esllou said:
Why is it expensive for a company to employ me? If I contacted a company in my field and said I'd work minimum wage for, say, two years while I sorted out permanent residency, couldn't that be a possibility??
I worked at a hotel that "sponsored" internationals from other countries. The main purpose of this was of course to have the mother tongue of VIP guests when they came to visit, so it's certainly a selfish thing on the company's part. I can't think of one that it's into the "goodwill" thing to simply help foreigners. That visa, for the hotel though, was a specific visa so that those foreigners could ONLY work for that hotel. If they quit, they don't have a visa to work elsewhere.
Another friend of mine works for Ernst & Young. If you can find a job with a big name bank-type company like that and sell yourself to them, I'm sure they'd have no problem footing the bill for your work visa. And, yes, you stay 2 years, then start applying for residency, etc.
I'm not very knowledgable about the types of visas, but there are different levels. Maybe that'll help.
Jez