The Economic Downturn and Your Australian Permanent Residence Visa
Want to live in Australia but are affected by the credit crunch? Have you put your migration plans on-hold because you were hoping to fund the move with equity from your house but now can’t sell it?
Don’t worry there is a solution!
If you are granted a permanent residence visa for Australia, you can use the visa to visit Australia and then come back to the UK to wait for the housing market to pick up again. A permanent residence visa is valid for 5 years from when it is granted. Your visa will have a specific date on it by which you must make your first entry and this is normally 12 months from when you have your health and character checks. As it can take two or three months for the visa to be granted once you’ve completed your health and character checks, in reality you will have about 8 or 9 months to make your first entry to Australia.
You can use this first entry for a fact-finding visit, to make contact with relatives, to check out schools or the job situation in the area of Australia where you intend to eventually live. Then come back to the UK to wait for the housing market to improve.
Migration legislation is constantly reviewed by the Australian government so if you are eligible for a permanent residence visa now, don’t wait for the housing market to pick up and then apply for your visa; you might not be eligible in two or three years time. If you want to find out whether you’re eligible now, give Shirley or Sheila a ring on 0161 776 9839 and we’ll be happy to assess your chances.
AUSTRALIAN QUALIFICATION
If you are a ROOF SLATER TILER, PLASTERER, PAINTER & DECORATOR, WALL & FLOOR TILER without formal trade qualifications, we can now arrange for you to obtain an Australian qualification (AQF III) by workplace assessment here in the UK. CALL SHIRLEY OR SHEILA NOW FOR MORE INFORMATION. 0161 776 9839.
ENGLISH LANGUAGE TESTING
Since 1 September 2007, if you hold a passport from the UK, USA, Canada, New Zealand and Ireland, you automatically score 15 points for English Language ability. However, there are now provisions for applicants with 'Proficient English' (having an operational command of English with the ability to use and comprehend complex language well and understand detailed reasoning) to undertake an English test and provided you can score at least 7 out of 9 on each of the four test components, you can score 25 points. The English tests are conducted by an organisation called IELTS and they are administered at various universities around the UK.
When the Department of Immigration announced the new provisions for English testing, Sheila and I decided that it would be very helpful indeed if we were able to tell our clients what it involved. We therefore took the IELTS English test in July 2007. The test costs £95 and consisted of 4 components, listening, reading, writing and speaking and each part was conducted in strict exam conditions and you weren't able to take anything into the room except your passport. The listening, reading and writing exams were all written ones and were taken over a three hour period with the speaking part undertaken later in the day.
At the end of the speaking test we were able to leave and were told that our results would arrive within the next two weeks. It was a nervous wait for Sheila and I but luckily the results didn't matter to us as we only wanted to have the experience to be able to tell our clients about the process and how hard it was etc. However, I wouldn't like to think that the result of this test could be the deciding factor on whether or not you were able to get a visa to live in Australia, as neither of us was confident that we had passed!!
Sheila and I finally received our results and we both scored at least 7 on each of the four components so if we were applying for a visa that would translate into 25 points for English!!
For more information on the English test please go to www.ielts.org.
Essential Information |
Permanent Visa Information |
Temporary Visa Information |