Marisawright

No it's not true. It probably comes from confusiong about permanent residency. A lot of people think that once you're a permanent resident you can stay out of Australia for as long as you like, because that used to be the case.

That would be a short-sighted move, since there's likely to be a heavy burden on Australia's social services for many years to come after this is over. The government would be foollish to fast-track 864 visas, knowing those visa holders will cost the taxpayer far more over their remaining lifetime than they've paid in fees.

Ask them to break that fee down for you, so you understand exactly what they've included. As Ausvisitor says, you will need the English test to get some extra points, everyone does. The application process isn't a queue, it's a competition. You only need to score 65 points to apply for a visa, but if you only have 65 points, you don't stand a snowball's of getting one. Only the people with the highest points get picked (and you don't get your money back if you don't get picked). So the more points, the better your chances.

As I understand it, the normal process is that you apply to AHPRA, wait several months while they process your application, then you have to make a special trip to Australia to present yourself in person, to get registration approved. Your application for a visa can take months too, so you could gamble and do both at once. However if you get invited for the visa and your registration isn't through, you'll lose the visa. You're not obliged to do the English test, but you need to do it for the points. The visa process is a competition, not a queue. Only the applicants with the highest points get picked. Migrant nurses have been struggling to get jobs once they arrive because Australia has a pretty good supply locally these days. However, that's how it works normally. It may not be how it works now, because I believe they are prioritising visa applications from nurses. I don't know if they are making any concessions on registration but it would be worth checking. I would advise you to hire a good migration agent like @paulhand because they're most likely to be up to date with what's happening. An agent costs money, but on the other hand, if you DIY and make one little mistake in your application, it'll get rejected and you've paid all those fees for nothing. An agent is a good insurance policy.

With 85 points, you've got no chance of a 189 visa, so you don't have much choice I don't think.

It's very difficult to advise you, because so much depends what kind of lifestyle you're after, and also what kind of savings you have. We spent a year in the UK a few years ago and at the time, living expenses seemed much the same in both countries. Some things were dearer and some things were cheaper, but it evened out, in proportion to salaries. I would say that migrating is very expensive. By the time you've paid visa fees, air fares, shipping costs, temp accommodation till you find work, and all the set up costs, you can easily spend £30K.

If the agent is MARA registered then you should be able to rely on their advice. In your shoes, I would drop them a line and ask them about the threat of hairdressing being removed and what the current situation is. You're paying them, you're entitled to ask questions.

@Halohair, I thought hairdresser had been taken off the lists this year? https://www.change.org/p/department-of-home-affairs-keep-hairdressing-on-the-skills-migration-list-and-protect-our-industry?

No idea if an apprenticeship counts as dependent or not, your agent should advise. But no, they won’t consider what age he was when you applied.

Find your nearest office and visit

I beg your pardon, the mention of 2 years led me to make a wrong assumption

I'm afraid that was a bit optimistic. After the 2 years, there is a possibility that you might be eligible to apply for PR, if your employer is still willing to sponsor you. The process is uncertain and stressful and even if you seem to meet all the criteria, there's a high rate of rejections. Just to be clear, these temp visas are designed to let employers fill a temporary shortage of staff. The government doesn't want the employer to make you permanent - they're hoping there will be a local who can fill the role by the time your contract is up. So the transition to PR is offered grudgingly and they're making it even more difficult every year. Who knows what it will be like in two years' time? In years gone by, the chances of success were much higher, so you've probably heard of plenty people who did it - but that was then. Nowadays it's not nearly so easy for the reasons mentioned. That's why we always advise people to assume their temporary visa is just a temporary adventure and plan accordingly, and then if they do manage to get PR, it's a bonus. It sounds like you weren't made aware of that, which is a pity.

Before you worry about skills assessment, do you have enough experience to apply for a PR visa? Years as an apprentice do not count towards experience. You need to check what qualification is required for the visa. Then, you can only count the years AFTER you got that qualification. No point in doing the skills assessment until you've got that under your belt. At 22, assuming you are single, then your best bet would be to keep gaining more experience in the UK until the travel ban is lifted. Then apply for a Working Holiday Visa (WHV), which takes only a few days or weeks to get approved. That will let you live in Australia for at least a year. While a lot of people on a WHV do bar work, you can easily work in your own trade. If you do a few weeks of regional work, you can stay for a full second year. Then if you're still enjoying it, you can think about applying for PR.

