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FAQ's |
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Our assessing procedure is firstly to review your curriculum vitae when you fax or email it to us. Then, if we believe that you are eligible to migrate to Australia, we will provide you a written assessment as per the Australian Migration Regulation. We also invite certain clients for inter view. At the interview, we obtain further particulars from you which will either confirm our initial assessment or lead us to the advice that you are not eligible. Our firm’s policy is to provide a frank assessment of your chances even though the assessment may not be favourable. We occasionally ask you to provide further details so that we can examine further documentation we may require, such as mark sheets or other documentary evidence of qualifications or experience. If you are unsuccessful then most of your legal fees will be refunded, as you will see when we give you our quotation.
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| How long does the process take? |
All processing of skilled migration applications takes place onshore through the Department of Immigration and Citizenship in their offices in Adelaide, South Australia. The processing time is vary on cases to case however, before lodging with the Department we must first obtain your occupational assessment, which may take anything from 2 weeks to 3 months depending upon your occupation. In general, the process for Australia is taking 4 to 11 months from start to finish. The only exception to this rule is the STNI, Sponsored categories and applicants with MODL occupations where applicants can expect to obtain permanent residence within six months from the date of providing us with all documentation. Being an Authorised E-visa Agent for Department of Immigration, we can speed-up our visa aprocessing and our Melbourne office will monitor the progress during this period and will update you on each stage of the application. |
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| How much will my visa application cost ? |
Government charges and Australian Immigration & Citizenship Law Services fees.
Australian government visa application charges vary from time to time. Charges also vary according to the type of visa.
Additional charges may be made for:
• English language tests.
• Health examinations.
• Police checks
• Assessment of occupational qualifications.
Australian Immigration & Citizenship Law Services fees also vary with the type of visa application. Australian Migration Agents Registration Authority set a “reasonable” fees charged by qualified Migration practitioners in Australia and this can be obtained from MARA website. To give you the confidence to proceed with your application, we will provide you an assessment of your potential for success and an estimate of fees at the very beginning.
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| How do I engage the service of Australian Immigration Services? |
Post, e-mail or fax your CV for a free assessment. If you are suitable for migration, we will contact you at which time, we will outline the process, our services and fees. Please ensure your CV contains your date of birth, qualifications including which Universities you studied at, whether you graduated with 1 st , 2 nd or 3 rd class honors or have a pass degree, your work experience, spouse's date of birth, qualifications (including University and Class pass) and work experience. Please advise us if you or your spouse have any relatives in Australia, their address and their relationship with you. The initial assessment is free of cost, however appeal and review applications will invite a consultation fee. Contact our office for further details. |
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| Do Australian Immigration Services guarantee me a job? |
Australian Immigration Services does not guarantee to find anyone a job; our role is to act as your Registered Migration Agent in the migration process. Nevertheless, during the process we will offer you guidance as to how you go about seeking a job and refer you appropriate recruitment consultants. You can also take the advantage of our dedicated client page (website), where we will post all the available jobs including a comprehensive Settlment kit. We will also guide you to the various websites, which contain more job-seeking information.
Our Melbourne office, offering the following settlement services to our existing clients for a nominal fee:
• Meet & greet" service at the airport.
• Short/Long term accommodation arrangement.
• Organising Tax File number on your behalf.
• General Advice on Medicare and Family Assistance Services (Once you have granted your permanent residency, you may be able to get all these benefits.
• Organising Bank Account
• General Advice on settlement (Eg. Schooling, Housing, referral to appropriate Loan/Credit Agency).
• Business Consultation including incorporation services to Business Clients.
• Preparing business proposals and helping business clients to obtain sponsorship from the various State Government for permanent visa applications.
• Referal Service to appropriate Lawyers for Legal Assistance – Australian Immigration Services has linked with VOITIN & VOITIN Lawyers and can refer you to Mr. John Voitin, a qualified Solicitor in Australia for appropriate legal advice through his law firm called VOITIN & VOITIN Lawyers.
