Marisawright

I'm sure all your supporting evidence made a difference, but have you ever thought what would happen if every applicant sent an email every day? Immigration officials are already snowed under enough, without thousands of people sending nagging emails again and again. Please consider that the people who work in Immigration who are doing a difficult job with inadequate staffing, and clogging up their mailbox and phone lines slows things down rather than speeding things up.

The move will be expensive. The visa (and possibly a migration agent's fee to get it prepared) is the cheapest bit. The main expenses are: Air fares Shipping your belongings (shipping is expensive, but far less expensive than replacing everything with new when you arrive) Four weeks' holiday accommodation when you first arrive Buying a car (more expensive than in the UK) Insurances Money to live on while you look for work. That last one can be the worst. For most people, it's unrealistic to hope for a job offer before you make the move. As a general rule, Australian employers would rather hire a local applicant than wait for an overseas applicant, even if the overseas applicant looks superior. However, as your work is so specialised, there might not be local applicants so you're in a better posiition. However you would need to have the partner visa already approved because employers aren't going to wait for months, not knowing when the visa might come through. The snag might be - what are the chances that there will be vacancies for both of you at the same time? Your partner might get a job but then you'll be stuck on one income while you wait for a vacancy for you (or vice versa). You'll need to budget for that. One idea to consider - the 482 visa. Normally we advise against that for families, because it's a temporary visa for only 2 to 4 years. But in your case, it could get you over to Australia, and then you could apply for the partner visa onshore. It's an employer-sponsored visa which means the employer needs to offer your partner a job, and then sponsor him to come to Australia. It's normal for the employer to pay your air fares and some other relocation expenses. You'd need to check whether your occupation is on the list of occupations eligible for that visa but it would mean you got some of your upfront costs paid.

You qualify easily for a partner visa, but be aware that it's a slow process. There's a lot of work involved to gather all the evidence of your relationship, and then you'll have a 12 to 18 month wait for the visa to come through. I'd say moving straight into a bought property is an unrealistic goal. You can't buy or even rent a property, sight unseen, from the UK. Firstly, real estate agents shamelessly photoshop the images you see online,so you should never buy without seeing it in person. Secondly, you can't judge what the suburbs are like from a distance, even with help from places like this forum. You might buy what looks like a gorgeous house in a nice suburb that's handy for your work - but when you arrive, you'll discover it's a dump, and the reason it was reasonably priced is that it's right on the edge of that nice suburb, bordering on a rough area where hoons race their cars every night, or something. Most migrants book a AirBnB or a holiday let when they arrive for three or four weeks, to give them time to look for a long-term rental. Then they live in the rental property for six months to a year while they get to know the city, and then they're well enough informed to buy. Check real estate prices on realestate.com.au, to get an idea of how much you'll need. For some reason, people seem to assume that houses are cheaper in Australia but they're not, and in most cities, houses near the beach are astronomical (not that Brisbane has any beaches!). Homely.com.au has reviews of individual suburbs - I wouldn't rely on them completely, but they give you enough of an idea for your initial research.

@Akira, your only possible course is to request a release from your obligations under your 190 visa. As Paul posted in that other thread, some applicants in some states have had their visas revoked already for failing to meet the criteria. SA may or may not accept that applying for jobs from overseas is an adequate effort, but you won't know unless you try.

Ask for some quotes, then you'll find out whether the management speak English or not. That's what matters. On the day of the move, you'll get a local crew no matter who you go with,.

The GP may bulk bill himself and get pathology, x-rays etc on bulk bill, but that doesn't necessarily mean specialists too.

The problem is that "it's never too late" isn't true. It's possible to move back in your early to mid fifties, but once you get past that point, it can become financially impossible, unless you are well-off, because of the pension.

If you use a UK mover, they will just sub-contract it to a Spanish mover, and then if there's a problem, you'll have to speak to the UK mover who then has to speak to the Spanish mover and then come back to you...sounds like a recipe for frustration. If you have some grasp of Spanish then I would do it direct with a Spanish mover. Are you living in Spain currently or in the UK? Are you aware that if you're living in Spain, then you won't be covered by reciprocal Medicare when you arrive? Shouldn't be a problem as you'll be eligible for full Medicare with the visa, but worth making sure you have health insurance until you get that sorted.

Yes you should claim Medicare, there are no downsides. Overseas Visitors Health Cover is pretty much the same whichever company you choose. I don't know whether it exempts you from MLS.

@scousers, I am willing to bet that a thoughtless GP referred him to a private specialist. Tell him to go back to his GP and ask to be referred to a specialist in the public system instead. It happens a lot. GP"s just assume people have private health insurance. I've had it happen to friends often.

If you are eligible to apply for a visa, his age doesn’t matter

I assume he was the main applicant on the 482? If he's over 45, unless he's in one of the occupations Paul mentions, then it will be too late.

What a pity you did not join this forum for advice back in 2017. It is totally unrealistic to expect to find a job within a few days or weeks. Migrants are advised to arrive in Australia and allow three to six months to find employment. Returning to Japan almost guaranteed you would not find a job, as Australian employers are reluctant to hire an overseas applicant. If you are now planning to remain in Japan until you find a job in Australia, I fear your visa will expire before you are successful.

Do you have a visa? My main issue with Queensland is the summer heat. I find it intolerably hot and sticky. Not a problem when you're in holiday mode and can laze on the beach, but not so much fun when you're lugging your shopping to the car or want to go out for a walk. Everyone is different so only you know how you react to heat and cold. I find the Sunshine Coast has a micro-climate, still warm but less sticky, for some reason. BTW Byron Bay is in NSW. Some other nice coastal towns in NSW too, like Coffs Harbour. Some councils have very strict rules about cats and some Aussies are very anti-cat. It varies from area to area. Regardless of that, it's simply irresponsible to allow a cat to roam free in Australia as native animals aren't used to predators. Not all cats prey on wildlife but they do like to play with new things, and playing with a native animal can easily injure it to the point of death. So you do need an outdoor run, or a secure garden with roller bars on the top of the fences so the cat can't jump over.

