RichardP

I'd recommend the 176 route also. Yes it restricts you to one state for 2 years but it does give you premanent residency which will mean you can claim back some of your child care costs which will be important for you over the next 4 to 5 years. I don't think you can claim this on a 457 visa. The 176 visa is very quick from what I've read of threads of applications lodged in December. Some are in the region of 4 to 6 weeks. You need to apply for state sponsorship before the visa application which is about 3 weeks turnaround. And before this you need your skills assessment in place plus any other points enablers (like many, I needed to sit the IELTS test to get an additional 20 points). When are you thinking of moving ? How long does your partners PhD take to complete ? Does she have recent work experience in this field that can be used to obtain points ? If she was finishing this summer then I'd recommend she progresses her skills assessment now and try to get in before the rule changes in July. Have you worked out your points yet ? Good luck !

Deuce. .... New balls please.

Exactly, what on earth is wrong with Aldi ? I think it's a great store. Cheap but good quality food and you can even buy a cement mixer with your free range chicken ! What's not to like ? :biggrin:

We completed our application last night.... Leap Day appropriately. I notice many of you have already progressed your police checks so I better get my a**e in gear. We've both got passports that expire in less than 2 years so we've applied for those today - hopefully get them back and certified copies made before a CO is appointed. One thing that I'm annoyed about - I selected the wrong month for my wife's date of birth but cannot go back to edit. I guess I just need to point this out to the CO ? Good luck all !

Ripper, a PIO nipper !!!! Congratulations ! It's only unpasteurised cheese you should avoid - that doesn't mean soft cheese. in fact you'd be hard pressed to find an unpateaurised cheese these days unless you live in France. It should also be labelled as such - so sit back, relax and knock yourself out on cheese & ginger beer. Check out Jamie Oliver's gingerbread recipe !

Got the required 20 points at first attempt but I did order the practice materials beforehand and took it very seriously. It was like having my degree exam nerves all over again. If I never have to sit another exam it will be too soon ! :wacko:

Exactly the same as the Edinburgh one last weekend. I was a little disappointed because I spend a lot of time on this forum and the DIAC website. On the other hand, my missus got more out of it than myself because she hadn't done the research I have.

Hairdresser (391111) is now on Schedule 2 of the SOL http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/_pdf/sol-schedule1-2.pdf - not sure if this means its eligible as a primary applicant under GSM or whether it can only be used for an additional 5 points as a secondary applicant to a schedule 1 applicant ? Richard

This is like the mid-life crisis thread...... buy a harley, emigrate to Oz - sorted :biggrin:

The Washington Accord is an agreement of mutual recognition between professional engineering bodies from a number of countries. You can go on the Engineering Council website and lookup your degree and find out if its on the list - I'd be surprised if it's not. I did the same degree at Northumbria and it was recognised. BUT EA classified me as an Industrial Engineer even though I've never performed that role (see definitions on the DIAC website). I argued that I have only ever worked as a Mechanical Engineer, and that the degree was 90% the shared with the mech eng degree but once they've made their mind up that was that. I had the opportunity to appeal which cost 2 or 3 hundred dollars or I could submit a report ($550) to have my skills assessed based on a non-accredited degree. I declined because "in my view that was against their own rules given that my degree is accredited". My motivation for being classified as a "Mechanical Engineer" was because the Industrial Engineer role has fallen off the SS occupation list for Victoria. We're now heading for NSW where all engineers are required and I work in pharmacetuticals which is where 80% of them are anyway. Good luck !

I went to a solicitor during my lunch break to ask if they would certify copies of documents including 12 payslips. They were happy to. I asked how much they would charge, to which the solicitor replied dismissively "oh nothing". I said "Nothing is really cheap !" but he was true to his word - stamped and signed probably 20+ pages for no fee whatsoever........ restores your faith !

Yes it is. Me too :biggrin:

Couldn't you buy single tickets from Oz to UK tickets paying the $ rate and then buy your UK to Oz single tickets using your UK bank account ? Then you'd only be paying the rip-off price one way ? Maybe the premium for single tickets outweighs the benefit - has anyone priced this scenario ? Just a thought.:unsure: