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Emigration considerations from a working professional couple


Spuds

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Hi everyone

 

My partner and I have been ruminating over the possibility of emigrating from South Africa for quite some time. We have decided that, even though the entire process to emigrate to Australia seems a lot more costly and possibly more time consuming than elsewhere (Canada and UK for example) that it is something that we are prepared to go through to ensure that we have a better quality of life for ourselves and family. I have been perusing SAAustralia for some time and have already come across quite a few helpful tips, so decided to join the community to ask more specific questions and to document our experience for future users as well.

 

We have started to look into the process of emigrating to Australia and for us, it seems the most likely route that we will go is for the Skilled Independent visa (subclass 189) which is a points based stream. I am an actuary (FASSA) in the [25, 33) age bracket group and my partner is a chartered accountant (CA (SA)) in the same group. We haven't written any of the English proficiency tests as yet or had our skills assessed by VETASSESS.

 

We have a fairly broad set of questions that we have been thinking about and we would greatly appreciate any input as it will help us along our journey.

 

  1. Employer sponsored visas
    • There are varying articles (for example, this one) that predict that Australia will require an increase in employer sponsorships to speed up the recovery of the economy after Covid-19 clears up.
    • I'd like to get a sense of the likelihood of receiving an employer sponsored visa for either my profession or my partner's. I understand that such things are really a case-by-case basis and it would be difficult to offer any advice with certainty.
    • However, I would like to get a sense if employers are still willing to sponsor actuaries and CAs - if this has been on the increase or decline over the last few years? Is anyone working in these professions on this forum that have a good sense of 'what is happening on the ground'?
  2. Partner skills assessment
    • I see on the immigration website that 10 additional points are awarded for partners who meet 4 requirements (under 45, competent English, on same skills occupation list as visa applicant, suitable skills assessment).
    • Would this mean that it is sufficient for my partner to request from her university that her degree was taught in English - or would it be advisable for both her and I to write one of the English proficiency tests (we are considering the PTE)?
  3. City to live in
    • This is obviously a personal preference sort of question, but I would like to hear different thoughts from members on this forum from different cities.
    • My partner and I plan to move up with our dog, and would require a house/townhouse/apartment with a garden/yard. I have been using a few websites (I have found domain in particular quite useful since it has some decent filters and geo-locates the postings in a map view) to look at rent prices and how they vary by distance to the CBD). However, since Covid has hit, it is actually quite clear that the rent prices have dropped to some extent, which makes it a bit difficult to get a sense of what the cost of living will look like.
    • I have looked at job postings on sites like 'seek' and 'indeed', and can see that the overwhelming demand for actuarial and CA roles are in Sydney (with Melbourne trailing by a bit). However, the cost of living in Sydney (particularly rent) is really steep and it is difficult to get a sense of what actuaries and CAs with +-7 years of experience earn (the estimates I have seen on Seek, Indeed, Payscale are wide enough to drive a bus through them - not to mention, the estimates for the South African companions of some of those websites are completely out of line with what I understand the market distribution to look like).
    • Brisbane looks to have quite a nice climate, and more palatable cost of living - however, I haven't seen many actuarial or CA posts for the city.
    • Are there any professionals in the finance/banking/insurance sector who can advise on where they work - and what the pros and cons are. I would be particularly interested in hearing about prospects of career progression and if (or if not) Sydney really is the place to be for working professionals in the industry.
  4. Working from home
    • I would like to get a sense from people 'on the ground' regarding working in a professional role (that can be done remotely) on how Covid-19 has impacted working. In South Africa, most of the people I know are still working from home and are likely to work from home until at least the end of the year.
    • There is some talk among businesses of a 'new normal' and I am aware of companies downsizing their office space and moving to hot-desking - under the assumption that more staff will regularly work from home and come into the office less frequently.
    • Are professionals in Australia working from home still?
    • Is there any sense that there will be an increase in working from home after the coronavirus runs its course?
    • I ask this question because it, to a large extent, impacts work/life balance as well as cost of living. Also, if companies are willing to push for more working from home (which save them a lot of money) - even if this is for x days a week - it makes living further from the CBD more palatable (particularly because rent prices tend to be lower further from the city centre).

 

I apologise for starting off with a marathon post, I didn't quite anticipate it being quite as long as it has turned out. I'm really keen to get some of your thoughts on the items that I have outlined above and my partner and I are quite excited to get the ball rolling with planning our emigration.

 

Any input will be appreciated. :) 

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16 hours ago, Spuds said:
  1. Partner skills assessment
    • I see on the immigration website that 10 additional points are awarded for partners who meet 4 requirements (under 45, competent English, on same skills occupation list as visa applicant, suitable skills assessment).
    • Would this mean that it is sufficient for my partner to request from her university that her degree was taught in English - or would it be advisable for both her and I to write one of the English proficiency tests (we are considering the PTE)?
  2. Working from home
    • I ask this question because it, to a large extent, impacts work/life balance as well as cost of living. Also, if companies are willing to push for more working from home (which save them a lot of money) - even if this is for x days a week - it makes living further from the CBD more palatable (particularly because rent prices tend to be lower further from the city centre).