Migrating to Australia is not the same as moving to the Middle East where you have a sponsor and a job to come to. Of the many millions of migrants who have migrated to Australia in the past 40 years virtually none of them have had a job to go to, most went to these countries with poor English and little or no money. The new skills based migration programs we are dealing with these days, are targeted to attract the skills that are needed by Australia. People coming to Australia under these categories must be young, speak English, have current work experience and have qualifications or skills which equip them to fill gaps in our skilled labour or professional markets. Statistics show that the programs are extremely successful in that after a period of 6 months, migrants coming to Australia under these categories can expect to attain better rates of employment than the average Australian.Some of you will find that the occupations on the Skilled Migration List for Australia are “strange” in that Australia will readily accept a hairdresser or furniture upholsterer but is not interested in attracting medical doctors and makes it extremely difficult for other health professionals and other professionals such as lawyers, to migrate to Australia. This truth simply reflects the areas of shortages in our workforce and the fact is that in a highly educated society more children are attracted to the professions of medicine and law, etc rather than manual trades. As a result any tradesperson coming to Australia can look forward to being employed very quickly and normally on a much higher wages than would be paid in the Middle East and India.
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| How is the Climate? |
Australia has a land area of 7,692,000 sq km (approximately 3 million sq. mi.) being 3,680 km. long and over 4,000 km wide. In land area, Australia is the 6th largest nation after Russia, Canada, China, the USA and Brazil and occupies 5% of the earth's surface. Temperatures and climates ranges from a Mediterranean type climate in the south, a tropical climate in the North to a desert climate in the Centre of Australia. Most of our clients will settle in either Melbourne or Sydney, where the climate is described as Mediterranean ie with 4 seasons and no extremes of temperature either in terms of heat or cold. Summer in the southern hemisphere is from December to February, autumn from March to May, winter from June to August and spring from September to November. |
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| How do I obtain a driver's licence? |
Motor vehicles in Australia is right hand drive and therefore travel on the left hand side of the road. There are strict laws regarding speed limits and driving after drinking alcohol. Everyone in your car must use a seat belt or a proper child restraint, and you must call police immediately if you are involved in a road accident in which someone is injured. As a result of strict speeding and drink driving laws the road accident toll has been reduced dramatically over the last 10 years and by international standards, driving in Australia is extremely safe.
If you have a driver’s licence from another country, in English or with an official translation, you are allowed to drive for the first three months after becoming an Australian resident in all states and territories except Queensland. After that, if you want to drive, you will need to have the appropriate Australian driver’s licence. To get one, you usually need to pass a test as to the local traffic laws, a practical driving test and an eyesight test. |
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| Do I qualify for Social Security Benefits? |
Most newly arrived migrants have to wait 2 years after arriving in Australia before they can get most social security payments for unemployment, etc. Naturally, refugees and humanitarian entrants are exempt from the waiting period. It is therefore important to understand that you should have enough resources to keep yourself and your dependents until you obtain employment. Nevertheless, there are special benefits which may be available during the waiting period if you are in hardship because of a substantial change in circumstances beyond your control.Migrants with dependent children may qualify for the family tax benefits and/or child care benefits which are payments that help with the costs of raising children. There is no waiting period for these family assistance payments subject to you holding a permanent residence visa. The amount you receive depends on your family size, total income, whether you pay for childcare and the type of childcare you use. These payments are a handy income supplement but are not designed to totally support the family. Pensions for old age or disability are generally available to people who have been Australian residents for 10 years or more. Old age and disability pensions are “generous” by international standards and the old age pension is available from age 65 or slightly less in certain circumstances.
Schooling:The children of permanent residents are immediately entitled to free education at the primary and secondary level through the government school system in Australia. The great majority of children attend government schools however, there are also fee paying private schools available normally conducted through one of the religious denominations. Whilst the vast majority of private schools are conducted either under the Catholic or Protestant system there are other schools for minority groups such as Muslims, Greek Orthodox, Jewish, etc. The government schools will only require parents to pay for books for the children but may also ask for a small donation at the start of each year of something like AU$200 but this payment is entirely discretionary and is simply designed to provide for a few minor items which are not covered by the government. It is compulsory for children to attend primary and secondary school. This means children have to attend school from the ages of six to 16. However, most children begin school earlier, at five years of age, and most leave later at 18 or 19.The school year runs from February to December and has four terms. These are broken up by three holidays of two to three weeks and a six week summer holiday. Schools days are Monday to Friday, starting at around 9:00 am and finishing at about 3:30 pm.
