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readstogo

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  1. readstogo
    I spent my teens & early twenties there (in the southern suburbs) and I never really liked it. One of my brothers still lives there, but the other one moved as soon as he could! My parents love it though. For me it's nothing major wrong with Adelaide, I guess I never understood the 'big city, small town' mentality. There's loads for young families and the 30+. Teens and young adults, not so much. The live music scene was good back in the 90s though. I must admit, when I first heard 'radelaide' I thought it was ironic!
  2. readstogo
    I've always taken "tailor CV to the job applied for" to mean you make your previous jobs look similar. For example, OH works in the leisure industry. I've always told him it's basically the same job whether the centre has lycra-clad cougars, ice-skating kids, or ten-pin bowling. As a manager, he does the same tasks! But employers won't see his skills as transferable, so he 'tailors' his CV by making his tasks and skills relevant to the job applied for. His employment history doesn't change on his CV, he just adapts the blurb he writes under each position. Also, CV's in Australia tend to be longer than UK ones. They seem to like 2-3 pagers! You don't have to put in every job ever had, but you can explain gaps or early working history in the intro (ie I have a strong work ethic since I started working when I was 15 etc) Hope this makes sense. Good luck!
  3. readstogo
    I can see I'm going to get into an argument with my mum over this! She's meeting us in Brisbane and says "bring the car seats, pommie so&so is using their UK ones with no probs". I doubt she would be impressed with 6 points and $660 fine (2 kids in incorrect seats!) though. Out of interest, anyone know of somewhere at Heathrow I can dispose of a car seat? My youngest needs it for the coach, but after that it will be useless!
  4. readstogo
    OMG it's actually real now! OH has handed in his notice at work and we're giving notice to our landlord. I had been planning on a May departure, but itchy (and cold!) feet has brought it forward to March! In a bit of a spin right now, but the 2 years of research and planning should save my sanity. Good luck to everyone still waiting to get that magical (and surprisingly boring!) email from their CO.
  5. readstogo
    Depends on the airline. I asked Qantas for FIL when he migrated to NZ and the 'migrant' fare was £1000 more! Was told it would be cheaper to buy excess baggage. Saw on here recently that Singapore Airlines automatically give the unvalidated visa holder extra 10kgs, plus they have upped their economy allowance to 30kgs!
  6. readstogo
    My Dad had completed 22 yrs service with Royal Marines before migrating to Aus. He joined the Army Reserves (after struggling to adjust to working with civilians!), and later transferred to the Regular Aus army. There are loads of poms in the forces over there; my Dad even came across people he served with years ago! It can be done. Like the others said, check out the website. The Reserves don't suffer the same stigma as the TA does in the UK either.
  7. readstogo
    Take copies of what you send them; we didn't get child tax credit statements, car & home insurance certificate or council tax bill back All that came back in the SAE was stuff like photos and cards. Thankfully my insurance is done online so I could print them again if needed. Just annoying really, plus I overpaid postage on the SAE!
  8. readstogo
    Brilliant news newbie!
  9. readstogo
    Not yet, but we had always planned to move in May 2014 anyway as the flights are cheaper.
  10. readstogo
    Have you got evidence of trips together (plane bookings, hotel stays etc), evidence that you have been in contact even though you are apart (itemised phone bills). Do you go on each others car insurance when visiting? Is there a paper trail between each other's bank accounts? I have seen others on the forum who are in a relationship, but don't live together because the Australian is in Australia and the partner is somewhere else. You will also need to submit statements from yourselves and from others, including Australian citizens. Here is where they would be effectively giving evidence that you are both in a mutually exclusive relationship together. Work with the evidence that you have. Use your personal statement to explain the evidence provided. Good luck!
  11. readstogo
    Hi Tootsie! Don't front load the application with police checks as your partner may need to do them again...the clock starts ticking from the date of the police check. Medicals can't be done without a HAP Id number, which the Case Officer will give you along with a date to do it after. Don't worry about being the driving force behind the application. OH hates paperwork so it was basically me who spent hours filling, fretting, re-filling & gathering evidence. I put my foot down when it came to the personal statements though! The booklet on the immi.gov website is pretty thorough, but I wouldn't print it off as it's huge! This forum is also a great place to ask others who are doing the same thing. Good luck!
