Questions about Visa Application

[Eggrolly]

Hey fellow Canucks, I'm looking to permanently move to Australia under the Skilled Worker Migrate Visa. I just have a few questions about the process.

First, where and how do I get my national criminal background check? Do I go though the Australia or Canada police agencies?

Second, is there a deadline whenI have to pay the second installment? I know that in order to obtain my visa that I'll have to pay that second installment but do I have to pay it once the visa is approved or can I wait a couple of months and then get it.

Third, how long did it take for your visa to get approved once you submitted it?

Fourth, kinda off topic here... but if you have tips on how an engineer (me) can maybe land a sponsor job, I would appreciate it.

Thanks all and hopefully I'll be a Canuck living in OZ soon enough!

Eggrolly

[kimberlee]

Hi,
I went through the skilled migration visa route - but my case was a bit different as I was already living in Oz with a job sponsored visa so for my background check included both Australia and Canada - not sure if you need the Australian one if you don't live here already.
Sorry I'm no help with the fees as we used a migration attorney and they paid alot of the bills then charged us so I'm not sure what the timing was.
It was so long ago (I like to say that instead of my memory being as bad as it is...) but I believe we filed it in July and by April the next year had to leave the country in order to get it.
Sorry don't know much about getting a sponsor for an engineering job - my sponsored job was with a University and they approached me so I didn't actually look for one.
Good luck!

[CharR]

You should be aware that this visa can take a really long time to get. Basically, they've said that if your job is not on the critical skills list (jobs that are highly required in the area you're moving), you should not expect to have your application finalized before 2012.

That being said, I do believe that engineers are listed on the critical skills list in some of the states. You'll want to looking into getting state sponsorship (even if by points, you don't technically require it) and getting it verified that your job IS on the critical skills list. Look into hiring an immigration attorney or reputable agent. If your career is on the critical skills list, they are supposed to be fast-tracking those applications. It could still take up to a year, all processes completed.

You'll need to get VERY familiar with the immigration Australia website, and probably with the one for the state to which you want to move as well.

Good luck! It's a very involved process, that can take a LONG time. I eventually gave up on it after almost a year of trying to ensure my application would succeed and my job sponsored me to stay for another 2 years, but I was already in the country on a working holiday visa which is not necessary an option for everyone (restricted to those under 30 years) and is definitely not a guaranteed route to getting sponsorship.

It may be possible to find a company willing to sponsor you to come to Australia on a temporary (1-4 year) working visa, especially as an engineer (I have several friends here who are engineers from the UK who are here on contracts with their companies) and from there, you would have better success at parlaying that into permanent residency.

Regarding your question about criminal record checks, you need a criminal record check from anywhere you lived more than 6 months (actually it might be one year and I'm mixing it up with Canadian immigration requirements but I would look more into that). Basically if you have only ever lived in Canada, you get your criminal record check through Canadian police services, and that's the only one you need. If you're already in Australia you may need one from Australia as well.