New Member Looking To Emigrate

[Mclaren1990]

Hi guys, long time reader on the forums but never a member until now. Hoping there might be a few people here that can help me out.

I'm a 4th year apprentice in Scotland about to resit the section I failed on my test at the end of the month. All going well and I pass this time, I was looking to hopefully move to Australia. I was wondering what the process is to actually get over there and get working as an electrician? Do I have to have been qualified here for a certain length of time before the move? I have a brother already in Australia with residency (also an electrician with UK qualification) who is married to an Aussie girl, I'm not sure if that means I could apply for different types of visas or it may not make any difference at all. Any help is much appreciated and if there's any more information needed then I will try and tell yous everything I know! Thanks

 

[Wilko]

@KennyKen may be able to give insights

 

[Lou]

Welcome! There's a few people on here that have done that I think. Where in oz do you want to go?

 

[Mclaren1990]

Thank you! Thats what I was hoping to hear, any information is appreciated! I was thinking about Melbourne or the nearby area anyway. I've had a very brief search online and it looks like there's quite a few jobs for electricians going there

 

[KennyKen]

Hey bud... been working nights so my clock is a bit out. Will PM you the long journey that awaits lol. As your married to an Australian you can get a spouse Visa makes life a lot easier in that regards. It's more the electrical licensing that's the issue. Plus Victoria is a highly Union state. Very active so getting your licence there might require further messing around.

 

[Lagentium]

Kennyken, let me know about it too please if it's not too much trouble mate, cheers!

 

[Mclaren1990]

Thanks very much mate, just whenever suits yourself. I've looked into it but it's honestly quite confusing haha. And it's actually my brother that's married to an Australian girl, but can him having residency help me out by any chance? Again, any input is much appreciated, cheers!

 

[KennyKen]

Well your brother could sponsor you. But that would be very expensive. Plus he would have to prove that he is going to provide you with work etc. it's getting harder because the boom years are now on a downturn.

My advice would be to contact a migration agent and see if you meet the 60 point quota. they would also check to see if Electricians are on the wanted list for certain states. I know of two states who have removed Electricians from their list.

If you meet the 60 point quota and general electrician is on the skills shortage list for your nominated state then you can move forward. At this stage you could apply for a permanent state sponsored visa. Class 189 and 190 are the best. This let's you freely move around Australia without restrictions.

The next stage - proving that you have funds to be self sufficient £20.000 minimum. Then proving that you have served a 4 year Apprentiship. Can't be no less. I've had friends refused because they served 3 years 11 months. This is critical. You will need references from every company you have worked for and provide P60 or end of year accounts info for the 4 years. There is also a minimum time on you being a sparkie also 3 years post experience this was recently added so check up on that.

Next stage - pay a sum of £2000 towards Visa
For application purposes. You then have to prove your functional English so you have to sit an IELTS test. Even though we're English it still applies to us. You have to get a score of 7's in each category. You may have to sit test a few times at a cost of £130 a pop.

Next stage - submission of expression of interest for nominated state.

Wait....more waiting...

They will ask to to sit a VETASSES test for your OTSR off shore skills record. This will gain you a restricted licence upon arrival to Australia. It's like an AM2. Very similar.

Police checks. If you have criminal record then you might fail character requirements.

Medical. Very involved medical process. Most jobs over here require you to have a medical.

Then fingers crossed and wait for the poxy visa.

Gaining an electrical licence. You with have to complete there AS/NZ 3000 wiring rules generally takes 3 weeks at a TAFE (college). You will need to work as a Electricians mate for a year while conpleting an online E profiling to be signed off. This involves domestic work. Commercial and industrial. Once you have completed that you will gain your full unrestricted licence for that state.


The process is very long winded your looking at 15 month wait for the VISA and a year of retraining for the Aussie licence. Don't let this deter you with a bit of hard work anyone can do it. I went into the process blind. So I've pretty much told it how it is. I wouldn't sugar coat anything

 

[Mclaren1990]

Well your brother could sponsor you. But that would be very expensive. Plus he would have to prove that he is going to provide you with work etc. it's getting harder because the boom years are now on a downturn.

My advice would be to contact a migration agent and see if you meet the 60 point quota. they would also check to see if Electricians are on the wanted list for certain states. I know of two states who have removed Electricians from their list.

If you meet the 60 point quota and general electrician is on the skills shortage list for your nominated state then you can move forward. At this stage you could apply for a permanent state sponsored visa. Class 189 and 190 are the best. This let's you freely move around Australia without restrictions.

The next stage - proving that you have funds to be self sufficient £20.000 minimum. Then proving that you have served a 4 year Apprentiship. Can't be no less. I've had friends refused because they served 3 years 11 months. This is critical. You will need references from every company you have worked for and provide P60 or end of year accounts info for the 4 years. There is also a minimum time on you being a sparkie also 3 years post experience this was recently added so check up on that.

Next stage - pay a sum of £2000 towards Visa
For application purposes. You then have to prove your functional English so you have to sit an IELTS test. Even though we're English it still applies to us. You have to get a score of 7's in each category. You may have to sit test a few times at a cost of £130 a pop.

Next stage - submission of expression of interest for nominated state.

Wait....more waiting...

They will ask to to sit a VETASSES test for your OTSR off shore skills record. This will gain you a restricted licence upon arrival to Australia. It's like an AM2. Very similar.

Police checks. If you have criminal record then you might fail character requirements.

Medical. Very involved medical process. Most jobs over here require you to have a medical.

