over 30 looking to move to oz with wife and kids

sonyak1

hi i was just wondering could anyone help me out with some information on how to go about getting a visa to move to austrailia with my wife and 3 kids. i am a 35 year old man who has worked in construction most of my life and there is no hope of me getting work again in ireland. like most familys in ireland we struggle from week to week trying to keep things a float, and im getting pretty fed up with it! i have talked my wife to make the move over to oz but now im up against the move over my age. we want to make a fresh start over there and put our kids into school if possible this would be a long term thing for us, is it possible for us to do so? i would be greatfull if anyone that is in the same position as me or knows somone who has done this already could you please post me some info on it thank you:).

200yrolecrank

Hi Sonya,
I lived in Oz for 6yrs and met many people in yours or similar circumstances.
What you really need to do first is check if you meet the requirements on points first,have you or your wife any specialist skills that may fast track you to Australia.Have you a trade certified or a degree in a specialist area,health care or the likes.
I am afraid a working holiday visa is out of the question,by the sounds of things your only options are a working visa sponsored by a company in Oz or a mulitnational company based there.
You would be wasting your time contacting migration agencies who are only after a fee,try upload your cv to as many recruiters as possible in Oz first.I have a good friend in immigration in Melbourne and they told me that once your past 35 the options available to you are very slim unless you have a job offer.Don`t give up and be persisitent as it will pay off for you I am sure.

dmaxontour

I'd recommend looking into mining as I hear there are a lot of opportunities there and your experience in construction may stand you in good stead. There may be downsides too with mining interms of remote living adn long hours so look at it carefully and see how it would suit you.
Also, I don't know if you'd consider it but I heard on the radio that Canada are looking to recruit something like 350,000 construction workers from ireland. Maybe that is a less sunny option for you?
Good luck in whatever you follow though.

aido79

dmaxontour wrote: »

I'd recommend looking into mining as I hear there are a lot of opportunities there and your experience in construction may stand you in good stead. There may be downsides too with mining interms of remote living adn long hours so look at it carefully and see how it would suit you.
Also, I don't know if you'd consider it but I heard on the radio that Canada are looking to recruit something like 350,000 construction workers from ireland. Maybe that is a less sunny option for you?
Good luck in whatever you follow though.

I'm guessing your opinions on the mines come from reports on rte and the irish independent. The chances of someone getting off the plane and getting on job in the mines is fairly slim unless you are an engineer or other professional. there is even less chance of getting sponsored.
OP do you have a trade cert or qualifications. If not your only real chance is to get sponsored by a company. This would probably mean coming over on a holiday visa and meeting companies who may be interested in sponsoring you. You would not be allowed to work for the company on a holiday visa so they would have no idea what kind of worker you are. There are so many tradies coming over on whv's that most companies wouldn't see the point in trying to sort out a visa for someone they don't know. If you've got qualifications then you could go for a skilled visa. This is expensive and can take at least 6 months to be granted. It's not as rosy as the Irish media makes it out to be.
Canada may be an option but I have no experience with their immigration policies so can't comment. There is some really good info on both australia and canada on www.britishexpats.com.

caroline32

hi sonya
http://www.globaltradesearch.com.au/services.html
this site s a recruitment agency, shes irish and comes from oz to ireland to recruit. she has been on 2FM a number of times giving info on jobs ect. i found her advice she gave on 2Fm very helpful,
canberra is one of the places she mentions that has a skills shortage at the moment. hope this helps!!!

200yrolecrank

Sonya just a bit if advice when looking for jobs in Oz.
You might see regional Oz high on the list of recruitment bare in mind some of the areas are very much like one horse towns.
You really should check put any area before comitting to a move,job or no job I could not live in some of the towns I stopped in during my yrs in Oz.
It's fine if you can base yourself in a large city and fly out on contract to the mines but this is also tough work.
There looking to increase the workforce by 100 thousand in some mining areas in the nxt 8yrs also building airports just to service them.
There is a good 15yrs of expansion left in the mining industry in Oz,it's an area I am transgressing into but not in Oz and If your lucky enough to get one of the positions it rewards well but the time away from home can be tough with 3 kids.

sonyak1

hi thanks for all the comments people it has gave me alot to think about, the way everyone makes out that it would be no problem getting into the mines for work obviously isnt true from ur posts the reason i wanted to go is to work and save some cash as i heard they pay well, i have no other interest as such if i got a job in the mines i would leave my family at home and fly back and fourth every 6mths or so. no i have no certs to say im qualified, but i have worked as a suttering carpenter for over ten years and am quite good at my job, i have also done many other things such as steel fixing, i am going to have to really look into it before i make any decisions all your post have helped thank you, if anyone else has any more info i would be greatfull cheers people...