Medical Benefits: The Australian government helps with medical expenses through a scheme called “Medicare”. Medicare contributes towards the cost of most medical services and some services provided by optometrists. It also provides free accommodation and treatment in public hospitals if you enter as a Medicare patient. Medical covered through Medicare is available immediately upon entering Australia as a Permanent Resident and at the time you obtain your visa we will give you detailed instructions as to how to go about registering with Medicare upon your arrival. Publicly funded services include free care and treatment in public hospitals and highly subsidized treatment in the public or private health sectors for accident victims. They also include some subsidies on family doctor visits and prescriptions, particularly for young children, and subsidies for people who need frequent health care and people on low incomes.
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| Can I change jobs? |
Australia is free countries and of course, you can move from one employer to another as your career progresses. We do not have any concept of sponsorship as you find in the Middle East. You are also free to move to any city in the country you have migrated to e.g. if the first job you take is in Melbourne but you later receive a job offer to go to Darwin then there is absolutely no restriction on movement within the country.
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| How do I become a citizen? |
People born in Australia of an Australian parent become an Australian citizen by birth; people born overseas of an Australian parent may be able to acquire citizenship by descent; and people who emigrate to Australia may acquire citizenship by grant.People can apply for the grant of Australian citizenship when they have been present in Australia, as a permanent resident for 24 months in the five years immediately before the application, and twelve months in the 24 months before applying. Once you qualify for citizenship by length of stay the actual obtaining of citizenship is quite a simple procedure normally arranged by attending an interview at the Department, and attending a citizenship ceremony at the local municipality, after which you receive a citizenship certificate and may then apply for the passport
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| Do I have to make a first landing? |
For Australia, you must make a landing within approx nine months of having completed your medical and for most cases this will be approx six months after you obtain your visa. The Main Applicant must travel to Australia first or together with the dependents.
Similarly, for New Zealand you must make a first landing within 12 months of visa approval. Having made the first landing there is no further requirement in Australia provided you do make a settlement before the expiry date of the visa which is for Australia is 5 years from approval.
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| How long can I stay offshore before I settle in Australia ? |
Australia, you can stay offshore for up to 5 years from the date of the visa approval - the exact date will be set out precisely in your visa. These periods of time are not extendable or renewable under any circumstances.
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| Is there any interview I must attend? |
Australian Immigration Services as your Registered Migration Agent will handle the whole of your application. In 99.5% of cases there is no interview required. Nevertheless, both governments reserve the right to interview you during the process and of course, are free to contact any party to seek verification of the documentation lodged.
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| Do I need to take any funds? |
Unless you are claiming bonus points for capital, the general rule is that you are not legally required to take any funds when migrating to Australia. From a practical point of view, we strongly recommend that you take sufficient funds to support yourself for the length of time it will take to find employment. If both husband and wife are in the workforce, then normally when one person is working the income will be sufficient to maintain the family. Your consultant will give you individual advice as to how much he recommends that you should take, depending upon your personal circumstances. Bear in mind that most migrants go to Australia with very little money. Because of their endeavours and determination to make a success of their many migrants become "success stories" and indeed when you look at the published list for the Top 100 wealthy people in Australia, you will see that the majority of those people are first generation migrants.
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| Can I buy property? |
A permanent resident of Australia has the right to buy or rent property. You can buy as many properties as you like either for the purpose of your own use or for the purpose of investment. The tradition in Australia is for couples to own their own home or villa normally, 3-4 bedrooms, lounge, dining, kitchen, 2 bathrooms, family room and/or rumpus room, double garage, etc on a block of land of approximately 1,000 sq m. The percentage of home ownership amongst married couples is in excess of 75%. In addition to the family home, many Australians like to have a small holiday cottage normally, close to the beach or in a rural area.
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