Dear John, 
I am a qualified carpenter by trade. 
I met the 120 points needed to apply for my Skilled Independent Visa and was getting it ready when Immigration announced the new Skilled Occupation List won’t be out until July 1 (2010). I also heard the points are changing. Will carpenters be able to apply [...]

Dear John,
My husband and I are six months into our first working holiday visa. My husband has been granted his second-year visa as he has been working in construction and this has covered him for specified work. Is there anyway I can stay on for a second year because my husband has the visa or [...]

The Australian Government has revealed the eagerly-awaited Skilled Occupations List (SOL) which will determine the shape of the immigration programme over the next year.
The Minister for Immigration, Senator Chris Evans had vowed to overhaul the SOL to deliver a “labour market demand-driven skilled migration programme”.
The new SOL replaces the old Migration Occupations In Demand List [...]

Hello John,
I’ve been here for the last two years on a sponsored 457 visa as a restaurant/catering manager. Can I apply for permanent residency now? Friends have told me I can but I’m not sure.  My de-facto partner is a qualified electrician and has been on my visa for 18 months. He has applied for [...]

DEAR John,
I’m on the second year of my working holiday visa and I’ve been going out with my boyfriend, an Australian citizen, for almost a year. We have been living together since last July but we have no lease together and cannot prove our joint address. We didn’t have our post going to our address [...]

Hello John, I have been a permanent resident in Australia for over six years. My visa states that I can leave and return up to 2009, so I’m told I now have to apply for a resident return visa or for citizenship? I am considering returning to Ireland permanently and revoking my permanent residency in [...]

Dear John. I am back in Oz on a visitor visa after nine months away. I have had two years here on working holiday visas already. I am a qualified plasterer by trade and looking at my options as I want to stay for a while more and work as well. Can I get residency [...]

Dear John, I am a 25-year-old carpenter from Ireland living and working in Brisbane this last 18 months. I have six years’ experience as a carpenter but no formal qualification. I have been told that state sponsorship could be my best option. Could you give me a rundown on the process, stages, expenses, length of [...]

Dear John, I’ve just got my permanent residence in Australia. How soon can I get citizenship and an Australian passport? Susan P.
Dear Susan,
You have to apply for citizenship. For migrants, the general path is called Citizenship by Conferral.
For people who became permanent residents on or after July 1, 2007 you must be resident in Australia [...]

Dear John, I’m in Australia on a working holiday visa and have been working for the last four months, my boss is considering sponsoring me full time on a 457 visa. I was told you have to be paid a certain amount to get sponsored; I’m currently working 38-40 hours a week and get paid [...]