Shayman

Greetings all, I have viewed and posted on this forum intermittently for several years. I completed a 12 month working holiday in Australia 6 years ago (as a 21 year old British graduate) and enjoyed it so much that I formed a life ambition to move there on a more permanent basis. A couple of years later I met a fine lady who I am getting married to this April. Conveniently, she also has a desire to give life down under a shot and has travelled there several times before.We are both 28 years old with no other serious ties and so shortly after our marriage feels like the perfect time to do this. Both of us are chartered accountants working for large global firms. Having expressed interest at her work, my fiancée has been offered an international transfer to Brisbane and the paperwork is currently being completed. It looks like we may be able to move out there on a joint 4 year visa as early as June if all goes to plan. Our hope is that everything works out so well that we decide to seek permanent residency. We are both very excited and fully committed to this but there is a single nagging issue which plays on my mind and has on several occasions kept me awake at night for hours... This is departing my ageing parents who are both fully supportive but whom I am close to. I am sometimes troubled by the thought of one of their health deteriorating (or worse) at some point in the future (be it in 5, 10 or even 20 years time!) while I am on the other side of the world. They are in their late 60's and mid-70s respectively and in apparently good shape, and if something bad was to happen have are a close-knit wider family (including my sister) and a great set of friends so there would be a strong 'support network'. I would be really grateful if people could share some similar experiences of this and how they dealt with it? Unfortunately I can get anxious about these things fro time to time...

Thanks this is very helpful as I can get the 4 year one paid for by her employer.

Thanks for the responses. We'd be ok money wise as she'll be going into quite a well paid and secure job. For me personally, however, I'm one of those unfortunate souls whose overall happiness can be greatly affected by job satisfaction! I'm sure I'd get fixed up with something to pay the bills but don't want to be stuck in a rut out there having made such a big move... My OH is dead set on going shortly after Christmas. Any idea what a likely processing time would be if I got the ball rolling in the next few weeks on a permanent visa application?

Hi It is likely that around Jan 16 my girlfriend who works for one of the big accounting firms will get a transfer across to their Sydney office from the UK. As her long term partner I will be coming along too on (initially at least) a 4 year visa. I am a fully CIMA qualified accountant who would have to find a new job independently. Has anyone experience or knowledge of difficulties I may have finding a decent job in this sector due to my visa type? In other words will I be up against it being classed non-permanent? I have a friend in Perth who has had to do random admin jobs not at all related to his trade as he says employers don't favour his visa status. I am therefore wondering whether it'd be worthwhile applying for a permanent one now in order to give myself a better chance. Regards

Thank you for your comments. I agree it is much down to luck, for I pretty much landed a dream job in the barrier reef mostly by chance. Had this not happened my experiences would probably have been far more ordinary (and I wouldn't have ended up having so many nostalgia trips over the last few years...) As it stands my now girlfriend of 2 years works for one of the worlds biggest financial firms which encourages its employees to do secondments in one of their offices out there for up to 4 years. I would be able to come with her and this seems like the ideal option as we could both experience ordinary life there for a more sustained period of time.

Hi everyone, I regularly view this forum to read about different peoples thoughts and emotions regarding the big move to (and return from) Australia. I am a 27 year old male who spent a year in Australia after graduating from university in 2010 (on the working holiday visa). To cut a long story short, I had a remarkable year out travelling and working in both Cairns and on one of the Whitsunday Islands, forming some close friendships along the way. The big downside of all this however, was the misery and longing to return (for good) almost immediately after returning to the UK, but knowing that this would be impossible until I had a professional skill and experience. I decided therefore to go down the Chartered Accountant trainee route. The 3-4 office and college years that followed mean that I am now qualified and have achieved the goal of being eligible to apply for an Australian skilled worker visa. I would describe the above period to be the most miserable of my life, with regular mood swings and feelings of sadness. I would put this down to combinations of exam-stresses and feeling my life was slipping away under the 9-5 slog (while at the same time visualising myself enjoying so much more if I returned down under). I would say these feelings led me to form a level of OCD about my time in Australia, to the point where I would reflect upon my year-out experiences daily, and feel irritable about being 'stuck' in the UK. I became unable to concentrate well on my work, and lacked motivation because all I could think of was getting my exams passed and then returning down-under ASAP, thereby thinking "what's the point" about achieving many things other than passing my accountancy exams. Fast-forward a few months however, and since becoming qualified and moving to a much friendlier place of work, I have been much more like my normal, happy self (and my opinions of life in the UK have become far more positive as a result). To coincide with this, in October I returned to Australia for a 3 week holiday and, aside from having a great time and returning to old friends and places, this helped me greatly to exorcise the obsessions I have had over the past few years in returning permanently. This remains something I would like to do, but I'm no longer desperate to, as there were very few places visited that upon further rational reflection I would want to live in permanently, and I also realised the friends I made over there have moved on and gone through their own difficulties, as we all do in life! I would be interested to hear if anyone has gone through similar feelings. Regards

I really recommend you to check out Ripponden. A very picturesque and unspoilt area with great access to Manchester and many great pubs both locally and around surrounding rural areas!

Thanks Lizzy, I have had email contact with CPA over transcripts etc which suggested they're pretty keen!

