visas for the 2010/2011 Program Year and so on. ************************************************************* At the moment you are minded to consider a GSM visa, without regard to anything that Hubby's employer might or might not do. Therefore the first thing to consider is whether Hubby can realistically nominate an occupation which is on the current Critical Skills List (CSL.) http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/general-skilled-migration/pdf/critical-skills-list.pdf The idea of the CSL is that the occupations listed on it are urgently needed everywhere in Oz. The only type of Accountant on the CSL is the one called Accountant 2211-11. http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/general-skilled-migration/pdf/critical-skills-list.pdf I haven't a clue whether such a person would include a Management Accountant. I am an observer, not a migration agent, and in any case I have not seen Hubby's detailed CV. And somebody nominatins 2211-11 needs a score of 7.0 or above in each of the four modules of the General IELTS in order to get on to the CSL anyway: International English Language | Home The four modules are Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking. ********************************************************** If you conclude that Accountant 2211-11 is not a goer, then the next step is to consider trying for State sponsorship for the subclass 176 visa instead. Second in the pecking order for priority processing and actually higher priority than the CSL, but with the world and his dog beating a path to the doors of every State/Territory migraton deparment, some States are taking longer than others to process applications for State Sponsorship. Each State or Territory has its own migration department, each with its own website. The fast, reliable link to all of them is here: State & Territory Migration Sites - australia.gov.au At present you are interested in NSW but I am not sure whether they are looking for Hubby: http://www.business.nsw.gov.au/migration/pdfdocuments/Visa_Criteria_Finance.pdf It does not necessarily matter if you cannot get sponsorship from NSW. If you decide to head for a different State but then the Sydney-bsed arm of Hubby's employer offers him a job in Sydney, various other steps would be possible to make it all happen, so don't worry about the details at this stage. Have a look at the websites for all the other States/Territories as well (but don't bother with the ACT until this coming weekend because they have withdrawn their old List of occupations and say they will publish a new one on 1st August.) It is a plodding exercise - you have to find the list for the sc 176 visa (preferably) in each of the States. Please be aware, too, that State lists are subject to change without prior notice at any time. Game plans built round State sponsorship sometimes do have to be changed at short notice if the relevant State's List of Occupations or other requirements suddenly changes. Queensland are trying to pull up the drawbridge for the time being, by the way. They recently shortened their lists considerably and when they ask how much money you intend to take to Oz to keep you going for the first six months or so, QLD now want to see that you have that money as cash in the bank. They will no longer accept a valuation on your house and proof of how much is equity that belongs to you. Cheers Gill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest London2Sydney Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 Hi and thanks again for sharing your extensive knowledge with me, it's been a great help. Looking through the finance section of the176 selection criteria, for accountant 2211-11 the qualification required in field relevant to occupation is a Bachelors degree. In the UK you do not have to have a degree at all to be an accountant, my husband did his training after completing his degree, so he has the bachelors degree but not in accounting. Do you think this will be a problem? The other accounting occupations on the list are auditing roles which is very different from what he does. The job description on the ASCO is only about a 3rd of what his job involves! but if his degree being in Science rather than Maths is not an issue then 2211-11 should be a goer. Oh yeah, he is a member of CIMA. Other parts of Australia we considered are Melbourne (family there) Perth (friends there) and Adelaide, my hubby's company have offices in all of the cities we have considered but Sydney is our no.1 choice and where we want to be, the others cities become a real consideration if a job came up there. We spent a few weeks in Queensland earlier this year and loved it but as there is no chance of a transfer we had ruled it out anyway - that's where we are hoping to go for our family holidays instead! Do the new rules for the subclass 175 visa mean that you have to go where in Australia they say the profession is needed most? - sorry it's all getting a bit confusing for me! One last question, I saw on another post earlier about medicals in pregnancy and someones application had been put on hold until after the birth? I am only 9 weeks pregnant and obviously this whole process will take longer than the 7 months I have left until I give birth but how far along the process are the medicals required? I am going to chat with my husband this weekend and hopefully by Monday we will have decided which visa to apply for. Thanks again xx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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