johnosmad

Thanks Selah, even though it was electronic on the expired one?

Thanks for the reply, I think that was the old way,now it is all done in the UK

Hi all. I lodged an application for a renewal of my passport on the 29th Mar and old passport/paperwork was sent by courier and arrived on the 4th April, I have called them a few times and they are absolutely useless, I was supposed to be flying to HK tomorrow morning but my passport doesn't seem to have left the UK let alone arrived in Perth, is anyone else currently waiting a long time or is it just me? the website advises at least 4 weeks from receipt of docs and on Friday it will be 6 weeks, On a seperate note do I need to link my visa to the new passport or is it all electronic now? Cheers

Thanks for the reply guys, yep, I'm on a 176 and it is still in date, looking online I reckon I can rock up at the immi office in Perth and they can transfer over the visa apparently, I just spoke to the passport office in the UK and they said if I apply from AU then the passport has to be returned to an AU address and no-one can pick it up, what a pain in the ar$e..because it is an overseas application as well there is nothing they can do in regards to speeding it up, so I guess my main question becomes, How long have others waited for their passports to arrive and does anyone have experience getting emergency travel documents without any real reason to travel? Im in the queue to Air Asia now and currently sitting at number 28 lol, could be a while.....

Hey everyone, I need to be in Hong Kong for a week, flights are already booked 14/5 to 21/5 and I just noticed my passport expires on June 8th, I need to know if I need to renew it, the uk.gov website states that I do not need any time beyond my stay to be valid on my passport but various other websites state that I need a month valid beyond the departure date from HK, Has anyone renewed from Australia recently and if so what was the cost/turn around time? as apparently they are processed in the UK now and not NZ. What are my options in regards to getting it sent to my parents address in the UK and getting someone I know to carry it over to Oz with them in a few weeks time. Or can I get a fast track and have someone rock up at the passport office and pick it up for me? Any suggestions are appreciated that would get me a valid passport in time to fly so I am not relying on good luck and chance, I am aware I should have checked before booking flights blah blah blah so save going on about that too much, Thanks

Hey man, I'm pretty sure the TRA has been changed since we applied as part of the new shake up, either way I pretty much sent off colour copies of all my short courses/military courses/apprenticeships to the TRA along with 8 years of different work experience on paper and verified by an old boss, came back pretty quickly and with no problems so I wouldn't worry too much, (I was originally as I was running on a pretty tight time frame ha ha). What are you applying for? Telecomms or Radiocomms? Either way good luck, let me know how you get on.

Hey, how old are you guys if you dont mind me asking, I live in Glenelg North, 10 mins walk to Glenelg and I would defo recommend it, You have almost everything you need as well between Westfield at Marion and Glenelg highstreet as well, in the last 3 months I have not been to the city other than on the drink!!

Good to see that a lot of visa are coming through!!! Congrats to all that have got them and good luck to all that are still waiting!!!!!!!!

Hey, Spot on SRP, Me and my partner are here on the WHV in Queensland at the moment but have been granted our 176 so need to leave and come back in but we pretty much are doing what you are talking about, its definetely a better idea if the option is there as you will have so much things sorted out before you arrive if you do go for permanent eg. References for houses, jobs, bank a/c, job agencies, local knowledge, friends..... the list goes on. Cheers

That sucks!! Good thread though, Thanks Peach!

Ha ha, So can you still drive HGV over here if your UK licence is up to date however you just wont have it on an Australian licence, is that right? I was driving a truck about a month ago as I assumed a UK licence would do anyway!

Your best bet is to go to realestate.com.au like Cal says and you will be able to look at both, there are plenty of furnished and plenty of un-furnished here, I am here on a working holiday visa at the moment and have found both fully furnished properties no problem, also you are able to secure a long term rental before you get here however you will have to sign a "sight unseen" form to say you will take the property without inspecting it (probably not a good idea but easily enough done)

Does anyone know any good companies for sending a few things to Australia, a lot of the shipping companies say 20+ boxes etc and talk of containers etc. I'm wanting to send maybe 2 boxes, TV, coffee machine, X Box, 2 x Stereos and that's about it, might not be worth it as we are buying most things new but would rather send a few of our things. Any good companies for small moves would be appreciated!!

I pretty much just wrote what I felt were the pros of SA and what I had researched in regards to finding employment, also dropped in a few stats about the industry i'm in in regards to probability of finding work and also a bit about why I want to live there outside of work, The SA.immigration website has loads of info you can use and put in to your own words, also I mentioned I would be doing a recce as i'm in Oz already on a WHV so said I hadn't put too much thought into where to live as I would rather have a look around when I get there. Pretty much just write the honest reasons you want to go and you cant go wrong!! Good luck

I'm not sure this is a Migration issue but its not really a job advert either but anyway.... I noticed that on the SA website for transport we can transfer our UK driving licences, simple!! However it also says that if you hold HGV then you will have to take a test, Has anyone else transferred their Cat C + E licences and if so is it an actual driving test or more of a formality where someone will take you for a spin to ensure your competent, safe etc. I would be a bit gutted if I had to sacrifice them as it will not be a priority and wont have time initially to go through prep for a full on test!!