I'd put it more strongly than that. If he has even a part-time job, he may be classed as no longer dependent and therefore won't qualify for a dependent visa on your application. I know we have one member (I can't remember who) whose child was doing a full-time course at university, but also had a part-time job and lived on campus. The child wasn't classed as dependent and was refused. Whereas we've seen others in the same boat who got accepted.

Just check with your agent about how that affects his visa. For some visas, he would have to stay in full-time education and you'll have to demonstrate that he's dependent on you at the time of grant, otherwise he can't be included in your visa.

If your husband is deeply unhappy, then chances are that it's not just a question of missing social life and friends. It's something much deeper and it will get worse, not better. There are some people (like you and me) who can live in any country in the world and be happy, provided they have a nice life. But actually, I think we're in the minority. Most people have a fundamental attachment to their homeland and will never be 100% happy living anywhere else. Often they can't put their finger on it, they just know they feel a yearning that won't go away. Men, in particular, will feel a bit silly expressing that, so they'll talk about missing the pub, or start nitpicking to find silly faults with their new country. I know it sounds weird and it took me a long time to accept that such people weren't just making it up. What convinced me was seeing people on these forums, so heartsick that they're contemplating leaving their wife and kids, or taking anti-depressants, or having suicidal thoughts. Why don't we hear about this more? We don't hear about it because it would never occur to those "homebodies" to emigrate in the first place. But then they get married to someone like you or me and get caught up in a new adventure, not suspecting how awful they're going to feel.

You need to get a good agent. I am not an expert, but as I understand it: The bridging visa will come into effect when the 500 visa expires, not before As he is bridging from a student visa, he may get the same work rights as the student visa (a professional agent will know). But normally that bridging visa has no work rights. If the visa has no work rights, he could apply for full work rights if he can prove hardship, but it is not guaranteed he will be approved. Note however that it can be hard to find a job on a 835 bridging visa, because employers do not understand it.

Sydney is gorgeous if you can live close to the city. I started out in the Eastern Suburbs - astonishing to think I could afford it then, how things have changed!

Sadly, you probably don't have any options. Twenty or thirty years ago, Australia was crying out for migrants because it was a growing country and couldn't train enough of its own people to keep up with demand. Nowadays, Australia is the same as every other Western country - the unemployment rate is about the same as the UK, so the government is fussy about accepting foreigners, because they don't want to be accused of letting migrants take local jobs. To stand a chance of migrating, one of you must have an occupation that's on the lists of eligible occupations. On top of that, you must have exactly the qualifications and experience specified for that occupation. On top of that, you must score enough points on a scale that includes things like English language competence and age (the older you are, the lower your points). If you're under 30 and don't have children, you could come over for a year or two on a Working Holiday Visa - but unless you're eligible under the above criteria, that won't help you stay long-term. There are short-term employer-sponsored visas but you still need to have an occupation that's on the lists. Your only hope would be for one of you to retrain in an occupation that's on the lists, then get the required years of experience, then apply. The trouble is that by the time you've qualified, you might find the occupation has been taken off the list. The lists get shorter every single year.

I'm sure this lockdown will make a few people rethink their retirement plans. For some years now, I've been wondering about moving to Hobart, because it's the one capital city where we could afford to own a reasonably nice home. My oh has resisted because he's always been worried about being bored, since (being a smaller city) there aren't as many cultural activities there compared to Melbourne or Sydney. The lockdown is making us both realise that we're not having to give up as much as we thought during this time. Although we used to be out every night at classes or dance parties, concerts and performances, we've already slowed down a lot. Nowadays we're more likely to be out during the day at U3A activities and the like. We weren't taking advantage of a fraction of Melbourne's nightlife now, so losing it wouldn't be much of a loss.

Did you apply for the 309 visa onshore? If so, you should get a bridging visa which will come into effect when your WHV expires.

It’s not a constant flow. And yes, if they process the quota before the end of the year then they just stop processing till the next year. I know the article called it a backlog but that’s misleading

Yes

They won't stop you applying without in-principle approval. However, if you get invited, they may give you only a month to get it - which is impossible.

@davlap, the secret is to recognise that you're living in a "subtropical" part of the world. The kind of plants you'd grow in the UK in summer, you have to grow in winter and spring. If you try to grow them in summer they'll die. In summer, you can grow tropical plants.