Marisawright

Yeah, that's not what they look at - and you might be surprised how many car mechanics do apply. Points are less important for the 190 and 491 visas, because the states have other criteria besides points. If NSW is your only option, you could look at Newcastle - big city with great beaches, on the doorstep of the wine country, and housing much cheaper than Sydney. As for an agent - I always say, go with one of the agents who visit these forums. The fact that they're generous with free advice is a good sign, I think.

Why wouldn't you have thought that? Here's the table of likely visa outcomes from February (which are the most recent figures available, because after that, the coronavirus happened): https://www.iscah.com/will-get-189-invite-february-2020-estimates/ Car mechanic is under "all other non pro rata applications". You'll see that 85 points is borderline and anything below that just expires and you lose your money. Bear in mind that was in February - since then, the Prime Minister has said they'll be slashing immigration, because they're expecting high unemployment after the coronavirus shutdown is over.

Honestly, if you can't afford to invest an extra $360 to get your skills validated, you can't afford to migrate.

I would echo what everyone else is saying. It's impossible to say what your chances would be in 5 years' time in any occupation. Migration to Australia has been getting steadily more difficult for years now. Australia used to have an open door compared to most other countries. Now, the government's attitude to immigrants is much the same as any other developed country - they're not welcome unless they are highly skilled, and even then, only if there's a shortage of local candidates in their profession. There's going to be a recession, or even a depression, after covid-19 and some are predicting it will go on for several years, so that's likely to make things worse.

They need to contact the department. Partner visa waiting times have blown out, but mainly for countries regarded as "high risk". The UK is not a high risk country and partner visas are usually granted in a year to 18 months. The long silence suggests the application has gone astray.

I'm guessing that was not a partner visa.

The harsh truth is that if you can't score over 90 points, you've got zero chance. That's for all occupations. Don't assume you or your partner can get superior English. We've had university graduates fail. Once you get to Australia on a permanent visa, you can work in any occupation you like and it has no effect on citizenship.

"De facto" means a relationship that's the equivalent of marriage, you just haven't gone through a ceremony. Dating, even committed dating, doesn't count. So you have made an incorrect statement. I have no idea how vital the exact date is in these particular circumstances, sorry.

You are considered de facto as soon as you move in together. You can't apply for a de facto visa until you've been together a year. If you break up, you're not covered by the laws of de facto relationships until you've been together 2 years. I think you may be thinking of one of those.

Your big issue will be timeframes. It takes about a year to get a partner visa. You can visit Australia in the meantime (on a tourist visa like any holidaymaker) but not stay or work, so that might work for you. If you're planning to travel around anyway, then I'd say that would be your best option. Get the application in, forget about it, and head off on your trip. Your other option is to come to Australia on a tourist visa, then apply for the partner visa once you're onshore. You would then get a bridging visa which would allow you to stay in Australia while you wait for the partner visa to come through. However, you then can't leave Australia without applying for a special visa, and you need to show good reason why you need to travel. You may also find it difficult to get work, as employers are suspicious of bridging visas. On top of all that, there's coronavirus. As the partner of an Australian citizen, you can apply for special permission to enter Australia in August (when the travel bans will still be in place). Since your partner isn't actually living in Australia at present, I have no idea whether you'd be successful. The bigger problem is that Australian citizens aren't allowed to leave the country without a good reason (such as work or compassionate grounds). So once she arrived, your partner wouldn't be able to go travelling again. The government has said, several times, that the travel ban will stay in place until September, and probably a lot longer - some are saying it will be well into 2021.

There is absolutely no point in applying for a skilled visa. The whole process takes just as long as the partner visa - PLUS it is uncertain. You can apply for a skilled visa but there is no guarantee you'll get one. The process is highly competitive. For instance, you only need to score 65 points to submit an application - but currently only those with over 90 points are being successful. The rest just lose their money. If you are eligible for a partner visa and you use an agent, you're not likely to have any problems. Partner visas have a high refusal rate, but that's because (a) there's a large number of fraudulent applications and (b) a lot of genuine applicants make a mess of the application, because they don't realise the extent of evidence required. If you're worried about not having an independent visa, don't be. Depending how long you've been together, you might get a temporary visa to start with, which is linked to your partner. But once you get the permanent visa, it's yours, and you retain it even if your relationship breaks up.

I was homeschooled for at least half of each year all through my childhood and teenage years. Academically, I always did very well. Socially, I'd say it was a complete disaster, even though I have three sisters - so it wasn't as if I was deprived of company. The thing is, when you socialise within your family, the dynamics are different. You learn how to deal with family. You don't learn to how to deal with and accommodate strangers, and you don't learn how to make friends with new people. I did play with the neighbours' kids but I never felt I was fully accepted. They all had the shared experience of going to school. They had teachers and school buses and outings to joke about. They had "in jokes" I couldn't be part of. I hated sport and was glad to avoid it, but on the other hand, I never learned how to become a team player and that hampered me in later life. I still find that I put my foot in it in social situations, because I've missed cues other people would notice.

If your leisure time revolves around outdoor sports then I can understand that, but not everyone is into that. Some people like visiting historic houses and gardens, or going for rambles in the countryside, or bird-watching. For those people, the UK offers far more choice within a short distance, especially if you don't mind walking in light rain (which many ramblers don't).

