Planning to Emigrate-Single mum.... Advice???

single mummy

Just looking for some sound advice and hopefully some guidance from anyone who has gone through the above :-)

As my username suggests I am a single Mum (Daughter 9). I graduated May 2012 with a 1st in Business, specialising in Event Mgt. To date I have been unable to secure a steady job.

I have plenty of experience in Customer services, managed a small hotel for 6months and also worked in banking for a short period. In addition to this I have always worked on a voluntary basis, organising local events etc :-)

Im at a stage now where I really need security, Ive worked hard to get through college and I will be damned if I draw the dole any longer.

I've been applying for a lot of jobs in customer service here and I will hopefully get a job offer soon, fingers crossed and prayers said.

The plan is to try my best to save as much as I can and, by Dec 2014 if I haven't reached a stage where I feel I have a career here and a positive future for my little girl I am El gonzo!!!!

I have a lot of family in Australia and it seems my skills and experience match the SOLs for Australia. (I know this list changes frequently)

I guess Im just looking for advice Re Schools, Au Pair(Ideally Irish), Accommodation etc.

I would imagine if I take the plunge I would head over on a holiday visa for 2-3 months first to see how my little girl feels and then make a proper decision from there.

We've spoken about it alot over the years so the move wouldn't be a bolt from the blue :-) Any words of wisdom at all xxxx

Batgurl

http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/_pdf/sol-schedule1.pdf

This is the current SOL for an independent 189 visa. As far as I can see your skills are not on it.

What you may be referring to is the CSOL list which would require a state or employer to sponsor your application. Unfortunately this is a lot easier said than achieved, particularly with no real experience on your qualified field.

As you have a child, a WHV is out. Honestly, I would focus on getting a job in Ireland. By Xmas 2014 Oz might not be as appealing as it is now anyway.

Pugins

I am not going to comment on the visa options but can give some advice on parenthood in Australia as an Irish family who moved here with 2 toddlers. We live in inner east suburb of Melbourne.

Firstly, it is a fantastic place to raise children. So many outdoors activities and so many festivals/events organised for children too. We have things to do every weekend. The quality of family life here is excellent.

However, like everything in Australia childcare is expensive. There are often long waiting lists for daycare. But with a 9/10 year old you should be able to avail of the much cheaper after school care they run in schools here. In Melbourne it seems that most middle class people send their children to private secondary schools and some even to private primary. These can be very pricy- 15-25k a year. Catholic schools are significantly cheaper to attend. There are state schools also which are free to attend. Some of these are excellent but have catchment areas for enrolment, so a bit of research before deciding on where to live will be necessary. I believe the systems in other states are very different.

Nanny (child minders) are easily available as it seems a lot of college students work part time as nannies. The going rate is 20-25 $ per hour.

There have been other threads on moving here with children so do a search also.

token101

I'd advise anyone with anyone sort of ambitions of getting into professional, office jobs here to forget coming here to look for sponsorship. I've a Postgrad and two years experience from Ireland and even if you manage to get a callback from an application, it's unbelievably difficult to even get an interview once they hear you're a non resident and that will only get worse from July. Unless you can get through Skillselect independently without restrictions, I'd say forget it because coming here pinning your hopes on sponsorship will almost definitely end in you heading back again.

The Aussie

token101 wrote: »

I'd advise anyone with anyone sort of ambitions of getting into professional, office jobs here to forget coming here to look for sponsorship. I've a Postgrad and two years experience from Ireland and even if you manage to get a callback from an application, it's unbelievably difficult to even get an interview once they hear you're a non resident.

Out of interest, what visa are you on down there?
A WHV is not the best from a employers perspective.

OP, if you can get in through Family or on the SOL you are a totally different prospect to a person on a WHV.

Either way next Christmas is a long way away and you might end up with a good job in Ireland yet.

Norwesterner

Singlemummy, any particular reason why you can't try England, Scotland or Wales.....where you don't have to fret about visas and work permits etc??
Also it's more convenient to keeping contact with Grandparents etc.
I don't get this obsession with Australia, and as a single parent you should also think of the Grandparents, other family members and (I presume) the Father.

Carlosd

There are plenty of Irish event managers working in Australia. Look them up and try and arrange a chat.

If you're good at it and there is demand you could get lucky. A little unorthodox but if you considered offering your services for free temporarily you might attract a sponsor. You would need to be prepared to come home empty handed if it doesn't work out.

You say you have family out there, do you mean a few siblings?

rick santorums gimp

Pugins wrote: »

Firstly, it is a fantastic place to raise children. So many outdoors activities and so many festivals/events organised for children too. We have things to do every weekend. The quality of family life here is excellent.

Agree with that.

In Melbourne it seems that most middle class people send their children to private secondary schools and some even to private primary.

It depends on what you call 'middle class' I suppose. True there is a significant private school sector, but it hardly accounts for that much. Certainly not most of this middle class in my view.
Public education is free and of an excellent standard generally - and many fairly well-heeled Australian families I know realize this and avail of it.

JustAThought

rick santorums gimp wrote: »

Agree with that.



It depends on what you call 'middle class' I suppose. True there is a significant private school sector, but it hardly accounts for that much. Certainly not most of this middle class in my view.
Public education is free and of an excellent standard generally - and many fairly well-heeled Australian families I know realize this and avail of it.

I remember watching a programme on emigrating to OZ & one of the things that surfaced that surprised me was that parents who emigrated were obliged to pay a contribution to their childrens education costs on the basis that they were not automatically entitled to just use the because they had not made any tax contributions towards them by living & working there. I recall this came to 2k or so let child per year according to the programme. Of course this may have changed now; or may vary depending on the visa & immigration status.