Thanks for clarifying. On the IELTS website it gives two test options: IELTS Academic – Institutions of Higher and Further Education The Academic format is, broadly speaking, for those who want to study or train in an English-speaking university or Institutions of Higher and Further Education. Admission to undergraduate and postgraduate courses is based on the results of the Academic test. IELTS Academic may also be a requirement to join a professional organisation in an English-speaking country. General Training – for school, work or migration The General Training format focuses on general survival skills in broad social and workplace contexts. It is typically for those who are going to English-speaking countries to do secondary education, work experience or training programs. People migrating to Australia, Canada and New Zealand must sit the General Training test. ...I was a bit confused as to which would apply to my situation!

That's a shame but thanks for your reply. If we were to decide not to take the tests, and the results of our full application came back at 5/10 points short of 60, could we then do the tests and attach the results to our existing application to move above the threshold? And finally...do the IELTS results have to be attached when applying for the professional skills assessment (which in my case will be from CPA Australia) or are they added to the visa application after this stage? The reason I ask is it would be quicker to get both bits completed separately (because of the time lag to book the IELTS test and receive back the results 13 days later, when all the while I could be getting all of the paperwork sorted out for CPA). Regards

Hi My long term girlfriend and I are both qualified accountants who are planning to submit an EOI for a joint skilled visa prior to July 1st. Before this at least one of us will have to have a completed skills assessment and be able to prove English language capability. By default our UK passports would have us accepted at a 'competent' level, but no extra skill points would be awarded for this. On this last note I am stuck in two minds over the IELTS test. While I see that successful completion with high scores would provide up to 20 extra points for our visa application, it seems ridiculous that we should have to fork out £150 to prove that we both possess good English skills when we have A levels in English Language, Economics and Law Degrees from respected universities and have both successfully completed professional accounting qualifications. Is there any common-sense way around this to still be able to claim the extra points but without having to throw away £150? If not, but taking the tests could affect whether our application was successful or not, we would just have to bite the bullet...but it is an expense we'd rather do without.

Greetings All, I have wanted to apply for a permanent Aussie visa since I returned from a years working holiday there 3.5 years ago, since when I have worked in a graduate finance position training to be an accountant in the UK. I am about to sit my final exam and expect to (fingers crossed) be classified as fully chartered through CIMA sometime in April. I have heard rumblings that the profession may be getting removed from the SOL from July 2014, which leads me to wander which of the following options would be the best for someone in my situation: 1) Apply for skills assessment as soon as I get my accountancy letters through (in April) and, assuming this all goes through OK, head straight onto a full permanent visa application (probably in May?) 2) Wait until after July to check the profession is still on the SOL and applying afterwards instead I'm guessing my main question is whether an application lodged before 1st July would be affected if they subsequently took my nominated profession off the list? In an ideal world I'd relax and take my time over the whole process a bit longer, however this news makes me feel like I might be facing a race against time!

My girlfriend and I plan to live in Melbourne for a while and take it from there! I worked on Hamilton Island and would love to go back there but there aren't too many number based jobs...

Hi Ben, I'm am in the same boat as you. My strategics are in November and my overriding motivation of completing CIMA has been to get back to Oz permanently (I did the year long working holiday in 2009 and have dreamt of returning ever since)

I would quite happily return to low skilled work on Hamilton island than having a well paid skilled job in the uk

I come from Halifax in Yorkshire. It's a typical northern town with bags of character but rough weather and people, though most are very nice. I have an economics degree and will be a fully qualified accountant soon, as will my girlfriend. Having lived down under for a year I can't wait to get back and we both agree that there is no way we would want to start a family in the UK. Too many chavs and undesirables as well as the worsening weather. The only things i'll miss will be my family and ** Halifax Town

Hi It is my opinion that the UK is going to the dogs, and this is why I want to get to Australia ASAP. I was wondering if there is a trend developing of skilled Brits are applying in their droves to escape the UK nightmare...and if so this means that it may become harder and harder to be accepted in? Regards Shayman

Greetings everyone I notice that the profession is not on the Western Australia SOL for regional sponsorship. Does anyone know why this is? Is Accountancy highly regarded by the immigration authorities? Shayman

Cant you move out there and work i a bar or something to make ends meet until you get the job youre looking for?

Hi My ambition in life is to move to Australia (having lived a year there previously) and I would like to get their ASAP. I am 24 years old, have an Economics degree from a top UK university and am mid way through becoming a chartered accountant...but am also aware that in order to pass a skills assessment by nominating myself as an Accountant I would have to be fully qualified and have worked 12 months past this being point, so I'd be looking at least 2.5-3 years wait just before being assessed. If at all possible, I'd like to submit a skills assessment request sooner than this, and ideally would have a visa application pending at the same time as I am finishing off my exams. I was wondering, therefore, if my role as a Profitability Analyst for a large Utility Company (a job which I have held for 2 years so far) could be classed as a skilled job under one of the other SOL headings? The position itself is highly numerate, complicated and requires advanced IT skills to perform to a good standard. In short, as I would prefer not to have to have completed all of my accounting exams prior to lodging a visa application, does anyone think I could have success in passing a skills assessment based on my profitability role, under another job title on the SOL list... Any responses appreciated!!