Each state is different. Some states require you to have a job lined up - which makes it almost impossible to apply for the visa, since the processing time for the 190 is so long, and most employers won't wait that long.

You're walking a fine line. It's perfectly legal to arrive in Australia on a temporary visa, and then apply for a permanent visa once you're here. But it is illegal to arrive in Australia on a temporary visa with the intention of never going home again. If the Immigration Officer of the day thinks you're an overstay risk, he can deport you and give you a three year ban. It would be much, much more sensible for you to hire a good agent and concentrate on getting your 491 application in as fast as possible, so the process can begin. In the meantime, once the borders open, you can come for an extended visit.

She can’t get a bridging visa. She just needs to apply for a new tourist visa

The problem with a student visa is that the fees are very high. How long ago did your parents apply for their visa? Parents who applied in 2016 are just getting their visas approved now (i.e. a 4 year wait). The queue just keeps getting longer - anyone who applied this year is facing an 8 to 10 year wait. Besides, everything is on hold due to the coronavirus. Unless you're a citizen or a permanent resident, you need special permission to enter Australia. Immediate family members can get an exemption but you need a compelling reason, and I don't think a course of study would count as a compelling reason. Those restrictions will definitely stay in place till September, and probably much longer - the government has told us, several times, that the international travel ban will be the very last restriction to be lifted. So I'd say you have at least a year, and probably longer, to take steps in the UK to improve your chances. The obvious step would be to try to get back into zookeeping.

I can't give you any advice on schools, but have you established whether or not you can even get a visa? It's not easy getting a visa as a nurse.

Make sure it's a good agency (there are a few shonky operators out there, and they're often the ones who have a high profile - not because they're good but because they pay a lot to promote themselves). I would advise he consults one of the reputable agents on these forums such as @paulhand. Do be careful grabbing at "loopholes". We see too many sad stories of young people who use loopholes, then somehow manage to stay in Australia for five or ten years before they run out of options. Then they have no choice but to go back to the UK and re-establish themselves all over again. If they've been on temporary or bridging visas, chances are they've got nowhere with their career during their time in Australia, so their prospects have suffered as a result. We even had a report of one young man who committed suicide when faced with having to go home. Bottom line, if he can't get a decent visa that will allow him to build a new life in Australia, he would be much better accepting that his future is elsewhere. Perhaps he could look into migrating to New Zealand instead (I have no idea what his prospects would be, but worth checking), so you can see each other more often.

The downside of applying for any visa onshore is that your parents will be in limbo. They'll cease to be legally resident in the UK, which means they won't be entitled to treatment under the NHS or any other benefits if they have to return to the UK. Being a UK citizen makes no difference. At the same time, they won't be legally resident in Australia, even though they're living in Australia. That means no benefits, including access to aged care, pensioner subsidies on medications or anything else. At the same time, their UK govt pension will be frozen at the rate it is when they leave the UK, and they'll never get any increases. If they are well-off that may not matter, but if they're not, it could become a real issue. Assuming they're currently living in the UK, they're lucky, because they will be entitled to Medicare under the reciprocal agreement, which will cover most treatments they might need. If they want to buy a home, they'll have to apply for special permission because they'll be treated as a foreign investor, and they'll pay at least three times the normal stamp duty plus a fee on top. If they want to leave Australia, even for a holiday, they will have to apply for permission, and demonstrate a good reason for their trip.

The employer will need to hire their own migration agent. Any employer who doesn't use an agent is asking for trouble, because it is complicated. It's up to you to decide whether your boyfriend wants to hire an agent for his side of things.

It doesn’t sound like you’ve got enough points for a 189 on your own. You might as well wait till January and do it through work Yes there are agents who will do a review.

Of course they can. There have been lots of cases where a couple has a baby with the deliberate intention of getting residency in Australia, and Immigration are aware of that. You need to get advice from a migration agent immediately. If you applied for the partner visa knowing full well that you did not meet the requirements, then it is likely to be refused. It may be possible to do something but you need an agent's help.

As Quoll says, you'll be on that bridging visa till you retire, so make sure you undestand the limitations of being in that situation. It's not easy. Legally you are not a resident of Australia, even though you are residing in Australia. I hope you are talking to a migration agent, but be aware that a migration agent's job is to find ways for you to get to Australia. It's not their job to point out the practical pitfalls so do your research.

Yes, it is very confusing. The easiest option is to have a free initial consultation with one of the agents Ausvisitor mentions. They won't do a detailed analysis for free, but if your chances aren't good, they'll be honest and tell you. The 189 visa (which lets you come to Australia and work anywhere) is becoming very difficult to get. Although you are allowed to apply with only 65 points, in practice you'll be throwing your money away. It's a competition not a queue - they cherrypick the people with the highest points. Currently you don't stand a snowball's chance if your score is below 90. The 190 visa means you are sponsored by one of the states and you are supposed to live in that state - but it's not a legal requirement to do so. The states are getting fed up of people applying for 190's just to get into the country, with no intention of ever living in the sponsoring state. So they're not awarding 190's as often. There is a visa called the 491, which means you are sponsored by one of the states but it's provisional. That's like being on probation. You have to live and work in the sponsoring state, in a regional area (i.e. not in the capital city) for four years before you can get a full permanent visa. If you don't meet those obligations, your visa gets cancelled.