Transferring to Australian Army - need advice

[spray21]

I think the contact/liason person is different depending on exactly what & where you are applying for. With us they put a contact name on all the paperwork right from the beginning - 'Contact this person if you have any queries' - have you had a look at your letters etc from them? I'm hesitant to pass on the address we have in case it is wrong to do so!
Or failing that I've got a whole load of details for family liason officers in different regions, and I'm fairly sure that none of those are 'secret' as they hand them out to everyone - I could check and see what there is for NSW, but even within NSW I think there are different people for different bases. Do you know which part of NSW you might get sent to?

[seaangel]

Thats no problem. We are probably going to Victoria. I should be getting some info from the Oz Army soon anyway!

Hope it all goes ok.

[Al&Jo]

We went to our interview in October and were given a provisional job offer on the day subject to medicals. My husband requires a follow up medical, which we have since been told can't be done until Sept 07. This causes a few problems as my husband is out the British Army in Sept 07!
I am under the impression we can't apply for visas until we have had a firm job offer (after the ok from the medical). I know it is the million dollar question but how long does the whole visa application take?!! Are we looking at weeks, months or what! I ask as we are in a quarter at the mo which we will have to vacate, then there is the issue of my husband being out of work.

I realise this is an almost imposible post to answer but any info would be great!

Jo

[spray21]

Jo - congratulations!
We got the provisional offer on the day too - but realistically you can't do anything until you have the final written offer. For a lot of people they need it in writing before they hand in their notice. (Although that sounds like it's not an issue for you)
Once you have the written offer from them, you (or OH) sign it and send it back - you can fax it if you want. They will then contact the immigration people to get the preliminary ok from them - once you've been pre-approved, then you can send off your visa application. So once you have sent the acceptance back I suppose you could get medicals and police certificates done - there would just be a small-ish risk of you not getting the visas approved, but TBH I think the army are so strict that you would not get past them but not DIMIA. (If that makes sense!)
So any way to answer your question, no you can't apply for the visa before you have the job offer - you can't even apply for it straightaway when you do have the offer. Also be careful of things expiring if you get them done too early. (police checks)
For us, once we had sent off our visa application (which you could get ready in advance, that would save you a few weeks) it was all approved in about a month. Then we sent off our passports and within a week the magic stickers were there. With the army, it also takes up to a couple of months to organise your removals and travel etc, and you can't do any of that until you have the visas.

Good luck with it all! It is a fairly tortuous process, but compared to other kinds of visa applications it's not so bad and everyone has been so helpful. Stick with it!

[Andy & Caz Blake]

Wild stab in the dark here - don't suppose you are Paul and Marie Greenwood from Brunei five or six years ago ? If not, I've just made an a*se out of myself ! LOL :lol:

[Marie and Paul]

Visa app has arrived in Aussie, as the visa fee has been deducted from our acct. Medicals are being posted out on Thurs, so hopefully case officer will be phoning soon, hopefully before we go on holiday (fingers crossed) as we are away for a month.

We got our medicals done in advance as friends of ours have just arrived in Sydney and have given us tips.

Our process started with the initial email of interest in Sept last year, thought nothing of it, then in Apr we were contacted to ask us for the interview in London 24 Apr, we had 2 weeks to get a bunch of paperwork sorted.

On that day, we were told we had been successful an informal offer letter was given, sent back via fax accepting. We had a bit of a weight as the Doctor was waiting on some blood results for OH, cleared, email back from SCMA saying that the application had now gone to DIMA who would produce the LA (labour agreement)normally takes about 2 mths, got ours a week and a bit early. We already had the visa ready to go, we just needed this for teh nomination number and sent off recorded delivery, we had our medicals pre-booked on 31 Oct 06 come back clear, posting them out on Thursday recorded (so they should as we are a private patient and alot of money passed hands). Very nice though.

So just waiting for everything to come together, hoping to be there beg of Feb, as OH out of army 06/01/07 but we dont fly back into the country until 09 Jan 06. We have also had our notice to quit 20 Jan 06 the qtr, but OH went to DHE and explained the situation, might have to pay a slightly higher qtr rate by cheque as they can no longer do it through payclerk.

You are entitled to airfrieght and up to 40 ft container. Flights are out via KL 2 night stay, business class. They do look after you according to my friend who landed last week, her OH started work yesterday. She is in Sydney we are posted to Canberra.

Anyway keep in touch, EV1 I keep having nightmares at the moment that it will all go pear shape.

bye

Marie and Paul

[MR HOPEFULL]

Hey Guys - I appear to be maybe one step ahead but still anticipate a few more anxious moments. Finally received the "offer of employment" which I quickly signed having been in and out of the "pending tray" for the last year. Offer of Employment very clear, covering rank/pay/future promotion possibilities etc etc. My understanding is that SCMA will now obtain the "Labour Agreement Notification" should take 4-6 weeks and this will be required prior to submitting Visa Application (Form 47ES). I understand once Visa Application is submitted it may take a further 2-3 months to be approved. General dilemma is "when to give notice ?" don't want to jump too early in case of visa difficulties but on the same hand don't want to leave it to late - only consolation is that I have completed my 22 and enjoying a period of continued service. Would appreciate comments fom anyone who is "one step ahead of me" on any potential pit falls ??

No idea yet as to procedures for removals/travel arrangements etc etc as I'm far removed from the UK and "Australia House" again would welcome a "heads up" as to what to expect from here on in from anyone who has been through it.

Is there anyone left who hasn't considered "jumping ship" ??

[spray21]

The visa application might be much faster than that - the bit you wait for is the labour agreement, which (I think) is really like a visa pre-approval. It means that once you submit your visa application, with all the necessary bits in order, it can take as little as a month to go through and be approved.
Once it is, then you notify the army (I'm assuming you're going this route)and they will send you lots of details for organising your actual move. If you want more about that then ask.
Re handing in notice - have the army not given you a start date for your contract with them? We worked back from that, so that there was no gap between finishing here and starting there. So it would depend on the length of notice you have to give. General consensus seems to be that it is wise to wait until the move is a certainty before telling employer, and that you don't owe them anything more than the notice period in your contract.
If you wanted to be super-cautious then you could wait for your visa to be approved - after that there is little that can go wrong, bar being hit by lorries etc. Fingers crossed that doesn't happen!

[leeaddo]

i have just started the process of applying for the Australian army yet been told that they are not recruiting for the infantry and the Physical training areas, which is my main area of expertease in the british army.

anyone got any suggestions as to what i can do now.

I am desperate for suggestions as i really want to join the australian army

[Julz]

leeaddo - bit of advice, don't do it, it was the worst move we ever made, stay where you are, British Army are more professional and better to work for, are currently in the process of trying to get out and move back to the UK.