Marisawright

It still hasn’t been announced definitely. Currently it’s likely to be end of December before non-residents will be allowed in, but no one knows for sure

I would never recommend that anyone attempt to migrate permanently to Australia using a student visa at the best of times. To contemplate it right now would be very foolish IMO. There's only one way to migrate permanently to Australia - you must have qualifications and experience in an occupation that's on the Skilled Lists. If you don't have them, then you've got to study to get them, and that's going to take you two or three years. That's a long time in the Immigration world, and there's a high risk the requirements will have changed by then. You could come and study in Australia, which will cost you thousands and thousands of pounds more than it would cost in your home country. If the requirements have changed by the end, you've thrown all that money away. And besides, you can't even get started on your strategy till next year. Or you can stay in your home country, get your qualifications at a reasonable cost, and then if the requirements have changed, you're qualified to teach in your home country. And you may be able to start your course this summer, much earlier than in Australia.

If your partner's entire family are in Queensland, then he should stand a good chance of getting a RRV (resident return visa). The longer he's been out of Australia, the worse his chances, so he shouldn't delay. If he's been outside Australia for a long time, it's likely you are right - he'll only get 12 months to return and set up residence. However you could return with him on a tourist visa, and then apply for a partner visa once you're in Australia. Then you'd get a bridging visa, which would let you stay in Australia until your partner visa is approved (which as you say, can be a year or more). The risk is that you might not be allowed to work while you're on the bridging visa, but it is possible to apply for special permission to work if you're experiencing hardship. A consultation with a good migration agent would be a good investment. It will cost you money, but then a partner visa is expensive, and you don't want to throw your money away by getting it wrong.

There are flights already

@Sunseeker20, I thought you said you were only taking a property for a month or two? Why would you need an application to a landlord for that length of time? I'd have thought you'd be taking an AirBnB or holiday let for that length of time. Very few landlords would offer you a lease that short otherwise, and I'd be a bit suspicious of the ones that would, frankly.

Even if you didn't have dual citizenship, you'd still be a permanent resident of Australia, so it would make no difference. To be allowed to leave, you need to prove you are "usually resident' in another country.

They have "accreditations" on their website but I don't recognise any of them. You need an agent who is MARA registered. If the consultant you deal with isn't MARA registered, don't use them.

Agents are knowledgeable but they're not magicians, so submitting an application with 85 points, even through an agent, would be throwing your money away. Have you already had a WHV (working holiday visa)? If not, you could use that to spend a year working in Australia, which would give you time to secure a job offer in Victoria and apply for the 190. Most people on a WHV do casual work because they want to travel, but there's nothing to stop you spending the full year working in your usual profession. The only limit is that you can't work for the same employer for more than six months. Otherwise, as Paul Hand said, as the de facto partner of a New Zealand citizen, you can access a NZ partner visa. From reading other posts on these forums, there's a long processing time, so I'd get on to that asap. Worth a consultation with Paul.

No of course not, the agent is either an idiot, or he knows the property isn't as good as he's claiming, so he wants to lock you in before you see the truth. It's possible that by the time you get here, you won't have to quarantine twice because the borders between the states may be open. Keep your fingers crossed.

A timeline has been published, which shows international flights aren't planned to open before the end of December. Quarantine will, obviously, have to stay in place until infections in other countries are as low as they are currently in Australia.

The age limit for a skilled visa is 45. There are some very limited opportunities for temporary visas until you are 50 - but they are only for a few years, and as a nurse, you're not likely to qualify. I can understand that. Unfortunately, most countries are very fussy about who they accept as permanent migrants. You remember how the US used to welcome migrants with open arms, but as the population grew, it gradually shut its doors. Australia has been gradually shutting its doors for some time now, too. I believe New Zealand still has a higher age limit so it would be worth looking at that.

Well, there's this: https://www.sbs.com.au/news/australia-s-migration-intake-to-fall-85-per-cent-due-to-coronavirus-scott-morrison-says

The cutoff for a permanent visa is 45, I'm afraid, so you are too old to get a visa yourself. Your son could get a WHV (working holiday visa) once international visitors are allowed again (which won't be till next year). It's fairly easy and quick to get that visa, and it will give him a year or two to get work experience in Australia. The problem is that if he then decides to move permanently, you won't be able to join him. There are currently some options for a Parent visa, but the government has been steadily tightening up on them, and there is a very long queue of parents hoping for a grant - so long that the waiting time is anything from 8 years to 30 years.

