Getting close to visa application, not sure which steps to take first, advice welcome

[Conky]

Hi,

 

My name is Ria and I'm looking to relocate to Perth with my fiancé and 2 daughters.

 

My fiancé has an uncle living in Rockingham and some friends that have already made the move to Perth. However there are a few things we are still unsure about.

 

My Fiancé is a chartered engineer with 8 years experience currently working as a company associate in the construction industry and I'm a sales manager.

 

Is it best to apply for the 457 visas ourselves or can we expect any help from prospective employers?

 

Will the children be able to start a new school in Perth at anytime throughout the year? Any advice on areas to live?

 

Does anyone have any advice or experience with getting parental permission? I've not had contact for several years from my ex partner (daughters father) and I'm hearing mixed stories as to whether or not I will need to have permission from him when applying for our visas.

 

Lots of questions! any advice would be much appreciated.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Ria

[verystormy]

Hi Ria

 

The first thing to cover is the visa as that is key.

 

There are many different types of visa and some are permanent and allow you to live and work in Oz for ever and some are temporary.

 

The 457 is a temporary visa, normally for upto 4 years. It requires and employer to start it - so you need to find a job with a company that is willing and able to sponsor - a lot of companies cant. The advantage is it is quick, and relatively cheap. However, it comes with a number of restrictions. The first being it is temporary. The next being that it is tied to the employer, so if you lose your job, you only have 90 days to find another company willing and able to sponsor, or leave the country. A big gamble for a family. Some people go on and get residence and i am one, but i have seen a lot of people fall into the 90 day trap and have to leave. It also means that in WA you would be required to pay for education from next year - first child is charged $4000 per year and subsequant children $2000.

 

For these reasons, i normally recomend a permanent residence visa instead.

 

I "think" your husband will qualify for one. The first step is to check the two lists of occupations at immi.gov.au and look at the SOL and CSOL lists. That is step 1. The next is to do the visa wizard on the same web site. This will do a rough check to see if you are likely to qualify with enough points - there are other factors such as age that are taken into account.

 

However, after saying all of this, you do have a complicating factor - the childrens biological father. It is not an insurmountable one and a number of our members have got it sorted recently. But it does complicate things as yes, he would either need to give permission or you would need a court order. For this reason, i would recomend you speak to a good migration agent. Go Matilda are highly regarded and will do the initial assessment for you for free including which visa your husband qualifies for.

 

The other questions - yes childen can start mid term and the terms here are different - sort of opposite to the UK, so summer holidays are at christmas.

 

Where to live is the age old question and to some extent it will depend on where you work and how far you are happy to commute as Perth is very spread out - from my house to the city centre its almost 100km. Though public transport is excellent and very cheap - it costs about $9.9 to Perth on the train and takes 50 minutes. The other consideration is of course budget and how much you want to pay. Then there are the factors of what you want - beach? countryside? hills? new houses? old houses with more land? city centre? Lots of options available. For us, we dont mind a longer commute anddidnt want to pay too much but wanted to be beach side, so we are where we are.

 

Hope this helps and there will be lots more replies tomorrow as it is night time now in Perth and a lot of members sleeping soundly - i am at work in Africa, so still in the office.

[Sideshowdeb]

Hi Ria,

 

I can't really add much to what Verystormy said, it's sound advice. I had to deal with the parental consent issue last year and in my experience, they'll only accept signed permission or a court order, so definitely worth getting good advice early on. Welcome to PP and good luck.

 

Deb x

[Akasully2]

VS said it all perfectly and in great detail.

[Guest guest10912]

Yep agree with VS.

[Conky]

Hello,

 

Thank you very kindly for such a speedy response.

 

We've applied on Matilda and will compare fee's with the other company and keep you posted.

 

Kindest regards,

 

Ria

[Conky]

Hi Deb,

 

Thank you very much for your response & advice, is there a particular point throughout the visa process that the permission is needed?

 

Kind regards,

 

Ria

[Sideshowdeb]

Hi Ria,

 

If my memory serves me it was once we had applied online, we had a list of documents that were to be uploaded for each member of the family and the form 1229 appeared for both children. My son is from a previous relationship but my OH (who was main applicant for the visa) and I have a daughter together. We also had to sign a 1229 for her, even though we're both going to Oz too. The advice we had was that at his age the court would most likely allow Ethan to choose whether to go or not, unless there were concerns about his welfare in either country. Thankfully it didn't come to that for us. I granted his father parental responsibility so the he could sign the 1229. The visa process is quite expensive and these documents are requested at the very last stage, after your fiancé will have had his professional qualifications and experience checked, and passed his IELTS. I'd pay for some professional advice now, if necessary before you commit yourselves. A 'friend of a friend' runs a website, which is actually aimed at single parents, but they are putting together a panel of experts in family law and if you look on their website or email them they'll probably be able to point you in the direction of a specialist in your area or they may even have some info on the website.

 

PM me for details

 

 

Good luck, I hope you get it sorted.

 

Deb x

Edited April 28, 2014 by ali
links removed

[Conky]

Hi Deb,

 

That's prefect, thank you!

 

Ria