Candygirl

That's obviously a big change then as we had to make clothes out of it and wear them and yes at the end it came from everywhere like a foam party, but it was very good how they did it.

We are using PetAir and we are paying approx £3800 for the Gold Service and I have paid £1400 odd for the quarantine for both dogs, they are sharing a kennel. Each quote will be different. The paperwork I would imagine is standard for them as each dog needs a permit etc, but the cost of the flights and routings would vary greatly I think. They do offer a silver service which is cheaper, but will mean more for you to do, perhaps speak to them again and see if you can do more yourself, thus keeping the cost down. I originally spoke to a vet in the UK who had experience of shipping pets to Australia in case we could not do much from here in Spain, so might have needed him to liaise with PetAir and carry out certain tests in the UK. Whilst waiting for the vet, I got chatting to his assistant, who said they had a client who did literally everything herself and only used a shipper to put her dog on the flight, so it can be done, but personally, it was not an option for us. The pets are the most expensive part of this process, but also a lot of it is out of your control. There is no way round the blood tests, paperwork and the quarantine rules and regs I'm afraid.

Tulip on here is a professional Dog Groomer, she may be able to point you in the right direction for home use. Bless Pepper, I hope she is not looking too bad if the clippers are playing up:eek:

Glad you enjoyed it:smile:

Oz has nowhere near the unemployment rates of Spain or Ireland. Spain is actually picking itself up a bit now. I wish you the best of Luck I really do, but things are a lot lot worse in the Eurozone than Oz.

We saw them in Vegas at our wedding and they were fabulous. They had only been there a few months back then. It was good and weird all at the same time and we have never been to anything like it. Did you wonder what to do with all the tissue paper when you first sat down?

That looks really nice and the price was not dear either MC. We pay more than that here in Spain for a seafood platter. Perhaps Perth is not so expensive after all:wink: The Scots know how to run a chip shop and always have the best fish and chips:tongue:

Yep Snifter is right. On my "advice" from the shipper it says toiletries are fine, but no aerosols as they are flammable.

You couldn't make it up could you? What's the point of the adverts - another waste of money. I honestly don't think they need to stop immigration to the UK if it is needed, but they need to see who and what is needed and if you don't meet that criteria, then sorry we are closed.

Our case is slightly different in that we live in Spain so our two have been vaccinated against rabies since they were puppies as I always wanted to have the option to travel to the UK at short notice. Also our Spanish vet has not prepared an animal for travel to Oz before and so our vet and us have/are working closely with PetAir. I have been in discussions with Bob for months, but finally instructed them to apply for the import permit mid June and the dogs are travelling on 17/10. My advice would be to spend the time you have now speaking to the shippers and deciding on who you wish to use and who makes you feel comfortable. I chose PetAir because of their good reputation, but also when speaking to Bob he really gave me the impression that he cared about what was happening to the dogs and understood how I was feeling as a owner.

Good Luck. OH had to sit IELTS twice to get a good score. Keeping everything crossed for a good result for you.

Yes the sponsor can be a permanent resident. Sorry should have said. They would need to send proof of this. When we received the invite for the 489, no tradies were being granted 189's with only 60 points at that time. Once we had the 489 we thought, apart from the visa fee, we had nothing to lose if we applied for the 189, so we decided to give it a go and luckily 8 days later we were granted a 189, which we are over the moon about.

I am not sure if there are specific boxes for PC's, but make sure that you wrap things properly as our shipper has told us things do move around when they are on the high seas. Also make sure if you are packing breakables yourself, you can get insured for them. I am having a bit of a problem at the moment with self pack breakable items and insurance. I have come to an arrangement with my shipper to pack these items only so that we can obtain insurance for the whole load.

We are using PetAir and cannot sing their praises enough. We are paying for their Gold Service, which means they do literally everything and even collect our dogs on the day of departure from my Mum's house. They do offer different levels of service, which may bring the cost down for you as you have more than one pet.

Wokos, I could write exactly the same. I have moments when I think of Oz and get a funny feeling in my stomach and cannot wait and then other times, I sit and think oh dear and have moments of sheer fear. We are still telling clients that we are going each time we see them and they always say, "it's brilliant, you must be so excited". I am, but I think the fear is getting the better of me at the moment. As time ticks by, I am now getting anxious about the goodbyes. I don't get to see my goddaughter very much as she lives in the UK, but I just keep thinking of her little face when I will need to be strong for her and not get too upset when I say goodbye. I am a bit of a demented giblet at the best of times, but my OH is a real rock and not as emotional and even he is saying he is nervous and apprehensive, so I really do think it is perfectly normal.

I agree about the Chinese Garden. It is a really wonderful place to walk around. We lived at Darling Harbour so we are very biaised, but there are some good restaurants/bars there too.

Just got my morning update from The Comm Bank and Sterling is at 1.71 and the Euro is at 1.49 against the Dollar. WhooHooo!!!

Just had to take a peek at their website. It looks lovely. Glad you had a nice time and wishing you both a very Happy Anniversary.

I have a terrier cross and a Beagle and there was no decision to be made, if I was going to Oz, then they were going to. I also really tried to think with my head and not my heart and what would be the best for them. My terrier cross is a rescue and I don't want her to go to another home. We spent a lot of time getting her used to us and settling her in and we know she is happy now. I have to be honest, it is the worst part of the process and we have not gone through the worst of it yet. My advice would be to watch videos on Youtube of the quarantine, speak to the pet shippers for their advice and/or tips. We are using PetAir. I have spoken to Bob (one of the vets there) on a few occasions and he has really taken on board my fears and has answered my questions honestly and put my mind to rest about a few things. Catherine is our dogs' travel consultant and again she really understands what the owners go through and they really allow for every eventuality. I think once I know they have arrived in Oz, I will relax a little. Once they are in quarantine, they will be well cared for and I am sure they have the dogs' best interests in mind. We plan to go and visit them and see for ourselves.

OK Thanks very much. Will need to take a better look at Foxtel now then.

Hi, our first visa was a 489 Family Sponsored and it was granted in approx 5 months, but this was partly due to us delaying the meds by a few weeks and also my meds being referred for 10 weeks, so it would have been a lot quicker. My advice would be once you have applied, to upload everything and get your sponsor to provide as much paperwork as they can at the start. We were never asked for our sponsor to provide a Stat Dec, but ours did anyway before being asked to expedite things. This was pretty simple and did not cost anything. The sponsor will need to provide copies of utility bills, rates notice, passports, birth certificate, family tree and citizenship certificate. Good Luck.

We are not there for another few weeks, but would love to meet up, but hopefully you can meet some good people soon. My Out Laws are from Galway. Where is your husband from?

Can you only get the BBC TV channel if you subscribe to Foxtel? I know before anyone says, you are moving to Oz, why are you worrying about Brit TV. I like the soaps and also want to continue to chat about them with my old Mum:wink:

I agree about the car. We wish that we had thought of it sooner. There is nothing wrong with my car here and I will have to sell it for peanuts and then buy a car in Oz for more money and it will not be as good. We have bought quite a bit as we are leaving our present property furnished. I would check online for things that you want/need and compare the prices. We are taking a 20ft container and are filling it up.

Are we surprised? No of course not. I am surprised that Spain is still popular as the majority buying up the bargain properties here are for holiday homes, not permanent movers.