Marisawright

At 65 points, your application would likely expire before you got an invitation. No point in applying.

You are right, the lack of experienced accountants is a real problem. I'm retired now but in my latter years working (as a facilities manager), I worked for an outsourcing company and spent short periods at many different companies. I got used to dealing with Malaysian or Chinese accountants whose ability with figures was excellent, but who could barely string a comprehensible sentence together, or write a coherent report. They were often raw graduates with a good knowledge of theory but a lack of practical understanding. Often they were working without any supervision or guidance. Of course they were probably being hired at bargain salaries, but I always wondered whether those companies understood the potential damage they were doing to themselves!

The basic difference is simple. When you apply for a partner visa, your application goes into a queue. Your application gets reviewed when you get to the head of the queue. If you satisfy all the requirements and have provided sufficient evidence of that fact (just being married is not enough), you'll get your visa. When you apply for a skilled visa, your application goes into a competition with a limited number of prizes (visas). Those with the highest points win. If your points are at the lower end, you may never get picked, because hundreds of new applications arrive every day. Currently, no one with less than 75 points stands a chance - but sometimes it's even higher. You can't know, because it depends on the points score of all the other people who applied with you. In summary, both visas have waiting times, but at least the partner visa is predictable.

Ask them for a formal quote and as Mel said, the estimate will be on the quote somewhere - but bear in mind, the arrival fees are always an estimate and can change.

You have been here 8 years. If you had enough qualifications and experience to apply for a 189 or 190 visa by yourself, you could have done that any time, you did not have to wait for the 186. You would've had to pay for it all yourself. But maybe you did not know that, or maybe your qualifications were not sufficient?

This is his website: https://www.ozimmigration.com/meet-the-team/ You can see a button to email him on that page.

You keep mentioning the salary, but I think you need to go back to your agent and ask them what "labour market testing" means. Maybe it doesn't mean they have to advertise the position, in which case you might be OK. But you need to check that. Raul is a highly respected migration agent and he has told you that your application is high risk. I would take that seriously. You may want to pay Raul for a second opinion.

I can't see how your existing employment would make much difference. Reading the Home Affairs, website, it says that employers must "conduct labour market testing". That's not defined, but if part of it requires them to show they can't find a suitable local candidate, you're sunk. If they advertised that position tomorrow, they would receive large numbers of applications from local candidates and many of them would be perfectly suitable.

As far as I know, there is no way for you to get PR if you are over 45. Why did you not apply for a 189 or 190 visa while you were still under the age limit?

Australia is awash with accountants at the moment, so my concern would be, will Immigration believe that it’s impossible to find a local candidate?

You don't need registration to apply to migrate. You do need APHRA registration before you'll be allowed to work, Many people do get their registration first, because it takes months - so if you wait until you arrive in Australia, you might be unable to work for almost a year.

The problem with going for SA is jobs. If you get a 489 you will be stuck in South Australia for the duration of that visa, and I would be worried about job prospects. It's a common belief that if an occupation is on the list for a state, there must be a demand for it - and that's not the case. Firstly, the economy in SA isn't that good. Secondly, it's a small state (population of less than 2 million people. That's less than two-thirds the population of Wales. If you went to live in Wales, how confident would you be of finding a job without crossing the border? I suggest researching job opportunities in the state first, and I don't just mean searching on Seek. Stay up late and ring recruitment agencies, identify and approach potential employers etc.

Then it's their fault not yours so you can't be penalised, AFAIK

If you're an accountant, probably not. There is a huge glut of accountants in Australia so although they are still on the list, there are very few places being allocated for state sponsored visas, and they are able to cherry pick only the applicants with the highest points. I doubt 75 would ever get you there.

How much does it cost to apply? No harm in trying

Paul is an agent, so there's a limit to how much free advice he will offer on a forum (which is fair enough). Given the importance of this decision, I'd suggest paying him for a full consultation. After all, how much does this matter to you? That way you will feel more secure. I wouldn't underestimate the value of an agent in preparing your RRV application, either. You know yourself, on paper you fail the criteria to get a RRV, so you need someone who knows exactly what wording will persuade Immigration to give you the best possible result.

