Marisawright

There are many scam agents overseas. But there are many good agents too, including those who are helpful in these forums. They are not nearly so expensive either

The 457 no longer exists, it would be a 482. I'm sure you know that you need an employer to sponsor you. I'm confused how you could apply for a 485 if you're in Belgium. That visa is for graduates who have completed their studies at an Australian university, to allow them to stay in the country and gain experience. Immigration looks at how much your child's autism will cost the taxpayer while they're in Australia So if you are applying for a visa where you get full entitlements to schooling, medical care and benefits, your son's condition might be an issue. If the visa requires you to pay for schooling and doesn't offer access to Medicare, I can't see why Immigration would have a problem, because it's not costing the taxpayer anything. A consultation with an agent would be a wise move.

In that case, apply for the partner visa. The only real snag with the partner visa is the waiting time (which I think is about 18 months at the moment), but you've got time so that's not an issue. Just be sure to apply in plenty of time. As WRussell says, as an accountant you have zero chance of getting a skilled visa, because Immigration are swamped with applications from accountants and there's already a good supply locally. So they are picking out the applicants with very high points (85+) and ignoring the rest - and that is not likely to change. In fact, they may even take it off the list shortly.

Nearly all the big companies will do storage for you and they'll be happy to keep it as long as you pay for it - but it will probably be more expensive than self-storage rates. Also there will be no way to access the goods while they're in storage (that may not be a problem for you). However, how are you going to manage in the meantime? It's very rare to find furnished rentals in Australia, so you'd have to stay in a serviced apartment or executive let until you buy a place which would be very costly.

Yes you can work once you’ve got the visa approved. You may not have the right to work on the bridging visa

Glad you did. You'd be surprised how many people don't!

As others have said, that rule applied when he was on a bridging visa, but NOT now. However you are not allowed to be in Australia when you apply for the 115 visa, which means you will not get a bridging visa yourself. You will have to wait in your home country until the visa is granted, which will be about 30 (thirty) years from now. If you want to come to Australia and apply for a Remaining Relative Visa while you're in Australia, it's a different visa. You would get a bridging visa then, but you might not be able to work or claim benefits. Depending where you come from, you might not get medical treatment either. It would be a good idea to book a consultation with a migration agent to check what conditions your bridging visa would have. The waiting time is about the same, I believe. You can find people discussing this visa here: https://www.pomsinoz.com/topic/204168-remaining-relative-visa-what-years-are-getting-processed-now/ Notice that the waiting times were much shorter in the past. However every year, only a few visas are granted, so the backlog is getting longer and longer.

But once he gets the 186, doesn't he have to stay with the employer for a further two years after that?

In that case I’d be sending your partner over in January to start work and staying in the UK with the cats until the 186 comes through. What if he hates the job or has a horrible boss?

What kind of lifestyle are you looking for?

Yes I believe it is true.

The thing that would worry me is undertaking the huge cost of moving the cats, when you might have to move them back again within a short space of time. While there is a transition path from the 482 to the 186, approval is a very long way from being guaranteed (just take a look at some of the threads about it!), so when you accept a 482, you should always plan on the basis that you're coming for a short-term adventure, and if you get PR it's a bonus.

Sounds like someone is trying to scam you into doing a course

I like the gardening books by Jackie French. They're written in an engaging style and are very practical and down to earth. They don't expect you to be an amazing gardener or blind you with science. http://www.jackiefrench.com/copy-of-sustainability-and-ecology-1 This website is good for learning about Australian birds http://www.birdlife.org.au/all-about-birds/australias-birds/find-a-bird I don't know if this is the best bird book around but it's the one I've used for years: https://www.booktopia.com.au/the-slater-field-guide-to-australian-birds-second-edition-peter-slater/book/9781877069635.html

If you've got money behind you, you could check if you're eligible for a student visa. Your course would be expensive, but you're allowed to work 20 hours a week at the same time. I don't know what your chances are of getting a 190 visa for Victoria. From what I hear, the states are getting fed up of people applying for the 190 visa and then not staying in the state, so they're not offering many - they may offer you a 489 instead, but of course there's a chance you might not get invited at all. How long ago did you apply? I'd say your best bet would be a consultation with one of the agents who frequent these forums. They'll have some idea, based on their other clients' experience, of what the states are doing, and they'll be aware of all the possible options you could try. Good luck.

Yes, you read it right. ING Bank offers the same deal. By the way, Lloyds do not have a "returning to the UK bank account". All they do is take your name and tell you to present at a branch when you arrive, but that does nothing to speed up your application - that would be illegal. This Transferwise article explains it well: you can't open a bank account until you have proof of residency https://transferwise.com/gb/blog/how-to-open-a-bank-account-in-uk

You'd have to be on a very good salary though, to make it worthwhile spending $1,200 on flights every week. I can imagine there would be a fair few people commuting to Melbourne once or twice a week and working from home the rest of the time. I know there's quite a number of people who do that in NSW, living in Coffs or Byron and flying down to Sydney a couple of times a week

Where are you going in Australia?

I think you'd be best to have a consultation with Andrew to work out whether your plan is a good one. If you are going to lose such a huge amount in tax, why would you not leave your UK pension where it is? Lots of people are paid their UK pension in retirement in Australia.

It is irrelevant. Whether you are divorced or not, it won't make any difference.

They are not permanent but they do not change very often.

You can't apply for the visa until she's eligible so you can't apply until she turns 66. Nothing to stop you applying for tourist visas in the meantime.

Most people get scared when they see how much shipping costs and think, "My stuff isn't worth that much, I'll just throw it all out and start again." Before you do that, do a trial shop. Go shopping online at harveynorman.com.au, petersofkensington.com.au, target.com.au. Just "add to cart" everything you'll need to equip your home, then go and look at the total order (and probably faint). You can also do ikea.com.au, but make sure there's an Ikea near where you're going, as they don't ship to the whole of Australia. Personally, I'd say it's worth shipping most things, unless they're in really poor condition. It's not just the cost of replacing everything - it's the time. You arrive in Australia and you've got enough on your plate adapting to a foreign country, so the last thing you want to do is trek round shops buying crockery, cutlery, pots, pans, bedlinen, towels, whitegoods, furniture.... If you ship your belongings, they will take a few weeks to arrive, but you'll need to book a holiday let for a month anyway while you look for a rental. Then you may have only a couple of weeks to survive "camping" in your new home. Some people choose not to ship their beds, mattresses and bedlinen so they'll have something to sleep in even if the container is delayed. If you have children then it's best to bring their toys and books and other favourite things, because familiar things help them settle in.

He applies for a tourist visa pretending to go in holiday, then you apply for an onshore partner visa. He will get a bridging visa. Only real downside is that he will struggle to get work while on the bridging visa

If it’s on finance then you don’t own it, the finance company does