 

Welcome to the forum Spuds

 

A letter saying a degree was undertaken in English would not meet the Migration Legislations definition of 'Competent English'

 

Re working from home - to play devils advocate - for the employer nominated options if it is possible for someone to work from home it might also be argued that the person could work from home in their own country.

 

Edited by TeeTMI
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Dual professional couple reporting in. Same age breakdown but not in the insurance industry. Have had friends who have tried the CA route here, and found the market saturated with their experience meaning very little. You as an actuary may have a bit more luck, but the key thing will be: Why would they take you over someone local who they don't have to jump through hoops for?

 

The wall of text is a bit much, so if there is one or two questions you are welcome to post and we can try answer.

 

NB: Not a migration agent so everything said is purely based on experience.

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Hi

I cant really speak to your profession but I can comment on CAs (my wife and I are both) and some other things…

  1. Sponsored Visa

In the current covid climate this is really hard to get  (or get in the country) and I don’t expect it will change in the next 6-9 months….post covid (in my opinion) there will be pressure to get Australians working again (unemployment is expected to peak at around 10% in the nest few month)

So I am not sure how much sponsored visas will be allowed to go out,

As a side note , the only route for CAs to get sponsored Visas is to go with the big 4 (they will sponsor you) but your salary won’t be great and they work you HARD.  (and life is expensive on a sponsored visa vs PR)

  1. Partner Skills Assessment

Both would need to write PTE as far as I know

  1. City

We moved from PE and ended in Sydney – so its pretty full on for us – Sydney is amazing, but very big , we are loving it for now, but I would like to make the move toe Brisbane or Perth in the next 3 -4 years

Sydney and Melbourne is where most of the work is, and when you just arrive you can’t be too picky as a CA, being a CA is no biggy here, CPAs are all over the place and many of them from India and China are willing to work for a lot less

I was lucky to come over with my company from SA (but on a  PR visa) so it gave me good entry point into the Aus job market. It’s all about your network and Aus experience here for the more senior roles

finance/banking/insurance is very much focused in Sydney and Melbourne

if we did not have kids I would live in the city (Sydney) its beautiful but properties are crazy expensive

We have a young family so we live in great suburb about 45 min form the beach and city. (and we could afford to buy a 4 bedroom house)

  1. Working from home

Many of us are doing it know – will it stay?…maybe to an extent but I believe people will get back to offices eventually – a lot of folks that work in the CBD really miss the hustle in the city……. It has a great energy.

 

Hope this helps , cheerio

Edited by LM17
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Thanks to everyone that reached out to respond to my post. 😄

 

I can confirm that you guys are spot on regarding the English proficiency requirements, I had initially missed the page on the Immigration website that covered it. A university degree is only sufficient to prove 'functional' English and not 'competent' according to the Immigration Australia website.

 

I suppose one of the things we need to bear in mind is that the cost of living is higher and we should just be prepared for that.

 

Looks like the best route for my wife and I will be to apply for the 189 Skilled Independent Visa. It seems to be a long process, so I am keen to get the ball rolling. 

 

 

 

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45 minutes ago, Spuds said:

Thanks to everyone that reached out to respond to my post. 😄

 

I can confirm that you guys are spot on regarding the English proficiency requirements, I had initially missed the page on the Immigration website that covered it. A university degree is only sufficient to prove 'functional' English and not 'competent' according to the Immigration Australia website.

 

I suppose one of the things we need to bear in mind is that the cost of living is higher and we should just be prepared for that.

 

Looks like the best route for my wife and I will be to apply for the 189 Skilled Independent Visa. It seems to be a long process, so I am keen to get the ball rolling. 

 

 

 

 

Hi Spuds - welcome to the forum.

 

All the best with your application. I am also a qualified actuary and have had my 189 and 190 EOI chilling since May 2019. Yet to receive an invite.

 

We're the same age group and my partner and I both scored the highest score on the PTE test. Her occupation is also on the skilled list. We were really hoping things would have gone quicker. Covid hasn't helped either. I've decided to take a job in London in the interim. Still holding out hope for a EOI invite :)

 

Hopefully you have better luck. 

 

All the best. 

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Thanks for posting, @matthewthomas, and congratulations on getting a role in the UK. 

 

In light of that, perhaps my wife and I will reconsider doing the PTE and instead go for the IELTS since it is accepted in more countries. As far as I am aware the PTE is only accepted in Australia, whereas the IELTS is accepted for Canada, UK, New Zealand, as well as Australia. So it may be quite useful to have a 'back-up' option if the chance of getting a visa approved are slim for Australia.

 

Hopefully your EOI invite comes through soon!

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