Worth checking thou.

If you have lots of family there can't they help with the visa & get you a better status one other than the ones joe-blogs with no family resident have to take?

Works that was for the US.; you get preferential treatment & are eligible for different types of visas at there is less competition for as there is less access to apply for it.

Worth checking out.

mandrake04

single mummy wrote: »

Just looking for some sound advice and hopefully some guidance from anyone who has gone through the above :-)

As my username suggests I am a single Mum (Daughter 9). I graduated May 2012 with a 1st in Business, specialising in Event Mgt. To date I have been unable to secure a steady job.

I have plenty of experience in Customer services, managed a small hotel for 6months and also worked in banking for a short period. In addition to this I have always worked on a voluntary basis, organising local events etc :-)

Im at a stage now where I really need security, Ive worked hard to get through college and I will be damned if I draw the dole any longer.

I've been applying for a lot of jobs in customer service here and I will hopefully get a job offer soon, fingers crossed and prayers said.

The plan is to try my best to save as much as I can and, by Dec 2014 if I haven't reached a stage where I feel I have a career here and a positive future for my little girl I am El gonzo!!!!

I have a lot of family in Australia and it seems my skills and experience match the SOLs for Australia. (I know this list changes frequently)

I guess Im just looking for advice Re Schools, Au Pair(Ideally Irish), Accommodation etc.

I would imagine if I take the plunge I would head over on a holiday visa for 2-3 months first to see how my little girl feels and then make a proper decision from there.

We've spoken about it alot over the years so the move wouldn't be a bolt from the blue :-) Any words of wisdom at all xxxx

Your best bet is get advice from a MARA Migration agent on if you actually qualify for a visa and also advice on possible permission to take your daughter from the state.

token101

The Aussie wrote: »

Out of interest, what visa are you on down there?
A WHV is not the best from a employers perspective.

A WHV. I'd never advise anyone to come here and try for sponsorship with it unless it's telesales or recruitment you're after, and even then you still need experience. I was very, very lucky to get something in my field, complete fluke after nearly two months of banging my head against the wall getting phone calls most days and getting hung up on once they hear "non resident". If you can get in as a resident or on an independent visa, happy days. But from someone who's recently gone through it all, coming here with a degree in business and little experience on a WHV looking for sponsorship is a ridiculous prospect really.

rick santorums gimp

JustAThought wrote: »

If you have lots of family there can't they help with the visa & get you a better status..]

Yes I believe so if it's close family. Worth checking out as you say.

Getting sponsorship by going on a working visa or applying for jobs from Ireland seems to be quite hard or 'impossible' from what other posters are saying. A lot of competition for good city based jobs. Worth persevering though I would say. The more CV's and emails one sends, the better one's chances obviously.

Job opportunities outside of the main cities might also be worth considering and researching - including positions in the mining areas.
Corporations like Sodexo organise a lot of the logistics/accommodation/facilities management etc for miners and such.

It might be worth getting in touch with them and similar operators. The money is very good I believe and they fly you in and out from the locations from the big cities. Not sure if that's feasable for the OP's situation, but if family are there it might be an option..

http://au.sodexo.com/

mandrake04

rick santorums gimp wrote: »

JustAThought wrote: »

If you have lots of family there can't they help with the visa & get you a better status

Yes I believe so if it's close family. Worth checking out as you say.

Only if relatives are Permanent Residents/Citizens and even then its very limited to a few extra points on a 489 visa or last remaining relative visa which I doubt she would qualify for.

Pugins

JustAThought wrote: »

I remember watching a programme on emigrating to OZ & one of the things that surfaced that surprised me was that parents who emigrated were obliged to pay a contribution to their childrens education costs on the basis that they were not automatically entitled to just use the because they had not made any tax contributions towards them by living & working there. I recall this came to 2k or so let child per year according to the programme. Of course this may have changed now; or may vary depending on the visa & immigration

We are on a 457 visa and not obliged to pay school fees for state schools. But we live in Victoria and I believe in other states such as NSW there are fees.

On the private school point, it really does depend on where you live and your personal circumstances. But it seems that everyone we know (living in Prahran, South Yarra, Toorak, Armadale, Malvern East suburbs) are sending their children to private secondary schools. Now that is not to say that in other areas it is nt as prevalent. And not to say that there aren't great state schools. It s an observation, not a judgement.

single mummy

Hi Everyone,

Thanks very much for all the info, I've alot of reading to do :-)

Just a few things that I picked up on is that my skills aren't on the SOL list. I qualify as having experience as a Hotel/Motel Manager-I specialise in Events Mgt and have thankfully gained a fair bit of experience in this area :-)
I've been in touch with the visa bureau website and they have confirmed that I would be eligible to apply for positions in New South Wales, Northern Territory, Victoria, Western Australia under subclass 190 visa. All these different visa numbers confuse me :-( but I guess I will become more familiar with them as I investigate further. In relation to family, I do have a family of cousins (perm citizens now) who live over there, I wouldn't be asking them to sponsor me but I'm sure they can assist in finding accommodation and settling in etc...

Also in relation to other family here in Ireland... father, that is irrelevant (SINGLE mother)

I know I am not looking at making plans straight away but I figured I could look into it now, put the feelers out to make sure it is feasible :-)

The idea of moving to Australia is to create a better quality of life for myself and my daughter. At the moment I am sick and tired of working for nothing just to keep my CV going. I am 100% being taken advantage of and really need to build a future and a career for myself. I don't my daughter to grow up here unfortunately :-(