Visa 189 - Advice needed for my situation

[ferreiraw]

Good day to all.

 

Firstly, thanks to everyone's input to this forum. The information shared here is invaluable. 

 

So I'm a 25 year old looking to apply for a 189 visa with a nominated skill in the ICT industry. As things stand it's getting all the more difficult to get into Oz so I can't really afford to dangle around a lot longer. I've searched to web, forums, border.gov.au, etc but I still haven't found the advice i'm looking for.

 

I finished school at 18, and started working in an ICT related field. Worked there for three years. During that time I studied part time and got two certifications in ICT, A+ and N+. After that, I started my own company in the ICT industry, servicing small to medium sized companies. This was in Jan 2013, and still going strong to date. My knowledge grew in regards to technologies used, but I never studied any further, I mean who needs qualifications if you work for yourself right? (Only realizing afterwords it was stupid as now I need them if I want to migrate to Australia). 

 

Clearly my situation is a little bit out of the ordinary, as I can't ask my boss for a recommendation letter or duties letter because I don't have one. Also, I would prefer not to ask my clients for those, if I risk losing them as clients and my application is denied my business is down the drain as well. Surely I understand there is always going to be a factor of risk involved, but I would prefer to lose my clients when the odds of application success are 70% instead of 40%. 

 

So firstly, I want to know if anyone has dealt with a similar situation? 

 

Can anyone recommend a MARA agent that can assist me better with this situation? I would prefer someone in Pta/Jhb as I would feel more comfortable meeting up with someone instead of just communicating electronically, yet I am open to any option, as long as it's the best option for me. 

 

To be clear, I want to migrate, I do not want to move the business or start a new one in Aus.

 

Thank you in advance for taking the rine to read, and for your responses.

[monsta]

Hey,

 

Yes, you will need an agent. I am not one, I am a regular joe who has heard these stories before.

 

If you work in IT and have relevant skills (e.g. you are good with Amazon Web Services) then Australia wants you to migrate. But the issue is how do you prove you know EC2 from S3 from Redshift?

 

The computer society would probably sign off on your IT skills. They list their criteria at -> https://more.acs.org.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0016/7324/Summary-of-Criteria-2014.pdf   You have a diploma, so according to the chart it looks like you only need 6 years of work experience (5 has to be recent). 

 

Then you need to make sure your A+ or N+ closely matches one of the skills on the CSOL ->  https://more.acs.org.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/128035/ANZSCO-Code-Information-2017.pdf

 

Then, lets say you chose "263111 - Computer Network and Systems Engineer"  as your skill. You will need letters from your clients stating what you did. Ideally the letters need to closely match the description of your skill. For example, " In 2012, Bob setup a line of site wireless network between our three offices, our office at 223 Loop street, 65 Queen Nandi Drive and 100 Mandela Road. He setup the routers and managed the data flows between the sites. "   It will need to be written your clients letter head, be signed by someone working for your client, show his/her job title   and have a contact number so Aussie government can call and confirm the contents of the letter.

 

Then you need to show you got paid for doing the work in the letters. This part is a bit beyond my knowledge... I have no idea how you would prove the payments in your bank account were form your clients for doing IT work. 

 

I am sure an agent would tell you that submitting photos (if you have them) is a great idea. A picture or two of you up on a roof setting up a wireless network would go a long way. But there needs to be a paper trail. what I mean is you provide a letter from the client, prove they paid you and submit pictures of you on that specific job. Its little good to submit pictures from a job that you can't provide a client letter for.  How does the government know you weren't setting up a network for free?

 

Oh and if you do decide to get a degree in IT... you will still need 2 years work experience after you get the degree.. the work experience needs to be a job you wouldn't have gotten without the degree.

 

Hope that helped! or anyone else in a similar boat.

 

 

[Husky]

Welcome @ferreiraw

This forum is an incredible source of information and support. 

Agree with @monsta to go and get an initial assessment from a MARA registered agent, then choose whether you want to make the commitment.

Though I am not in IT, I also work for myself. I trusted some long term clients who were kind enough to provide letters detailing work I had done, length of time and what I was paid. I also had supporting evidence in the form of invoices and matching bank statements. 

Good luck.

[HadEnoughofJuju]

There is a way to do a skills assessment with ACS using RPL. It's longwinded from what I hear but is possible. I would suggest contacting @SD_MOA who is one of the agents here on the forum and comes highly recommended. I understand that Steve has quite a bit of experience with ACS and skills assessments in the ICT industry.

[ferreiraw]

A big thanks to everyone that has responded to my post. 

 

I do have proof in the form of invoices, bank statements and I'm sure I will be able to get letters from a couple of clients. 

 

@Husky, how many letters from clients do you suppose I would need? I have about 60 businesses that I do work for on a regular basis, and I guess to more the merrier, though I would just like an idea of how many clients I need to ask. 

 

@monsta, thank you for the detailed response, it is much appreciated. 

[monsta]

@ferreiraw  The number of letters you would need depends on how much work experience you are claiming. So, you will need a letters detailing at least one project you did each year. 

 

The reality is that its really up to your case officer (government employee who signs off on your VISA). A migration agent who has done this many times would have a good gut feel for how many letters you would need. 

 

If you don't want to use an agent... you would have to submit a few and see what your case officer says. But that could delay things quite a bit... it would take you weeks to get more letters and your case officer may take a few weeks to look at your file again...

[Husky]

Luckily, only had to ask 2 clients, both of whom I have worked with for over 5 years. There are rules around hours per week and detailed job tasks. If I remember, you had to show a minimum of 20 hours per week for at least 3 years.

@monsta is right, an agent will be able to advise you got your unique situation. Hope all goes well.

[ferreiraw]

It makes sense. I want to give myself the best possible chance for success, so chances of me using an agent is very likely. I just heard back from an Australian agent, which refered me to someone at migrate2oz, which I will be contacting tomorrow. 

 

Thank you again for all your input. I greatly appreciate it. 

[monsta]

Just be up front with your clients... its going to take over a year for you to move to Australia. It could take you just a year to get the VISA. Just subtly remind them that most people don't stick around in jobs for several years. Remind them that by the time you move to Aussie you would have been running your business for well over 6 years.

 

You could also tell them that Australia doesn't take just anyone... the fact that you think you can convince their IT experts that you know your stuff, shows you know your stuff.

 

If your clients ask about how you are paying for it... don't tell them how stressed you are about finding the dollars. If your business has been doing well, tell them that... if you have been good at saving your cash then tell them that. You don't want to sound desperate for cash.

 

Also, remind your clients what we tell the peeps here... the Aussie politicians change their minds about VISAs all the time.. give them the example of the 475 VISA. Tell your clients that nothing is guaranteed with your move to Aus.

 

Lastly, tell your clients you are young and want to travel the world. You are definitely not leaving because you hate South Africa. You might even want to plan a few (inexpensive) trips around South Africa... tell your clients you are "worried you will miss this place". i.e. its not good to be a hater.

 

That's just a list of some of the better answers you can give when people get upset when they find a friend/family member is moving to Aussie.

Edited May 13, 2017 by monsta