GooseWBA

To be clear I was not suggesting that the OP underestimate their salary. Only that they make sure they get the correct fortnightly payments. They should estimate their salary as close as possible. My salary was exact (it does not vary) and I get the maximum fortnightly payments under the calculation criteria. I still get a rebate after I have done my tax return.

Based on my experience (3 children and only one of us works) that figure would look about right. I would also say make sure you know exactly what you are entitled to as they are very good at underpaying you! I guess they assume everyone states their salary is lower than it actually is. You would get it back after you have done your tax return but when you have just emigrated and need all the cash you can get it can be very frustrating.

Has anyone managed to remortgage their UK house after becoming a permanent resident in Aus? We have loads of equity tied up in our UK house and are thinking of taking some out but having looked into it briefly I am not sure it's even possible? Our current lender (Nationwide) will not consider a further advance to non UK residents.

You would take your child to oz on a tourist visa (you can get a visa valid for a year) and then you just have to travel offshore when its granted. Do remember that going "offshore" is not so easy as its sounds from here! Flights are more expensive and NZ is the nearest place if you are on the east coast, if you are heading to Perth then nowhere is near. My wife will be taking our 3 boys to NZ from Perth to validate the 101 we have for the baby as he was born after the rest of us had PR granted but before we moved. Very annoyingly we actually have a trip back to the UK booked for 3 weeks after his 101 validation due date. They refused to extend it even by a month to allow us to use that trip to validate it. It's a case of computer says NO I'm afraid!

I think you will have to leave Australia anyway for them to grant the permanent visa, even if that was before the evisitor ran out after 3 months. Could you apply for a longer tourist visa while you were offshore? You can get them for 12 months and they are usually processed in a few days.

Cheers for the info, it's really helpful.

Did any of you move to Aus before getting the Child Visa sorted out? Did the holiday visa option work out and was the CO accomodating over this? We are in a similar situation. Want to move at the end of November but waiting on a Child Visa for the youngest. Already have a planned return in July with whole family so if we could get the Child Visa validated on return to Aus then that would be perfect.

I saw 3-4 months on the DIAC website too but have been told 7-8 months by London today. Not sure what the point of a service standard is if you don't get anywhere near meeting it! Also not sure about getting a holiday visa for the child? What about if: The holiday visa runs out before the new visa is granted? If the 101 visa is granted when you are in Aus this will invalidate the holiday visa. My understanding is you can only hold one visa at any time? How do you leave Aus with the child if the 101 visa has not been validated already by entering Aus?

Thanks for the info, that helps us a lot! My wife is expecting baby number 3, we all have visas already validated and just need to get a visa for the new baby so we can go. I was wondering how long it would take, I don't want to be hanging around for six months waiting on a case officer etc. Did you use an agent for this Visa?

Does anybody have any experience of the current jobs market for accountants in Perth? I have seen conflicting posts on here, some people seem to get jobs easily others are claiming there are loads of applicants for each job. I am CIMA qualified but would join CPA before moving (looking at early 2013 for move) having spent most of my career as a financial accountant. If anyone else has similar experience of making the move it would be great to hear from you.

We are looking to move to the Perth area early 2013, we have PR visa. My 3 year old son had a severe squint in one eye which he has had surgery to correct in the UK. The surgery went well and his consultant has been very good. However there is always the possibility that the squint can recur in the future and more surgery would be needed. Does anyone have a similar experience in WA? Was the surgery good and did you rate the Doctor? Also I am assuming this type of surgery for children would be covered by Medicare if needed? Thanks

I cannot PM either. I am a fully qualified accountant with over 10 years experience in financial services. Currently in UK but already have a Visa and family in Perth area.