shaza

Thanks verystormy. You've put my mind at rest

Hi Guys. I'm in a bit of a predicament and i'm not sure what to do. We are on a 176 Visa which "ceases" in June. Now does that mean we HAVE to leave the country and re-enter or can we just stay put? We are currently in the process of applying for citizenship but I have put off the paperwork til now and realised it probably won't be finalised by June. Also 3 of the 5 passports have expired so leaving the country is going to be a massive inconvenience applying for new British passports and a huge expense to us. Another thing I did wonder is whether you can get an extension on a visa? Any advice would be great please. Thanks guys. Sharon :eek::cute:

Hi guys, my family and I have been living on the sunny coast now for 2 years and love it,but my friends are desperate to move over too but don't have the qualifications needed for the visa. Is there any other way for them? I suggested a working visa the to try to get a sponsor here but apparently he is too old. (He's 36 & she's 32). He is an MOT tester and she works in the pathology lab at a major hospital but none have qualifications. Please give me ideas how they can get to oz. thanks guys

The State schools in Oz are good, but my hb is an Electrician & does alot of work at St. Andrews in Perigian Springs and would love our kids to go there. He said its a fantastic school and the children are very well behaved and all seem very happy in the school. I dont know about paying at State schools on a 457, I always thought you did have to pay unless you are permanent resident but I dont know. St. Andrews is $10,000 per year, uniform is around $1,000 plus books, stationary etc so quite expensive but fantastic if you can afford it. My kids are very happy in their State school and are all doing very well academically. As for areas Buderim is a beautiful place, Ive not been to Perigian so cant advise on that. Hope this helps a bit :biggrin:

Hi Jamjar, No were not moving back to the Uk, loving it here

Hi guys. Well we've been here 7 months now and I thought i'd share a few things with you. Firstly we love it and know we made the right move, I actually feel quite depressed at the thought of moving back to the Uk (I was from London by the way so life was busy, rushed & always hectic). The kids (12, 9 & 5) have settled in really well, they love their school & have made lots of friends. Dont get me wrong it wasnt all smooth sailing at the beginning. My middle boy took quite a while to settle in, missed family & friends alot & we had lots of tears but he's much better now. My husband has been very lucky with work, although driving to Brisbane everyday at the beginning wasnt good but he changed jobs & is local now (he's a sparks). We found a lovely home within 1 week of being here & love the area we live in. The kids are able to play out with their friends, they love skateboarding & riding their bikes. On a whole the Auzzies are a really friendly bunch & so laid back. Now for the negatives :no:........ It is a VERY expensive country and obviously with the exchange rate the way it is, we dont get a lot for our money but once you start working it balances itself out. Used cars are amazingly expensive, we werent prepared for that & ended up using half our savings on 2 cars (lost $5500 on a bad van when we first got here too!!!!!). We didnt bring anything with us (just 9 boxes of personal items), but if I did it again I would definately get a crate & fill it up. Everything is expensive....sheets, quilts, white goods.....everything really. I cant think what else I can say but if anyone has any questions please just ask. It really was worth the wait. Good luck with the visa's guys. Oh & P.s...Im just starting up my own cleaning buisness too so anyone in Maroochydore or nearby please let me know if youre after cleaning services :biggrin:

Just bumping this & hoping for a little help xx

Hi, weve just moved to sunshine coast 6 weeks ago & my hb is qualified sparks. When he did his vetassess he had the option of doing part of it or going for the lot & getting his offshore training recognition cert which he did. Like you, he could find no info on the Internet in the uk but managed to find a bit more once we arrived here. He had to do a CPR course (3hrs) before he could apply for his license. And because he has his trade recognition from uk he can now work as a sparks under supervision until his license comes through. Not sure but think he still has to do 12 days at Tafe to amend to the aus regs. If you need to ask any questions let me know & I'll ask him but the main thing is to get your offshore skills in uk because it saved him nearly year Tafe course & $2500 dollars.

Hi, just looking for some advice from any bookkeepers/accountants in Oz. I qualified 2years ago as a bookkeeper (city & guilds level 1 & 2) but due to being a full time mum to 3 children I was never able to take it up as a career but im now living in Oz and my youngest starts school in january so im hoping to get a job then. I am quite rusty as you can imagine after 2 years but hope once I start it would all come back easy enough. I have a limited knowledge of Sage from the Uk but here they use MYOB which I have never used. I am looking into starting a MYOB home study course, (beginner, Intermediate & advanced aswell as payroll). My main question is how does bookkeeping compare in Oz to Uk? The tax, super etc is all going to be completely different here which im worried about. Am I going to be completely out of my depth once I start? Is City & Guilds recognised here or will I have to take a whole new course? Am I kidding myself thinking I can just work as a bookkeeper without any real experience or should I start as a trainee? Ive never actually worked in a company before as I have always been a childminder & worked from home by myself so I suppose I am lacking a bit of confidence too. Hopefully someone out there can answer a few of my many question and give me a little insight into the accounting world. Thankyou in advance. :wubclub:

Hi guys, sorry to jump on your thread but I tried to find the Sunshine coast expats on Fb but I cant, does anyone know if its still going & whether it has another name?

Thanks for sharing this info with us, this has been something that's been a concern for me for a while. Good to hear it can be done in the uk before we arrive in oz.

Hi guys, Sorry to jump on your thread but just wanted some advice if anyone can help. My hb is Electrician and were waiting for our 176 which as we all know is quite a wait. Were talking about other options to get there sooner and our options are getting a sponsor (easier said than done) or work visa and trying for a sponsor out there. Firstly whats the market like in Brisbane or surrounding for electricians, wheres best place to look? Where is the best place to look for a job (other than Seek.com) from here? and what licenses etc will he need to work & how long will it take to get them as most jobs are saying you need it to start work there? Hope you can offer some advice, thanks in advance x