Skilled visa validity.

[Marcello]

Hello everybody.
Just a quick question, It looks likes we are are eligible to apply for the skilled visa into Aus
well my wife at least,she is a speech pathologist. I am a business owner here in SA and would have
tie up quite a few loose ends before we make the move which would take some time. How long would the visa be valid for once approved does it lapse?
Could I make a trip to Aus say once or twice a year to renew it etc.

Your help would be greatly appreciated.

Regards
Marcello

[1978]

The skilled independent visa 189 or sponsored 190 will be valid for 5 years with multiple entries. You will have an initial entry date to activate your visa and then need to settle in Aus before the 5 year deadline. After 5 years you will need to apply for a residents return visa, but can only do that if you have spent time in Aus.

[HadEnoughofJuju]

Hey Marcello

The visa will have a couple of dates on it one of which will be a must enter before date. This date is determined by your medicals or police clearance certificates (whichever is issued/completed first) and is usually about a year from the date that the visa was granted on.

You have to enter Australia before this date to validate your visa and as far as I know there is little to no chance of getting this date extended. Once the visa has been validated you have a further five years after that to take up permanent residence in Australia. This will show on your grant letter as "must not enter after" date.

The visa validity can also not be extended. You either need to apply for a residents return visa or citizenship.

[Marcello]

Thank you

Do we all need go to validate our visa or does just 1 of our family member need too

Thanks again for your reply.

Marcello

[HadEnoughofJuju]

Everyone on the visa needs to validate unfortunately. Family Holiday?

[SurferMan]

Marcello,

Just be careful, I've had some mates have their PR visa lapse, and they can almost never get another one. Immi take a dim view of people who get granted a visa and who don't take it up. My advice if you're serious, then make the move.

[Marcello]

Thank you everybody.

By no means shall we let the visa lapse, I plan to keep my company open in SA with the intention of opening a branch in Aus

but this will take time of course, but can be done under 5 years.

There will be a lot of commuting involved my side, but don't want the family to be up rooted just yet, only once I'm satisfied we will all

go.

Marcello

[monsta]

Marcello,

Opening a business here is tough. Many people have had the idea of, "let me setup a branch in Australia and move over there". I have never heard it work out for anyone.

You must know the stats.. Only a tiny fraction of businesses ever go international. Those are companies that have something unique about them (aka a competitive advantage). For example Aldi has done very well here, but they are a completely different grocery store to the incumbents, Coles and Woolworths.

What I am getting at is.. There will always be a need for someone to setup a plumbing business and go around doing plumbing. But most sectors here are so dominated by a few players that its really tough here.

You might be better off selling your RSA business and either buying a business here or starting up one that you know will work if run properly. E.g. a cafee in the city in a busy location.

Personally, as hard as this is to do.. I would get a job here doing what you're company does. Then once you know the market and have a good reputation, go out on your own.

I always look at these things from an economists point of view. Does the South African economy really need to pay a lot of money for you to fly out there regularly? Or would thre RSA economy be better off if a local person bought your business and did what you do?

You can't avoid economics for long..

Edited April 24, 2015 by monsta

[Mara]

I agree with Monsta, excellent advice!

[Marcello]

Thank you Monsta and Mara.

I am aware and under no illusion it will be difficult, my reasoning is I am self employed and have been since I have left school, and

that was quite a while ago. So my CV would be a little sparse to say the least. How employable would I be ?? I might have experience, yes

but how do they know that. That concerns me the most, hence opening up over there. Please bear in mind I'm only at the start of this whole

process so due diligence has to still be done.

Marcello

[SurferMan]

Hi Marcello,

Whatever you decide, we are behind you! I am sure you will make it in Aus.

[monsta]

Please bear in mind I'm only at the start of this whole process so due diligence has to still be done.

Marcello

Hey Marcello,

Sorry for being a bit hard on you. I would still get a job here first.

The reason I say that is, its very expensive to do business here because salaries are extremely high. The minimum wage is over R400 000 per year. Big companies, like Coles and Woolworths rule the roost because they have massive scale. I worked in the logistics industry. The amount of automation that Big W (a woolworths company) has in its warehouses is amazing. Its on a scale that rivals big warehouses in Asia (remember Aussie is only 23 million peeps, so its tiny by Asian standards). But then, Big W probably has over 35% market share. Target and KMart would make up nearly all the remaining market share. Big W is like a Makro or Game.

I guess my point is... Between Kmart, Target and Big W they own over 90% of the market for everything from kids toys to barbecues. If you run a small business, you can't compete on price. So having a good personal reputation is vital.

So, you might have to work for someone else initially. Sure you will need to bite your tongue when the local guy is being stupid. If he wasn't stupid, there would be no opportunities for you

P.S. I don't want the link to embed here, but go to youtube and search for a video called " Big W's Dematic Multishuttle System in Sydney, Australia". It just shows you why big companies rule the roost here.. That technology makes the staff there (i.e. the pickers) 4x more efficient. If they earn R500 000 per year... you can imagine what a competitive advantage that is for Big W.

Remember, a computer mouse that would cost $5 in Asia costs $15 here. That's because the truck driver here earns 10x what his Asian counterpart earns. That's why being large and doing more with less people is vital

Edited April 26, 2015 by monsta

[Marcello]

Thank you Everybody.

And Monsta you are not too hard at all. I appreciate all your advice. After speaking to a few people maybe it would be wise

to feel the waters a bit and then consider further business prospects. My saving grace is I'm a worker and always have

been, which I believe carries serious weight over there.

If cleaning toilets would guarantee my kids a safer future then so be it!!

Surferman I see in other posts you are a keen angler like myself I have been fishing my whole life from river to rock & surf, deep sea

you name it, so much so that on my LSD trip next year to my wife's horror I'm packing a little rod so I can wet a line somewhere. I

would like to PM you, too hear more about the fishing over there.

Regards

Marcello