w1johnston

Hello again, thanks heaps for all the replies. I still haven’t made any decisions about what we’ll do yet and he is aware that any visa at this stage is temporary, we have no illusions there. I think that a consultation with an agent would be worthwhile. To add some context, we didn’t include him in our PR application as his mother moved him to the Isle of Man when he was very young (against my wishes), I maintained regular visits with him but I had no say in his upbringing and “technically” no parental responsibility as his mother and I weren’t married and he was born in 2000 before the rules about parental responsibility changed, so I don’t believe I could have claimed he was a dependent. His job finished before he came over to Aus and he quit his college course a few month ago. To add to that he has been suffering from depression and he seems to be improving now, so understandably I think it would be good for him to stay longer. The option of going to NZ to apply for a WHV could be viable if there was a quick turn around on the visa but the processing times are about 18-31 days according to the gov website. I’d prefer not to have to send him back to the UK but if all else fails then it is an option at least. If the student visa is affordable for us then we won’t hesitate but it’s starting to sound like it could be out of reach. Whatever happens we’ll do what we can to give him the best we can. It’s all we can do.

Hi all, I’m looking for some advice please, my 18 year old son is staying with us on a tourist visa at the moment and he has decided he would like to make his visit more permanent. We have PR but he wasn’t included on our visa application as he was not a dependant at that time. I have looked at getting him a working holiday visa but found that he needs to be offshore for that. I am now looking at a student visa which looks like a viable option but would love to hear if anyone else has gone through this and what you did, or any recommendations please. TIA w1johnston

Thanks for all the replies. I've tried to book through Flight Centre and they said that while they are happy to take my money, I will be refused to board the flight.... I challenged that and asked why, "oh it's the airline rules...." I will contact QNtas to confirm as the flight was with them. Thanks w1

Hi All, I need to travel back to the UK for a few days after some sad news about a family member, I am just a little concerned that my passport is due to expire in about 4 weeks. I will be travelling in the next few days and return before it expires, I will not be stopping off in any other countries in either direction. I have searched google and the results seem to point to it being fine, I'd just like to hear from someone that has done this or knows for sure. I have a British passport. Many thanks W1

Hi Pat, yeah ah I had read that the meet up got postponed, which was handy for us cos we ended up moving into our home that day, and as luck would have it we are now living a couple of minutes walk from where the meet up will be tomorrow. So we will certainly be there tomorrow and are looking forward to it. Regards The Johnston's

Bon Voyage! I look forward to reading your updates. We are following you in 2 weeks time (although taking a week to get there). Maybe we'll meet you if your at the October meet up in North Lakes?!? Regards w1

Hi PatW, thank you for the information. It's very kind of you to organise these get togethers, it will be a great help to meet people who have been through it before and know the areas etc. we will certainly be coming thank you. @srg73 yeah we still have a fair bit to sort out but we're trying to get as much as we can done before we leave the UK, I've sent off the application for my security licence this week so another step forward. It sounds like you will arrive in Brisbane around the same time as us, how are you managing? Got a place lined up for when you get there? It'll be nice to hear how your getting on and meet up at the get together in NL. Regards w1

Wow I am surprised with the responses here, I've been worrying that we won't be bringing enough (about £12k) but it seems quite a few have done it on less. One of my main concern has been getting a rental, I've been trying to budget for paying 6 months upfront as that seems to be the norm for new migrants - at least that's what I thought anyway. Can I ask those that have made the move with short funds, how did you manage getting a rental? Ta w1

Thank you TPQ. It's my pleasure, this site has been an amazing source of information for me, it's the least I can do to give a little back. The maximum weight for each box is 30KG, it sounds like a lot but I did end up having to shuffle stuff around as one or two boxes were just slightly over. Yeah the price did work out at about £30 each for the boxes plus insurance and aqis fees, however, it does work out more if you ship less and I'm sure the collection point and destination will have an impact on the price too. There is an instant quote tool on their website. Regards w1

Hi Keith, To be able to carry out work in this field in QLD I need a security installers licence and open cablers registration with endorsements for at least structured cabling and coax. Unfortunately for me it is impossible to get these without being in Australia. I have however started the process of getting these sorted for when I arrive and have just booked nearly 2 weeks of classroom courses beginning the week after we arrive. I have applied for a few jobs but heard nothing back from any of them, I think not meeting their basic criteria (must have licences) and not even being in the country is a big put off for them. I cant understand why lol. Cheers w1

Hi Keith, Thats handy to know thanks. Sure you can ask but its a trade secret so I'm not telling. Only kidding of course, currently I am responsible for servicing CCTV and access control systems but it can also be installing alarm systems or intercoms etc. Regards W1