  12. readstogo
    Hello! I've been trawling through the forums and I'm yet to find an answer....did find a few arguments though so I will try to be as clear as possible! When we leave for Australia soon, OH will be quitting his UK job and looking for one in Aus (obviously!). We have kids and will be lodging a claim for the family-based allowances. Centrelink will want to know about income & assets. Our assets will be of the liquid kind & I guess we just hand over bank statements to prove that. Its the income bit that needs explaining. Will Centrelink want to see UK P60/P45/payslips? Any advice on which bits of paperwork to bring with us would be greatly appreciated! Last time I was in a Centrelink office was 2000 to tell them I had a job. I didn't have kids back then, so this is new territory for me. I know they can be very particular about what they want to see and don't like to be confused by unfamiliar paperwork. Thanks!
  13. readstogo
    The info on immi website is a little out of date because it also states that their guideline processing times are 5 months....it's been a while since I've seen someone on this forum get granted that quickly! Ensure you have got the most up-to-date form too. They changed it when we were half-way through completing it and had removed a heap of questions. It was by chance that I was checking to see if I could use the updated version of adobe where I could fill the form in online and then print to sign.
  14. readstogo
    Thanks everyone! This forum, and this (and other related) thread has been a great help. Our CO was KP. OH's initial entry deadline is one year after police check as that was what CO received first. When we got the email telling us when to sort medicals, I used that as a way of thinking of 'when was the latest we want to enter by'. We were given a date in August, but chose September because the prices of flights go down again. We're aiming for a May departure though. Newbie121, I'm sure you will get yours soon....I had given up and was expecting mid-Jan grant.
  15. readstogo
    WooHoo! OH's visa granted TODAY! :jiggy:He got the 100 too, although we've been together for 13 years, married for 8 & have 3 kids so I would have been surprised if he was granted the temp one. Fingers crossed that anyone still waiting gets good news soon!
  16. readstogo
    Depends on if you have a medical condition. Before OH's appointment he was told to bring a brief medical history. I had pointed out his medical condition too. Medical was £270 (in London), but had to pay an extra £25/30 (can't remember which!) for a urine analysis! Plus a full medical history was required from his GP. Our practice charges £25 for 'private letters' but we're yet to receive that bill, 3 months later...maybe they took pity on us!
  17. readstogo
    Like Missmontie saya, your grant is not to far away.... A visitor visa is free, no work allowed though. You just need to go off-shore for a couple of days for the new visa to take effect. I know the CO's tend to advise against applicants contacting them, however I have seen others in the forum be in a similar situation: close to grant and circumstances where a quick getaway from the UK is preferable. They email the CO with their issues, receive the standard '8-9 month' email in reply, then within hours/days get the grant! I'm not suggesting that a prod will get you a grant, but I don't think there is any harm in it. Let them know that none of these events were of your doing too. I remember a bit of OH's email saying about not selling houses or quitting jobs until grant is through as this will not speed things up. Be prepared for them to say no, maybe it will be through soon anyway. Fingers crossed for you, I'm sure it's not long now!
  18. readstogo
    I'm not the applicant. I emailed about the kids citizenship, no response. OH emails, gets same day response!
  19. readstogo
    We haven't heard about it being referred. Judging by other comments in the forum, I figured it might have been. He took a brief medical history with him to the medical, and was also required to submit a urine test (extra £30!). Oh, and a full medical history from his GP was requested by the panel doctor...that resulted in a delay. Although we have not been given any deadlines. I've been so patient over Christmas and New Year. It's a bit like pregnancy, the last month is the longest!
  20. readstogo
    Dunno about carrying, she's the youngest of three! But I might look into airport strollers though.
  21. readstogo
    Hello! Bit of a long shot, but.... Has anyone used the Quicksmart backpack stroller for travelling? My youngest will be 3 when we travel. She has a Trunki, but in the event of a full-scale meltdown I will need to strap her into a buggy if we need to get to a gate quickly! This stroller seems perfect as it packs away and can even fit in the overhead lockers. Is it too good to be true? Thanks!
  22. readstogo
    KP doesn't usually answer me! My husband only asked if the medicals had been received and if there was any further info required. I would hope if the visa was not going to be granted we would have been told, rather than making us wait...there's no refund if it's a no! I have read on other forums that for some visas diabetes is an instant refusal, but for the partner visa it is allowed for compassionate reasons.
  23. readstogo
    Good luck with the move! A lot of companies in Aus go on hiatus over summer, not all though. Hopefully fortune will shine on you along with the sunshine!
  24. readstogo
    May 20th....at least we'll know how quickly KP gets on with it! We know to be patient, but we're nervous as my husband (the applicant) is diabetic and had to have a more thorough medical. He did email KP and the reply was 'no further info req, wait your turn'! so hopefully that is CO code for 'everything is ok, I will get to you eventually'!
  25. readstogo
    Helloooo! we've got KP too. When did you apply missmontie? Would be great to know whereabouts in the pile we are
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