[salmon1411]

Hello all, hope you can advise.
Me: Canadian/British dual citizen, waiting for offshore partner visa to be approved (submitted Jan 3 2018)
Husband: Australian citizen
Son 1: Australian citizen by descent
Son 2: American citizen, application for Australian citizenship submitted Feb 8 2018
We currently live in the US and are actively trying to move to Australia. Both my husband and I have job opportunities on the table. Mine can stay on the table but my husband's is rather urgent (they want him to start in 3 months). So we are trying to figure out how to get to Australia sooner.

From talking to the embassy in DC I believe that both Son 2 and I can enter Australia for 12 months on visitor visas, but I could not work and we will not be eligible for medicare. I will need to add "Advice of Travel" notifications to our applications so that I can leave the country before my partner visa is issued.

Okay, thanks for your patience. Here are my questions:
1) Will this approach cause any issues with my son's citizenship application or ability to get an Australian passport?
2) Is there any visa I could apply for that would allow me to work? Going down to one income will be a issue. I think I could get an employer to sponsor me for a work visa, but I am worried about the implications that has for my partner visa. If that application was cancelled could I restart in a year or so?

It's such a challenge trying to move two careers and several nationalities across the world!

 

[ampk]

Embassy staff is not a good place to get immigration advice.

How old are you?

At any time you are in Australia now (since Jan 18)on a valid visa, you are eligible for Medicare.

 

[salmon1411]

Embassy staff is not a good place to get immigration advice.

How old are you?

At any time you are in Australia now (since Jan 18)on a valid visa, you are eligible for Medicare.

I am 31 - just past the limit for a working holiday unfortunately!

 

[salmon1411]

@ampk follow up question - if not the embassy staff then who do you recommend? I went through the "contact us" section on the DIBP website and after answering the quiz questions they referred me to the embassy.

 

[CollegeGirl]

Edit: Missed something important that SBB caught. Thanks SBB!

 

[Skybluebrewer]

I am 31 - just past the limit for a working holiday unfortunately!

Irrelevant anyway as you wouldn't be able to have dependents in Australia with you.

 

[Skybluebrewer]

Hello all, hope you can advise.
Me: Canadian/British dual citizen, waiting for offshore partner visa to be approved (submitted Jan 3 2018)
Husband: Australian citizen
Son 1: Australian citizen by descent
Son 2: American citizen, application for Australian citizenship submitted Feb 8 2018
We currently live in the US and are actively trying to move to Australia. Both my husband and I have job opportunities on the table. Mine can stay on the table but my husband's is rather urgent (they want him to start in 3 months). So we are trying to figure out how to get to Australia sooner.

From talking to the embassy in DC I believe that both Son 2 and I can enter Australia for 12 months on visitor visas, but I could not work and we will not be eligible for medicare. I will need to add "Advice of Travel" notifications to our applications so that I can leave the country before my partner visa is issued.

Okay, thanks for your patience. Here are my questions:
1) Will this approach cause any issues with my son's citizenship application or ability to get an Australian passport?
2) Is there any visa I could apply for that would allow me to work? Going down to one income will be a issue. I think I could get an employer to sponsor me for a work visa, but I am worried about the implications that has for my partner visa. If that application was cancelled could I restart in a year or so?

It's such a challenge trying to move two careers and several nationalities across the world!

So you've already applied 309/100 in Jan. US wait times are long so an ETA may not be a good option for you as yes you can enter and have a 3 month stay period but it's not intended to be used for multiple long stays. There's no working on it either and also only 3 month study max plus paying school fees for the son that would be on it. If you left and reentered to reset the stay period for another 3 months, he wouldn't be able to be in school if he'd already had 3 months of school and still no aussie citizenship.

A visitor visa may be the way to go as you can sometimes get these valid for one year with 12 month stays, so you wouldn't have to keep flying out to reset the stay period. But same issue of no work and only 3 month study. But also very likely this will be granted with 3 month stay periods as well which means flying out to reset them.

There's really no other way I can see for you to work until the 309 and/or 100 is granted.

If you do come to Australia while waiting, you need to know two things. 1) You are eligible for Medicare because you made an application for a permanent partner visa (the 100 part of the 309/100 app). You just need to be in Australia legally to apply for it (so you can do this on a visitor visa). 2) All you really need to do is write a letter with your contact info in Oz and attach your itinerary of when you plan to be in Australia to your immi account. The CO will know you're in the country based on your passport movement records and will contact you giving you a timeframe to leave the country. Hop on a plane to anywhere and plan to be out for 3-5 days (most of the time the visa comes same day but it can sometimes take a few). You'll get the grant and return to Oz on the partner visa... most likely PR for you by the sounds of your relationship.

Honestly, with the US, it's really hard to guess how long you'll be waiting. You applied towards the end half of the fiscal year so it's possible you may get a grant before July. A lot of US applicants though wait closer to one year or more.

My opinion is it may be best to let your husband come over alone and wait it out a bit in the US where you can work and the kids can finish the school year.

 

[Skybluebrewer]

@ampk follow up question - if not the embassy staff then who do you recommend? I went through the "contact us" section on the DIBP website and after answering the quiz questions they referred me to the embassy.

And no. Never take advice from them as they are not accountable for it and are very often wrong or misleading.

A registered migration agent is the only person you should get professional advice from, but of course they charge for their services. There are a few that post frequently on this forum and have always been highly recommended by other users.

 

[CollegeGirl]

Derp. Facepalm. Totally missed that they'd already applied. This is what I get for posting before coffee when bubs was up all night.

So glad SBB is here!

 

[ampk]

Seems Sky has it covered.

The only other is a skilled job the new 457 replacement, if you or your partner can qualify.

There is a sticky for the recommended Registered Migration Agents, Visa consults will be around $230 - $270 from a memory guess. Money well spent in my opinion.

 

[salmon1411]

Thank you all SO MUCH. It does set my mind at ease to know that I would be eligible for medicare. I am an engineer so a skilled migrant visa is an option but looked much more complicated than the partner visa. I could transfer internally within my current company and potentially they would help with the visa in that case.

All in all what seemed like a straightforward process has quickly become a bit confusing and I agree that a discussion with a migration agent might be money well spent, even if just for peace of mind.