Although an agent is expensive, it would be even more of a waste of money to make an application that stands little chance of success. That's why I think having a consult with George is vital. With health issues, Immigration doesn't look at your current health. It looks at your future health needs, and how much they will cost the taxpayer. There is a threshold, and if you're likely to go above that, you'll get refused. So, for instance, I have a niece with a congenital heart condition. In her early twenties, she's fit and healthy and requires no treatment, just occasional checkups. However, ever since she was born, we've known she will need a heart transplant before she's forty. A transplant would take her way over the threshold, so she would stand no chance of getting a visa. https://austimmigration.com.au/

Years ago, Australia was a new country with a shortage of skills in many occupations. That's not the case any more. Australia is pretty much the same as any other country. You've got much the same chance of getting a job as an electrician in Australia as you do in the UK. In some states, your wife might struggle as there's a bit of a glut of nurses currently, but I'm sure she'd get something. Australia is not like the UK, where you have small towns within a short commute of the big cities. The distances are much greater. So you'd be better off looking at a medium-sized coastal town where you don't need to commute to a big city. There are small hospitals in many smaller towns. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_hospitals_in_Australia

If you look at the grants before Covid-19, you'll see that no one with less than 90 points was getting invited. https://www.iscah.com/will-get-189-invitation-january-2020-estimates/ Everyone, including the Australian Prime Minister, is saying that visa numbers will be reduced this year and next - so I'd say your chances with 85 points are between zero and none. Your only chance is a 190 or 491 visa, so you will need to check which states are sponsoring your occupation, and what their requirements are. However as Westly says, there are going to be changes after Covid, due to the sharp rise in unemployment, so you may have to be patient.

I wouldn't be (shocked, I mean).

It varies from state to state but it usually works out at about three times the normal amount. So for instance, on a $500,000 unit you'd pay around $60,000 instead of about $19,000 in NSW. If you qualify as a First Home Buyer in some states, you don't pay the normal stamp duty - but you still have to pay the foreign buyer's stamp duty. So in that case, in NSW a first home buyer doesn't pay stamp duty, but you'll still get slugged the Foreign Buyer's stamp duty of around $40,000. Plus a few thousand more for the FIRB fee.

If you come on a WHV instead of a tourist visa, then you’d be able to work. I wouldn’t buy a house as you’d pay an eye watering amount in duties, but having a lease on a place is just as good a way to establish a “home” for the purpose of the RRV

You've come to the right place. There are a few agents on these forums. I haven't used any of them personally, but the fact that they're so generous with free advice here is a good sign. Unfortunately, having relatives in Australia offers no advantage - Australia only accepts migrants with qualifications and experience in a short list of skilled occupations. A free initial consultation with an agent will identify whether yourself or your spouse fit into any of the eligible categories and therefore stand a chance of getting a visa.

I am self-employed and work for overseas clients all the time. I guess it depends on the nature of your work, but I find the time difference only matters for meetings, phone calls and texts. It actually works quite well for other things, because responses can actually feel faster. Say they send a query on Monday night - if you were in Australia, you might not even open it till Tuesday morning. Whereas if you're in the UK , you open and action the email during their night time, and your response is waiting for them the next morning. You'd need to ask the company whether they're prepared to pay yiour salary direct into a UK bank account. However, since you'll be losing money due to bank exchange rates that way, you might be better holding on to your Aussie bank account and having it paid in there. Then you can transfer it yourself at better rates, when it suits you. You'll be classed as a non-resident for Australian tax purposes. That doesn't mean you don't pay tax, it just means you pay tax at different rates. You'll need to do an Australian tax return to declare your Australian income. You are liable to pay tax on worldwide income in your country of residence. That means you'll have to declare your Australian income on your British tax return, too. But you won't be taxed twice, because you will also declare your Australian tax paid and they'll take that into account.

Thanks for clarifying that. I was careless with my wording. We tend to talk about "applying" for a 190 visa, when in fact what you're doing is lodging an EOI. You have to wait to be invited to apply, and that's when the age freeze applies. But there can be a long wait between lodging your EOI and getting an invitation.

It's tough right now because of the coronavirus. I assume the agent is suggesting you arrive on the tourist visa, then apply for the RRV again, as I can't think of any other visa you'd be eligible for? I think the best idea might be to make a plan for the middle of next year, when the travel bans should be lifted. Then, apply for a Working Holiday Visa, which will give you a full year in Australia (and even longer, if you do the regional work). That gives you time to establish more links to Australia (rent a flat, get a bank account etc) so you would have a stronger case for the RRV. And get an agent to help you do the application to ensure you present the strongest possible case.

All reputable agents willl offer a free initial consultation. The best agent for people with medical conditions is George Lombard. He specialises in that area.

45 is the cut-off age for a visa. I am pretty sure you must still be under 45 at the time the visa is granted, not just at the time you apply. So there's no way you could be the principal applicant. That means your only chance is if your husband can get qualified and apply before he's too old - and frankly, I'm not sure it would be possible VeryStormy is right, you can't get a bridging visa to gain work experience. He could get a Graduate visa, but they're only available for specific courses, so you'd need to check whether the course he's thinking of is eligible. You also need to work out what his points would be. Once you're over 40, even if you have all the right qualifications, it can be hard to get enough points. The 189 visa is a very competitive process, and even though you only need 65 points to apply, no one is getting invited with less than 90 points. Everyone else just loses their money. So you'd need to look at whether any of the states are sponsoring the occupation you're thinking of, and what their requirements are. The biggest hurdle at the moment is the coronavirus. The international travel ban will be the last thing to be lifted. They're talking about December at the earliest. So he wouldn't be able to start a course until 2021 and even that may be doubtful.