Hi From Pompey

[steverach]

Hi There All
Just introducing ourselves steve rach and harry from pompey and hoping to move to Perth.
We got married in Kings Park last December and loved it so much that we've made the decision to up roots and go.
Got so many questions to ask already and we've not even applied for our visa yet.
Has anyone used A.S.A consultants and approx how long does the whole process take.
I'll say thanx in advance for any info that you guys can give us.

As I find that I'm brain dead after reading about the process
Ta-Ra For Now
steve rach and harry

[lcys2460]

Hello and Welcome to PiO from fellow neighbours down the road in sunny Bognor!

Can't answer your question regarding consultants as we did ours ourselves. As for timescales, reading some of the threads on here there is a backlog at the moment and people applying in May are just getting acknowledgements.

Good luck with your application though.

[steverach]

Thanx for your quick reply
Steve is appling for skilled independent 136/1 and I'll go on his visa along with Harry.
What sort of questions do they ask of steve and also me and Harry
ta

[buckbuchanan]

Hi from just up the road! We used to live in Pompey until a couple of years ago (well, southsea).
My advice.... don't use an agent unless you have got some kind of urgency for getting your application submitted. We did it ourselves and saved several thousands of pounds as a result. It only takes a few nights of reading to understand what you need to do.
Cheers
Buck

[lcys2460]

Hi Rach,
I like you am going on OH visa which is the same (136 MODL Skilled Independant). Nothing in the application was really asked of me other than the stuff about providing evidence of our relationship as we're not married. We copied all utility bills, mortgage statement, joint bank accounts and wrote our statement of our relationship and asked various friends and family to do one for us, plus loads of photo's - hopefully overkill!

I don't have any children so not sure about Harry although do know there is a form you will need to fill in for him - dependants.

The form isn't too bad, worst bit I found was collating all the information. If your using an agent though they should make all that really easy for you.

If I can help with anything, I'll be very pleased to, but you'll see that everyone on here is SO friendly and helpful - I only found this site last week and can't resist a peek or 10 a day!
Lx

[steverach]

Cheers Buck
Theres no urgency just want to make sure everything is done correctly as Ive heard a few horror stories such as people being refused visa's for minor errors.
Also want to know what info they need on us in the application.
can you tell me pleeeeeeeeeze
cheers in advance
steve rach and h

[steverach]

Hi Lynda and Steve
I just wanted to know all the ins and outs
We dont have a joint bank account so will they check mine seperately? and all the utility bills are in steve's name.
What about credit checks etc
cheers
rach

[lcys2460]

You got married last December? I understood that married people just sent in a certified copy of the marriage certificate and it was people in a 'de-facto relationship' that did all that stuff about proving their relationship - someone on this site might well correct me though.

As far as I know they are not into checking bank accounts or doing credit checks. Its the stuff on the form (go to www.immi.gov.uk) for basic information about you (names, dob, addresses, passport numbers, parents and brothers/sisters etc), and then you have the medicals and police checks at a later stage in the process.

Are you worried about anything in particular? I didn't go down the agent route, personally wanted to save my pennies and having read through the above site a few times I knew we could do the forms ourselves. If there is something you wanted to check out, I think you can get a free assessment with an agent before you decide what to do?

Hope that helps?
Lx

[buckbuchanan]

Hi
We nearly used an agent, but my wife spent a few hours looking through the stuff on Department of Immigration and Citizenship and realised that it is actually quite easy. The visa you are applying for is fairly straightforward as well so shouldn't be too many complications.

What I would recommend spending a night or 2 looking at that web site. It is quite a structured site so you have to go through each page picking the valid option for you. The actual application form is really the thing that tells you what you need to submit, but there is also a checklist on the site.

I don't know if you have started the process yet, but what you have to do is:
1. Do the points test on the web site to find out if you are eligable (I guess you already have).
2. Submit your skills assessment to the relevant body (again, details on the site).
3. Once the skills assessment comes back you can submit your visa application.
4. Then you will be asked for medicals and police checks.
And that's it.

The application forms do change regularly, so make sure you fill them out and send them quickly otherwise you may find that by the time you post them they are out of date.
You will be asked for evidence of skills, marriage certs, passports, etc, etc, but it is very clear what you need to send once you start looking into it. As long as you double check everything before you send it you will be ok.

If you have more questions after you have looked at the site just post it up here and someone WILL know the answer!

[Bag End Bunch]

Hi Guys - nice to have more people on the forum that are planning to move to WA.

We are using an agent - mainly as I get freaked out by red tape and form filling. We're using Migration Matters and so far they have been great!
It is expensive tho' - we're lucky, my husbands parents are so pleased that we want to move out to Oz that they are paying agents fees! (I should make clear that they do live out there too!) I think it takes some of the stress out of the process as you always have a middle man to deal with everything. But each to his own - lots of people manage perfectly well on their own.

We live in Eastleigh so we're not far from you guys.

Kings Park is lovely - what a great place to have a wedding! Did you go anywhere else in WA while you were there?

Take care

Alex