Then fingers crossed and wait for the poxy visa.

Gaining an electrical licence. You with have to complete there AS/NZ 3000 wiring rules generally takes 3 weeks at a TAFE (college). You will need to work as a Electricians mate for a year while conpleting an online E profiling to be signed off. This involves domestic work. Commercial and industrial. Once you have completed that you will gain your full unrestricted licence for that state.


The process is very long winded your looking at 15 month wait for the VISA and a year of retraining for the Aussie licence. Don't let this deter you with a bit of hard work anyone can do it. I went into the process blind. So I've pretty much told it how it is. I wouldn't sugar coat anything

Well your brother could sponsor you. But that would be very expensive. Plus he would have to prove that he is going to provide you with work etc. it's getting harder because the boom years are now on a downturn.

My advice would be to contact a migration agent and see if you meet the 60 point quota. they would also check to see if Electricians are on the wanted list for certain states. I know of two states who have removed Electricians from their list.

If you meet the 60 point quota and general electrician is on the skills shortage list for your nominated state then you can move forward. At this stage you could apply for a permanent state sponsored visa. Class 189 and 190 are the best. This let's you freely move around Australia without restrictions.

The next stage - proving that you have funds to be self sufficient £20.000 minimum. Then proving that you have served a 4 year Apprentiship. Can't be no less. I've had friends refused because they served 3 years 11 months. This is critical. You will need references from every company you have worked for and provide P60 or end of year accounts info for the 4 years. There is also a minimum time on you being a sparkie also 3 years post experience this was recently added so check up on that.

Next stage - pay a sum of £2000 towards Visa
For application purposes. You then have to prove your functional English so you have to sit an IELTS test. Even though we're English it still applies to us. You have to get a score of 7's in each category. You may have to sit test a few times at a cost of £130 a pop.

Next stage - submission of expression of interest for nominated state.

Wait....more waiting...

They will ask to to sit a VETASSES test for your OTSR off shore skills record. This will gain you a restricted licence upon arrival to Australia. It's like an AM2. Very similar.

Police checks. If you have criminal record then you might fail character requirements.

Medical. Very involved medical process. Most jobs over here require you to have a medical.

Then fingers crossed and wait for the poxy visa.

Gaining an electrical licence. You with have to complete there AS/NZ 3000 wiring rules generally takes 3 weeks at a TAFE (college). You will need to work as a Electricians mate for a year while conpleting an online E profiling to be signed off. This involves domestic work. Commercial and industrial. Once you have completed that you will gain your full unrestricted licence for that state.


The process is very long winded your looking at 15 month wait for the VISA and a year of retraining for the Aussie licence. Don't let this deter you with a bit of hard work anyone can do it. I went into the process blind. So I've pretty much told it how it is. I wouldn't sugar coat anything

That's amazingly detailed, thank you! Seems like there's even more involved to it than I've read into. Looks like I've got a long way to go yet before trying to make the leap over then. I'll definitely look into contacting a migration agent and see if I'm anywhere near meeting the quota! Thanks again

 

[wsoppitt]

Well your brother could sponsor you. But that would be very expensive. Plus he would have to prove that he is going to provide you with work etc. it's getting harder because the boom years are now on a downturn.

My advice would be to contact a migration agent and see if you meet the 60 point quota. they would also check to see if Electricians are on the wanted list for certain states. I know of two states who have removed Electricians from their list.

If you meet the 60 point quota and general electrician is on the skills shortage list for your nominated state then you can move forward. At this stage you could apply for a permanent state sponsored visa. Class 189 and 190 are the best. This let's you freely move around Australia without restrictions.

The next stage - proving that you have funds to be self sufficient £20.000 minimum. Then proving that you have served a 4 year Apprentiship. Can't be no less. I've had friends refused because they served 3 years 11 months. This is critical. You will need references from every company you have worked for and provide P60 or end of year accounts info for the 4 years. There is also a minimum time on you being a sparkie also 3 years post experience this was recently added so check up on that.

Next stage - pay a sum of £2000 towards Visa
For application purposes. You then have to prove your functional English so you have to sit an IELTS test. Even though we're English it still applies to us. You have to get a score of 7's in each category. You may have to sit test a few times at a cost of £130 a pop.

Next stage - submission of expression of interest for nominated state.

Wait....more waiting...

They will ask to to sit a VETASSES test for your OTSR off shore skills record. This will gain you a restricted licence upon arrival to Australia. It's like an AM2. Very similar.

Police checks. If you have criminal record then you might fail character requirements.

Medical. Very involved medical process. Most jobs over here require you to have a medical.

Then fingers crossed and wait for the poxy visa.

Gaining an electrical licence. You with have to complete there AS/NZ 3000 wiring rules generally takes 3 weeks at a TAFE (college). You will need to work as a Electricians mate for a year while conpleting an online E profiling to be signed off. This involves domestic work. Commercial and industrial. Once you have completed that you will gain your full unrestricted licence for that state.


The process is very long winded your looking at 15 month wait for the VISA and a year of retraining for the Aussie licence. Don't let this deter you with a bit of hard work anyone can do it. I went into the process blind. So I've pretty much told it how it is. I wouldn't sugar coat anything

Was it worth the hassle tho.
Is it a good working environment and standard of living , what is the pay expectations.
Knew a plumber mate who worked out there for 4 years and he said tradesmen get treated with more respect than back in UK and are generally treated really well .
What are your impressions of it out there.
Wayne