sideshowdeb

I couldn't manage on it. It needs to be raised to a living wage, but I can't see that happening :-(

I think you've hit the nail on the head. On minimum wage, Britain must be a crazy expensive place to live?!

Thanks, I'll look into it x

It's sad that it's happened because I'm sure you don't need anything else to worry about with only 12 weeks to go. We've seen both reactions over recent months. My best friend started saving for her first visit as soon as we got our visas, but my OH's best friend, who he was best man for just over 6 months ago and worked with every day, has gone off to work on is own and overnight started behaving as though we'd already left. It's upsetting but we don't know what to do either.

I didn't realise it at the time, but looking back, there have been times when emigrating has been the only thing we've seen eye to eye on. I think in the end it will have made us stronger but I guess only time will tell? Hope it all works out for you too :-)

I agree with Dorset, I called the London office last week with some quite stupid questions, and they couldn't have been more helpful and didn't make me feel like my questions were stupid either. Logic says as you're migrating to Australia, the migrant allowance is for the whole trip as your visas will still be unvalidated when you board the second plane, but it never hurts to check. Enjoy your stopover, and good luck!

I think the medicals are really scary because the end is in sight...it's one of the last hurdles. My OH had cancer 18 months before we did our medicals, and although not a serious form (caught very early) it is one that is very likely to recur. They couldn't comment because they don't make the decision, but they did reassure us wonderfully. We had to wait an extra couple of weeks for his medical to clear, but it was fine in the end. We went to Maidenhead and I couldn't recommend them highly enough. Were fab with the kids too! :smile:

Who cares about horrible people with chips on their shoulders, who cares what the politicians have to say? This is what being Brititsh is about! Brought a tear to my eye. People are truly amazing! http://news.uk.msn.com/uk/volunteers-come-out-in-force-to-help-flood-victims

Not really, where it's bad it's really bad and it's very wide spread. Storm damage to contend with too now. It's amazing there haven't been more fatalities.

I know the floods in 2007 were bad but they were very localised and it was summer so conditions weren't as harsh. I spoke to a friend this week who lives in Tewkesbury, which is a island again. It's heartbreaking when you hear from people actually living in it. There was an interesting piece in The Guardian this week about David Cameron's response. http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/feb/07/david-cameron-floods-socialist-crisis-prevention I wish it wasn't so, but I doubt anything meaningful will happen. The floods will subside, eventually and the media will move on to something else, until the next time!?

You said it! You do realise someone died?

Definitely 'Team Nigella' I'd pick cake over clothes any day!

We went to one, years ago when my OH first suggested it and we didn't know where to start. There were hospital recruiters there which I found useful to talk to for my job, but nothing relating to my OH, who is the main applicant. From what I remember it was mostly migration agents and mining companies. There were people from the department of immigration who gave us lots of information, which probably led to us choosing not to use an agent, but as the previous post said, you might be better spending your time researching online. If I had my time again, I probably wouldn't go?! Saying that, I was only thinking about a move back then and it definitely played a big part in winning me over. It was a big expo, there was a great atmosphere and we had a really good day. I walked out, really wanting to go for it, much to the relief of my OH!

Hi, I'm by no means an expert, far from it, but I've read lots of very good advice on here and I would suggest your best option would be to call and discuss your situation with a good MARA agent. You'll find lots of recommendations in various threads if you search for them. Some jobs have slightly different titles to what you would expect in the UK and a good agent should be able to tell you if there are any visa options opens to you without charging you anything. Way back at the start of our process we went to an expo. Got to speak to a few different agents, immigration department advisors, prospective employers and recruitment consultants. Good luck, Deb x

That's brilliant! I buy that here sometimes x

We're heading from Gloucester to Perth in July. What are the chances of finding a half decent pint of cider in Perth?

I think the difference might be that he did an apprenticeship. Rich didn't, he just did on the job training and later his NVQ ' s. Would be good if they are accepting NVQ' s for everyone, the AQF was a lot of effort and money.

Hi Mike, Yeah, he had NVQ3 which he'd done with City and Guilds but they wouldn't accept that so he had to do the AQF. I believe it's changed now though and people have got their TRA with NVQ. I'd call the TRA to clarify because it costs lots more than it used to. It was only $300 when we applied. Good luck, Deb

We're moving to Perth next summer and I've been trying to research what to do about my UK pensions. I have paid into an NHS pension for a number of years, as well as a couple of private pensions and of course I've paid NI contributions all my working life. I've never really understood pensions and I think now's the time to wave the white flag and seek professional advice. Does anybody have a recommendation for a pension specialist who knows about both UK and Australian pensions? I turned 40 this year so if I get this wrong I could end up having to work till I drop?! Thanks in advance, Deb

We organised ours before getting a case officer because it was the school holidays and we were off anyway. We had ours done in Maidenhead and all they needed was the TRN number so they could upload our results. They were pretty busy and we had to wait a couple of weeks for them to fit all of us in together so I think in the end we had a case officer assigned about a week later. It's just one less thing for them to ask you for. If you're anywhere near, then I'd definitely recommend The Bridge Clinic in Maidenhead, they were lovely.

Do you happen to know if this applies to mortgages too? Thanks Debs

VISA GRANTED! It's been such a long process, now we've got it I'm not really sure how I feel. Guess it's not a dream anymore. We're really going!

If I remember correctly, when we applied for state sponsorship we had to show that we could afford to relocate and support ourselves for at least 3 months. Flights alone could be £3k and with the cost of visas and medicals etc, you might not have much of that £10k left before you even leave the country? We found lots of information online, particularly Aussiemove, (http://www.aussiemove.com/costofliving/) but that is specific to Perth and I'm not sure how much costs might vary in other states. Also CommBank's website has a section for migrants with lots of cost of living information. We had no savings, our house was in negative equity and I was on maternity leave when we started this process, yet we'll be going (hopefully) with £30k so if you really want it, then go for it... Anything's possible and there's so much help and advice available to keep you motivated and on the right track. Good luck, Debs

Hi Kirsty, My partner is a fibrous plasterer and we've been through the TRA 3 times...Failed first time, so he had to complete an AQF, failed second time because we didn't submit sufficiently detailed paperwork and then finally had a successful outcome once our second application was reassessed. We then managed to get a successful Migration Points Assessment on our first attempt, which was a relief. This whole process has been really daunting, but we feel quite confident now, having learnt from our many many mistakes. I'm no expert but I'm happy to help wherever I can if you have questions. Look forward to hearing from you, Deb

Dear Wendy, We had this problem. I struggled to get hold of anyone. Every time I called it was answered by people who I can only assume are an answering service. it was like talking to a robot, who just took messages and worked from a script. Nobody replied to my emails and some of the email addresses we had didn't even work. In the end I called Brisbane to get the information directly from the training provider who had issued my partner's AQF certificate, which in his case was Master Builders. I spoke to a really helpful woman late at night before I went to bed and had received all the information I needed by email when I woke the next morning. I did eventually hear from Darren but I think it was a week or two later. It's quite possible he bases himself between the two countries? We were really disappointed bearing in mind how much the qualification had cost us that the one time we needed something, he was nowhere to be found. Hope this helps, Deb