You're a dependent, not the visa holder, so it's not an issue.

Welcome to the forum. The good news is that you're in the right place to get help on your journey. The bad news is that Australia is very, very fussy about whom they accept. First, one of you must work in an occupation that's on a short list of eligible occupations. If not, you can't migrate. On top of that, the list specifies what qualifications and experience you must have - if you don't, you can't migrate. So that is the first thing you need to check. For the most straightforward permanent visa, the 189, you're also judged on a point score. You only need 65 points to apply, but the 189 is a competition, and the people with the highest points get picked. Right now, there are many applicants with very high scores, and no one with less than 85 points stands a chance of getting a visa. If you can't score enough points, then there are the 190 or 491 visas you can apply for, which require you to live in a particular state or area for your first few years. If you want to move to a particular city, that may not suit you. The last visa on the list is the employer-sponsored visa. This may sound like a good deal because the employer will pay some of your moving costs and you'll have a job to go to, BUT the catch is that it's only a temporary for 2 to 4 years, and you go home at the end. There is the possibility of applying for a permanent visa at the end, but it's only a possibility and the rules are changing all the time, making it harder and harder to get. For a family, it's not recommended due to the stress and high cost of moving temporarily. If all that sounds complicated, that's because it is. Try the visa finder Paul has linked to, and if it looks as though you might qualify, Paul (and other reputable migration agents) offer an initial consultation free of charge to get you started.

I can't help with your specific question but I think you are right to be nervous about the 482 visa, though it would get you to WA. The employer-sponsored visa is a temporary visa, designed to fill short-term gaps in the labour market, and the government wants you to go home at the end of it. They do offer the possibility of applying for PR after three years (some would say grudgingly), but it's only a possibility and there are a number of risk factors along the way which result in many people not achieving it. The 491 is a provisional visa, designed to encourage migrants to live in the under-populated regional areas of Australia. The government wants you to stay at the end of the visa, and hopes that by the time you've spent four years in a regional area, you'll like it so much you'll settle there for good. So they offer a clear pathway to permanency provided you meet the conditions. So although nothing in life is ever guaranteed, there is more certainty with the 491 than the 482. I hope someone is able to answer your question. Good luck.

We have an expert on the forums, @Iron Chef You can PM him for information or check out his website https://www.ironladyimports.com/ He is pretty good and will tell you if he thinks it's not worth doing.

The bigger the business, the more likely they've sponsored before, so that's good. However is it the dealership that's offered or is it head office? Make sure head office has approved it, as a branch office can't do it themselves.

If you have the contact details for that boss, can't you contact him yourself and ask him to provide a statement of service or a reference?

@Ceedotkaay yes they do, because the whole point of the 482 visa is to help employers who are struggling to find a local applicant to fill the job. So it's the employer who drives the application process for the 482 visa and they bear a big part of the cost and most of the preparation work. Has your partner's employer sponsored for the 482 before? If not, I'd be worried they might go cold on the idea, once they find out how much it will cost them and how much paperwork they've got to do. I've seen it happen before - a manager can be very quick to offer sponsorship for a good employee, but once the bosses find out they've got to pay fees, do a lot of admin and divulge all kinds of financial information to the government, they change their minds. It may not happen to you but you'd be well advised to find out for sure asap.

Just to be clear, you can engage an agent to help you with your part of the application if you like, but they'll need an agent too, because they will have to do most of the work. It can be the same agent but they are two separate jobs.

If he's already in Australia and he's already working for that employer, then the big risks of the 482 visa are already gone. He knows the employer will treat him fairly, he knows he likes the job, and he knows the business is solid. All those things are impossible to judge for an overseas candidate. The only big risk, then, is the risk that you won't be eligible by the time you can apply for the 186. But since you're already settled in Australia, you're not going to be burning your bridges or incurring relocation costs, so the worst that can happen is that you have to leave the country after the 482. If your current visa expires in April, then the employer should be getting their skates on to apply to sponsor him. They will need to hire a migration agent to help them, as the process for employers is complex and they haven't got much time to get it done, by the sound of things.

Have a read of the comments on that article I linked to. While it all looks very positive in the reviews, the comments show that when things go wrong, it's not easy to get things sorted out. That doesn't surprise me because most online businesses are the same. Look at eBay, PayPal, Amazon, AirBnB etc. All great when they work, but their customer service is faceless and frustrating to deal with. Customer service at bricks and mortar banks can be appalling too, but at least you can march into a branch and create merry hell if all else fails!

To clarify, the 482 is a temporary visa, designed to fill short-term gaps in the labour market, and the government wants you to go home at the end of it. They do offer a possible pathway to PR at the end (some would say grudgingly) but they don't make it easy. The 491 is not a temporary visa, it's a provisional visa, designed to bring migrants to regional areas. The government hopes that by the time you've spent four years in that region, you'll be so settled that you'll want to stay there permanently, so you have a clear pathway to PR provided you meet the conditions. As a mechanic, your oh could work just as easily in a regional area. If you prefer a big city, then Newcastle has lots to offer - houses are half the price of Sydney, the beaches are gorgeous and you're on the doorstep of the wineries. If you don't mind a smaller city and you fancy a laidback beach lifestyle, then I'd go Coffs Harbour or Port Macquarie.