You'll find lots of members have in the past. The fact is, if you have more than a couple of boxes, and you don't have enough for a half container, Movecube is your only option. No other shipper offers a competing product. When comparing the prices between a Movecube and shipping a few boxes, make sure you are including the extra charges when the shipment arrives. Movecube will give you an estimate of the cost, whereas other shippers often don't (there's only a vague mention of possible extras in the small print). There are always extra fees to pay when it arrives!

You are right, the age cut-off is now 45. I think you need to talk to a good agent to work out what you can do. If there is a way to stay on your existing 457, that would be the best thing, because then you can stay under the old rules and eventually apply for the 186. If you have to start again, you cannot have a 457 because it no longer exists. You will have to take a 482 visa, which has new rules. Under the new rules, you cannot apply for the 186 because you must be under 45. However, even if you can stay on the 457, your employer is not obliged to sponsor you for the 186. Unfortunately, too many employers offer a 457 and pretend they will sponsor you for the 186 but they don't mean it. It is just their way of getting you to work for less money. If he has liquidated his company and is just starting again, he may not be in a financial position to sponsor you in two years time, even if it is possible.

I have the same concern about applying for a RRV again and again. Normally if you're not residing in Australia and you apply for a RRV, they grant it to allow you to come back and settle - not so you can continue living overseas and pop back and forth. So they may take a dim view if they grant the first one and you don't use it for that purpose. If you didn't have an Australian spouse then I'd say you'd quickly run out of luck and would get refused after the first one or two. Like I said, I think you need to talk to an agent. Having an Australian partner who works for an Australian company may make all the difference in Immigration's attitude, who knows. Or you may be better off to let your PR lapse, travel on tourist visas until you're ready to return, then go through the partner visa process again from scratch.

If that's what they're asking for, then that's what I'd give them. A lot of people wouldn't have submitted their tax returns yet as they don't have to be in until October, so they wouldn't be able to compare with what the ATO have on record for 2018/19

Don't trust what Immigration tells you on the phone, because you're just talking to an operator in front of a screen and they don't have the authority or the experience - as you've found, when you ring up, you're likely to get a different answer each time. Consulting a good migration agent will cost money, but given the importance of getting it right, it's worth the investment. You're quite right to be concerned, as it's not as simple as waiting until you're ready to return to get a RRV. The longer you stay out of the country, the harder it will be to prove "strong ties" to Australia, and therefore the greater the risk of refusal. After all, if your ties were genuinely strong, you wouldn't be able to live abroad for so many years! You don't have "compelling reasons" for your absence, either - work is not a compelling reason, as your husband could easily work in Australia (it might not be as well paid or as good for his career, but that's not a consideration). Having an Australian partner, and family and friends in Australia, is a big plus. Worst case scenario, I guess you will just have to apply for the partner visa all over again when you're ready to return.

Can you give us the name of the diploma and the subject, and what university/college did you study at? Some private colleges may issue "diplomas" but they are not an officially recognised qualification, they're just a recognition of having completed their course. So you need to check whether your diploma is a recognised one or not. Here's an explanation that may help: https://brownsprofessional.edu.au/blog/certificate-vs-diploma-what-is-the-difference/

It's not a complex query. It's a very common situation, so I'm sure most agents will have dealt with it. My husband was born in the old Yugoslavia and never had a birth certificate either. @wrussell, @Raul Senise, @Alan Collett are all agents who post on these forums.

Me too. I used to hanker for British chocolate, then one year I went back to the UK for a visit and thought, "I used to like this stuff?" Mind you, I think that's because I'd developed the habit of buying the Lindt bars which are so reasonably priced here. I was never a beer drinker, always lager, and I like a lot of the craft lagers here (and Singha too). As for fish and chips, my sister bought us fish suppers for a treat one night from "the best chippie in Aberdeen" and I thought they were foul. Soft, thick batter, soft chips - yuk!

I don’t know what you mean by joint income but yes, I think it would look suspicious if you don’t declare yourselves as de facto