Advice needed regarding best course of action .......

Hello there,

Nick here, I’m new to the forum. A little bit about myself first, I am a 34 year old British citizen (was born here and a native English speaker) and visited Australia in 2013 on a working holiday visa for around 10 months and liked it out there. I have missed the place since I have been back in the (overcrowded) UK. I have since gotten married and have now decided I would like to emigrate out there so I could primarily create a better life for my future family and better opportunities and also I would like to enjoy a more sunnier climate as I get older. I did look into jobs which could offer possible sponsorships while I was out there but did not get much joy as I was on a WHV which restricted the amount of time I could work for any one employer.

I have looked into possible routes to emigrate out there mainly on the official immi.gov website and am a bit bemused by all the different types of visas available. It also seems that they have recently changed some of the rules and made it more difficult to emigrate.

Despite gaining a BSc (Hons) in IT back in 2005 my work experience is has been various retail and office based sales positions but I have not as yet gained a trade or any experience in any trade. I did do a level 2 plumbing course at my local college when I got back from Australia and passed it but did not manage to find a job with any local plumbers after I completed it. it seems like most all of the ones I contacted either were sole traders and did not want to take anyone else on officially as it would mean they would have obligations in regards to National Insurance contributions/Liability insurance or in other cases they preferred to hire lads straight out of school/someone they knew etc.

So, basically I am in a position where I do not have any experience/skills in any of the occupations listed on the MLTSSL/STSOL (formerly SOL).

I am currently out of work and want my next position to be something which could help me emigrate in the future as opposed to just another job which leads just to pay the bills. I have gone through the current MLTSSL/STSOL and there are a few occupations on it which I feel like I could do but of course it could take a varying amount of years to gain the necessary skills/on the job experience to be eligible to apply for any given skilled visa on this basis – I know I would need to be assessed on any of the given occupations on the list but I am not sure how many years of on-the-job experience I need in any of the given jobs on the list to be able to apply for a visa and how this is determined so I would appreciate any feedback regarding this aspect if possible.

I am even open to the idea of starting my own business (it is something I have always been interested in doing) if it could make this process any easier by making me eligible for a permanent business/entrepreneurship type visa of some sort which could lead to PR?

My newlywed wife works in retail and also does not have any experience which is on the MLTSSL/STSOL. She has told me that she would like us to start a family soon and her preference is to then be a stay at home mum so I doubt there is anything she could do to help.

I thought about getting in touch with a UK based emigration agent but as I don’t really have any relevant skills/experience I wondered whether it was worth it?

I am in good health but have a small blip on my criminal record (A non-custodial sentence of Common Assault back in 2012, I got an absolute discharge with no fines to pay and no community service) so I am hoping this will not be too much of an issue? I was told that under the rehabilitation of offenders act 1974 Rehabilitation period is none and the conviction is spent. I still declared this however when I entered Australia just to make sure everything was above board. They asked me a few questions at the airport when i arrived but thanked me for letting them know and I was given entry without any further hassle.

My current position is that I am open to try anything to try and emigrate to Australia as soon as I possibly could. I have thought about this for a few months there is nothing i really want more in life. I wake up sometimes and wish I was still there and am racked with guilt and regret as to why I didn’t try sooner when the rules were less stringent. However I have realised that it is important to have some sort of a dream in life and I’m willing to start now and try my best to achieve it.

Apologies for the long post but I wanted to be as clear about my situation as possible and I have tried my best to be as detailed as possible.

I would really appreciate any assistance or advice in regards to all current permanent visa streams or streams which could lead to permanent residency. Also I would appreciate any advice in regards to agents/contacts (either here or in Aus) who could possibly help.

My hope is that once I do decide on the best visa stream and course of action, I will then just spend the next few years or however long it takes, without changing the plan, working as hard as possible to move toward that end goal. I know how hard this is going to be. I do understand that it is a massive undertaking which could take up to the closest part of a decade and there are so many different hurdles and layers I need to go through (and other factors besides skills/professional experience which come into play) to achieve this dream but I am willing to be as persistent and dedicated as I can and give it my best shot so there’s no regrets in the future.

Thanks for reading. All constructive replies would sincerely be welcomed.

If you have any further questions feel free to ask.

Regards,

Nick.