We were originally going to get a large Move Cube and ship our large american fridge freezer, beds, drawers, tv's, washing machine etc. but when we done the sums, the cost of the MC vs selling our relatively old stuff and buying new or even some second hand stuff in Oz it just made sense not to go the MC route. Instead we decided to ship a few boxes of personal belongings, what started off as 2 boxes quickly turned to 4 and then 6. we ended up shipping 8 large boxes! We ordered the boxes from Seven seas worldwide, they allowed us to order as many boxes as we wanted and we just had to use what we needed and return the spares unused but we ordered 8 and used them all. At this point all we had to pay was a £60 deposit. The only negative is that the site says the boxes will come with bubble wrap but they did not. We already had some though so it wasnt really an issue. The large boxes are 60x50x40cm with a max weight of 30kg each When we ordered the boxes we had to choose a date for them to be delivered. The day before delivery we recieved a text to say what time the courier would be, it was an hour slot irc. Filling the boxes was a real pain in the are's! Probably because I was quite anal about getting it packed just right. Everything had to be documented and packed in a way that would help save time if customs did need to go thru the boxes. I also chose to pack our Dyson as it was fairly new and I had noticed how expensive they are out there. I spent nearly 2 nights completely dismantling it and cleaning each part with Jeyes fluid, not an enjoyable job, and to make matters worse the long handle just would not fit in any of the boxes. At one point I decided we would just take it with us in our luggage but I realised it wouldnt fit in any of our suitcases and really didnt fancy carrying a dyson handle as hand luggage. I can just imagine peoples faces lol. In the end I was able to seperate the handle and long tube by heating them up which softened the glue. Once we had filled the boxes we went on the website to book collection. Again we recieved a text to say what time the collection would be. A couple of days after the collection I went back on the website and the quote for the remaining balance plus insurance was available. Basically it has worked out at about £30 per box plus insurance plus Aqis fees which isnt bad at all, however, i am not sure how much differently this would have worked out compared to the small move cube, I imagine that would have been far easier to pack. To give you a rough idea of how much stuff we managed to get into all these boxes heres a list of our inventory Box 1 Dyson vacuum cleaner –dismantled, cleaned and disinfected with Jeyes fluid and partiallyreassembled. Tefal Actifry (Electronic healthfryer) Steam generator iron Electronic tin opener Books Box2 Makita cordless drill – cleanedand disinfected with Jeyes fluid Bosch cordless screwdriver –cleaned and disinfected with Jeyes fluid Small box of hand tools:Screwdrivers, tape measure, krone tool, wrench, hammer, pad saw,junior hacksaw, wire cutters, wire stripper, metal file, ratchet,rj45 crimp tool, bnc crimp tool – all cleaned and disinfected withJeyes fluid Mallet with wooden handle(commercially produced with treated wood) – cleaned and disinfectedwith Jeyes fluid Shoes, slippers and boots – allhave been cleaned and disinfected with Jeyes fluid Carpet knee kicker – cleanedand disinfected with Jeyes fluid 2 x jackets Christmas stockings Childs bicycle helmet Glass cookware BOX3 Dolls house - commerciallyproduced, made mainly from MDF with some wood parts (painted) Dolls and furniture from theabove set. Photographs Photo frames – wood and MDF,all commercially produced. Photo albums – commerciallyproduced Books – commercially produced Leap pad reader – unused butolder than 12 months (no batteries) Nappies - unused open packet,commercially produced BOX4 LCD tv x 2 DVD player Dance mat - batteries removed CD's DVD's Nail Polish Scales Lamp Large Photographs (not in frame) Tv Remote's (batteries removed) Cables/leads (HDMI, VGA, cat5patch, power adapters) Media Player Apple TV Digital Hydrometer Glass Photo Frame Digital photo frame Children’s dressing up outfits– commercially produced Travel adapters Pillow cases and quilt covers Ikea toy hanger – 100%polyester BOX5 Clothes – (adult female &infant boy) BOX6 Clothes – (adult male and childfemale) BOX7 Quilts Quilt covers, sheets and pillowcases Towels Bath mat Tea towels BOX8 Glasses Glass bowl Coffee cups Children's toys -plastic Guitar – plastic (batteriesremoved) CD sing a long player (batteriesremoved) Microserver (computer) Finger drum set (batteriesremoved) The site states 75 days to get to the destination but I have low expectations of that happening purely based on what i have read about some peoples experiences with the MC. Either way so far I am happy with how it has gone. I will report back once I have it all at the other end.

Hi Everyone, I hope all that have made the move so far are enjoying their new surroundings. My wife (31) and I (35) and our 2 kids (Daughter 4 Son 1) are moving to Brisbane on 15th September. We haven't got a clue where we are going to be living as neither of us have jobs yet. I'm a security technician and need to get all my licences in place before I can get a job which will take a month or 2 to sort out. The problem is that we only have 3 weeks to find a place when we get there. PRESSURE PRESSURE lol. I do like the look of North Lakes and the fact there is a large expat community appeals too as I think it will help Mrs w1 meet people with a common ground. I read earlier on in this thread that people have meet ups around that area every so often, does anyone know if there is going to be one mid/late September? Regards W1

I am using sevenseas worldwide to ship 8 large boxes (61x51x41cm) 30kg limit per box from UK to Brisbane, sea cargo for around £280 + aqis fees + insurance.

I've applied for a few jobs but heard nothing back from all but 1, a temp position but as soon as they realised I wasn't already on Aus soil I got rejected. I've stopped applying now, most of the employers specify you need to have a security licence and cablers licence to apply. So I think it's a case of waiting till I've got these sorted and hopefully I'll be able to pick up something to keep me going when I get there. What sort of work are you doing now and what u hoping to do? I'm mostly CCTV and access control ATM all in universities and prisons. Etc, would love to keep doing the same, but beggars can't be choosers eh! Keep in touch mate and let me know how you get on and I will do the same.