Beginning to consider OZ

h0neybadger

Hi all,

Myself and partner are interested in moving to OZ.

Quick background of us.
I'm 33. She's 36.

We both work in IT sector, and are currently doing courses such as CCNA, CompTIA A+ etc.

I attended college for 3 years, but did not complete final exams due to personal issues.
She has a degree in a non related field.

We both have extensive experience working in our current fields.

Due to our ages, were concerned about the availability of visa's for us to apply for.

Our goal is to save, complete current courses, and begin applying for a suitable visa.

We would like to live there for 1-2 years, and eventually decide if we would like to stay.
Long term goals would be to live there permanently.

Is there any limiting factors regarding which VISA we can apply for here that would be relevant to know about?

It's early days yet, were potentially looking to move there in 12-18 months.

Any advice would be fantastic.

Noo

Limiting factors are your age as you cant get a working holiday visa. Without a WHV your only other options really are sponsorship or permanent migration visa - considering difficulty, time and cost involved in those visas, it'll need to be a more long term decision, not just a 1-2 year maybe.

greentea is just wrong

There's plenty of IT work there - Sponsorship with a company would be much easier option, you could have that within a matter of months (3+).

I found in my own experience, companies are very open to sponsoring UK/Irish people. Obviously you sell it to them that you are making a permanent move there

Just be aware that if the company sponsor you, sometimes they can either ask you to pay for the sponsorship yourself , or pay it back if you leave before a certain time frame (in region of $5000). With the company I was going to take sponsorship for - it was after 2 years you didn't have to pay it back. Also - sponsorship means you are tied to working for that company during your time in Australia, if you where to end up leaving them and want to stay on, you need to get another company to sponsor you within 3 months.

If you are wanting freedom to not be tied to one particular company - go down the PR route. However this visa can take a lot lot longer to process (12-18 months).


Best of luck

punk_one82

greentea is just wrong wrote: »

There's plenty of IT work there - Sponsorship with a company would be much easier option, you could have that within a matter of months (3+).

I found in my own experience, companies are very open to sponsoring UK/Irish people. Obviously you sell it to them that you are making a permanent move there

Just be aware that if the company sponsor you, sometimes they can either ask you to pay for the sponsorship yourself , or pay it back if you leave before a certain time frame (in region of $5000). With the company I was going to take sponsorship for - it was after 2 years you didn't have to pay it back. Also - sponsorship means you are tied to working for that company during your time in Australia, if you where to end up leaving them and want to stay on, you need to get another company to sponsor you within 3 months.

If you are wanting freedom to not be tied to one particular company - go down the PR route. However this visa can take a lot lot longer to process (12-18 months).


Best of luck

This is incorrect. You can't be asked to pay for your own sponsorship. It breaches the conditions of the visa.

greentea is just wrong

punk_one82 wrote: »

This is incorrect. You can't be asked to pay for your own sponsorship. It breaches the conditions of the visa.

I would say, dependent on company - the one I worked for had a clause written into the contact that if I left before a certain time frame (2 years), that a certain percentage was to be paid back... Maybe not explicitly outlined that it was because of the WHV, but that was the reasoning behind it. Just worthwhile if you are going down this route, thrashing out the terms on the agreement.

Anyway - @h0neybadger, lots of good info on this site

http://irisharoundoz.com/blog/2013/11/04/457-visa-sponsored-australia/

punk_one82

greentea is just wrong wrote: »

I would say, dependent on company - the one I worked for had a clause written into the contact that if I left before a certain time frame (2 years), that a certain percentage was to be paid back... Maybe not explicitly outlined that it was because of the WHV, but that was the reasoning behind it. Just worthwhile if you are going down this route, thrashing out the terms on the agreement.

Anyway - @h0neybadger, lots of good info on this site

http://irisharoundoz.com/blog/2013/11/04/457-visa-sponsored-australia/

They may have said you had to pay it back but it's illegal and they should have been reported for it and other people should be aware of the fact that under no circumstances can they legally get you to pay for any portion of the visa sponsorship.

Hope you didn't pay!

AgentRhea

The best option would be applying for a skilled visa. Employment sponsorship these days is not a sure guarantee of staying permanently. Working holidays is definitely not feasible as you do not qualify anymore due to age.

Doug89

greentea is just wrong wrote: »

There's plenty of IT work there - Sponsorship with a company would be much easier option, you could have that within a matter of months (3+).

I found in my own experience, companies are very open to sponsoring UK/Irish people. Obviously you sell it to them that you are making a permanent move there

Just be aware that if the company sponsor you, sometimes they can either ask you to pay for the sponsorship yourself , or pay it back if you leave before a certain time frame (in region of $5000). With the company I was going to take sponsorship for - it was after 2 years you didn't have to pay it back. Also - sponsorship means you are tied to working for that company during your time in Australia, if you where to end up leaving them and want to stay on, you need to get another company to sponsor you within 3 months.

If you are wanting freedom to not be tied to one particular company - go down the PR route. However this visa can take a lot lot longer to process (12-18 months).


Best of luck

Am considering it somewhat myself - I'm just about to turn 29 so would qualify for a WHV - but I'm asking myself is it difficult to find IT work with the WHV? You're limited to only working 6 months per employer so would they consider you for roles?

pete4130

Sponsorship has changed this year. It isn't a case of a company sponsoring you to fill a role anymore.

You have to get your qualifications assessed by the relevant assessing body for the skills visa (189 I think). This is a requirement for sponsorship.

Depending on the assessing body, with your partner having her degree but not working in the field of her degree, they may not accredit her qualifications as she may not have relevant CPD (continuous professional development). The courses you are currently doing may count towards the CPD so you could be ok. It needs to be checked with the assessing body first. A uni friend of mine is currently starting at the bottom of the ladder again after 10 years out of the industry in order to bring his CPD up to scratch to get his qualifications verified.

It's difficult to get sponsored while outside of Australia. Not impossible but not particularly easy. Not being able to come here on a WHV and get your foot in the door so speak is a disadvantage.

The 189 visa is probably the most viable option. You are more than likely ineligible as you don't have your qualifications but you will be able to go on your partners visa as de facto.

As you get older, the points available for your age decrease. If you haven't got the required 60 points with your skills, age, work experience etc then you may have to consider doing the English test and boosting your points this way. You can earn an extra 20 points by getting top marks. My same friend doing his CPD worked as an English teacher for 10 years in Brazil and put a lot of work into getting top marks in his English test to get the additional points on offer and its the deciding factor to get him to 60 points or above for his 189 visa.