Visas & Advice Detail
Your questions: February 2006
We invited readers of Emigrate Australia to ask our team of experts some burning questions
Dear Emigrate Australia
Over the last few years my wife and I have been looking at applying for a retirement visa but through one thing and another have never got round to doing it. I will soon be 60 and my wife 52. Would this be considered too old for us to apply for a retirement visa? I am a self-employed roofer and have worked for the local council for a number of years. Until recently my wife worked in the admissions department of a local military and civilian hospital, but previously worked at the local council for 13 years as a personal assistant and administrator. We own our four-bedroom detached property, have no mortgage, and have a substantial amount of money in savings. Would we be wasting our time trying to emigrate to Perth? After surfing the web during the Christmas lull, I spotted something about sponsorship. We have close friends living in Perth who have Australian citizenship. Would they be eligible to sponsor us?
Ian and Karen Hampson
Grahame Igglesden of Concept Australia replies.
Unfortunately your friends cannot sponsor you although if you have sufficient transferable funds and income you may be eligible to apply for a temporary Investor Retirement visa – subclass 405, which was introduced by the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (DIMIA) last year. To be eligible you must be 55 years of age or over on the date your application is lodged with the Perth Business Centre and meet the financial criteria outlined below. The age of your spouse is irrelevant. You must also be sponsored by a state or territory government with the sponsorship being maintained for the entire period of your proposed stay in Australia.
You have a choice to either reside in a regional/low growth area of Australia or a non-regional/non-low growth area of Australia. These areas are defined by postcode but can be broken down as follows:
Regional/low growth areas – South Australia (including Adelaide), Tasmania (including Hobart), Northern Territory (including Darwin), Queensland (except metropolitan Brisbane and the Gold Coast), Victoria (except metropolitan Melbourne) and Western Australia (except metropolitan Perth).
Non-regional/non-low growth areas – Queensland (metropolitan Brisbane and the Gold Coast only), Victoria (metropolitan Melbourne only), Western Australia (metropolitan Perth only) and the Australian Capital Territory (including Canberra).
Please note that New South Wales does not currently sponsor applicants and therefore you could not live in that state.
DIMIA will calculate whether your assets and income meet the minimum requirements outlined below. You must have held all of the assets for two years prior to the date of your application unless the assets are related to superannuation and/or inheritance. If you are intending to sell assets to enable transfer of funds, these should not be sold until formal advice to do so is received from DIMIA. If you wish to reside in a non-regional/non-low growth area you will need to make a minimum designated investment of AUS$750,000 plus provide evidence of additional transferable assets of AUS$750,000 and provide evidence of a net annual income of AUS$65,000. Alternatively, if you wish to reside in a regional/low growth area you will need to make a repayable minimum designated investment of AUS$500,000 plus provide evidence of additional transferable assets of AUS$500,000 and provide evidence of a net annual income of AUS$50,000. It should be noted that your annual income can be sourced from the designated investment.
Both you and your wife will also need to pay a further one off non-refundable charge of AUS$8,000 to offset the possible cost of accessing aged care or nursing home services at a future time.
Dear Emigrate Australia
I am currently working in the vehicle body building industry, constructing trains, buses, coaches, etc. I have been in the trade since September 2002 and in the first year worked on buses for a firm. I am currently working on a train refurbishment contract which gives me a total of three years experience in this field. Unfortunately, when I started I was already 25 so I haven't had a formal apprenticeship. During my first year of work I attended a technology college for around three hours a week whilst working full-time. In October 2004 I sat an exam for Level III City And Guilds in vehicle body competences for which I received a pass and a credit. I have enquired about a skilled visa but I understand I have not had the relevant work experience to qualify and the Trades Recognition Australia (TRA) seem to have only limited skill pathways to apply. Thus I am seeking alternatives – maybe an apprenticeship or traineeship in Australia. Over here apprenticeships are generally full-time with day release once a week to college, thus four years to complete a full apprenticeship. Would it be possible for me to work full-time for a company with day release to college in Australia, or would I have to enrol in a full-time classroom course? If either is applicable what would be the duration of study and the costs involved? Also, is it true that after I have finished my course when fully skilled I will have to work for a further three years before I can apply for a permanent residency visa?
Gavin Fisher
Grahame Igglesden replies.
You are correct in as much the main pathways to being recognised by TRA as a tradesperson are:
Indentured Apprenticeship agreement between you, your employer and the relevant training authority in conjunction with City & Guilds equivalent level 2, comprising of four years on the job training including 900 hours formal training
Apprenticeship by verbal agreement in conjunction with City & Guilds equivalent level 2, comprising of five years on the job training including 900 hours formal training
Evidence of a minimum of six years work experience performed in your nominated occupation (seven if an applicant is an electrician).
Because Australian industry is currently facing major skills shortages the minister has introduced the Trade Skills Training (TST) visa which allows employers in regional or low population growth areas of Australia to fill apprenticeship positions that they have been unable to fill from the local labour market by sponsoring overseas nationals. The apprenticeship must be undertaken in regional Australia for a period of two years in a trade that is in skill shortage and which requires the completion of a Certificate III or IV qualification. On completion of the apprenticeship you would be eligible to apply for permanent residence through existing regional migration visas and would not need to evidence post qualification work experience. Key requirements for the grant of the TST visa include that:
The apprentice and any spouse and dependent children seeking a TST visa are sponsored by an approved TST sponsor and have a genuine intention to undertake the training
The apprentice is aged between 18–35 years of age and has at least vocational English ability
The apprentice has an offer of a full-time apprenticeship, in writing, which must be undertaken as part of the Australian Government's new apprenticeship scheme
The apprentice meets the skill and education requirements for the apprenticeship
The apprentice has the financial capacity to meet the travel and living costs in Australia and for dependent family members including school fees for children
The apprentice and dependent family members have adequate health insurance for their stay in Australia and are of good health and character.
For more detailed information including costs associated with applying for the visa and the apprenticeship I recommend that you contact Stefan Watts of Study Options who specialises in student and apprenticeship schemes in Australia.
For further information:
Concept Australia
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