kevsan

Cheers Both!

Whats the commute like? We are looking around Seaford and its about 55mins into flinders St which everyone thought was too far. We looked at Geelong and thought the distances were similar..

Hi, We've finally booked flights and a movecube and will be in Melbourne at the end of August. Now starts the process of packing up our lives. One thing we need to sort out is how much documentation do we need (if any) for use in Aus or record keeping for the UK. I've got about 15 years of shoeboxes in the loft with bank statements, pension details plus a bunch of other documents that probably never needed to be kept in the first place. Is it worth keeping bank statements / pension statements/ pay slips / P60s/ P45's etc???? or anything else, and going back how far? Would scans be sufficient or should we keep the paper copies? Thanks for any thoughts/advice? Kev.

A lot depends on when you fly, ie time of year, and time of week, both for departures and arrivals. We've just booked four 1 way tickets on Singapore airlines to Melbourne at the end of august, for £1800 for the lot - thats 450 each. the outlaws are coming to see us end of Jan and their return flights are £1250 each! (2500 all in) - seems to be arriving in summer holidays and travelling at the weekend. The same journey 4 weeks later, travelling mid week is £1500 for 2 returns.

Hi Martin Hopefully transferring with my company in the Summer (UK). Will be based in Melbourne, so not in the direct area. Have sent you a linkedin invite. I find it invaluable to use as a networking tool and use it rather than agencies for finding work direct. REgards

Might be worth creating an online account with coles etc and put in as best you can your weekly shop, that should give you an idea of grocery costs. What i have done is created a budget spreadsheet for all my monthly costs and then worked out each line item as a % of my UK salary. Then i apply the same principle to planned salary and estimated / true costs of Aus and that gives me a % of monthly / yearly etc spend to compare how much we will spend on the same things and if there is the same % left over..

Sorry to hijack the thread - what happens if you stay with the same employer? I will be transferring to the Melbourne Office of my company and will transfer to their payroll - should i still get a P45 from the UK payroll?

Yes, Kev, Tina and 2 kids coming out from Rugby to Melbourne to validate our 190 Visa at Easter. Looking to swing an internal transfer with my company or line up some interviews, then coming out between then and August depending on how the job resolves itself

Which states sponsorship require you having a job offer?

Hi Callie. I dumped out the bulk of the letter we submitted for Victoria State Sponsorship, if it helps. I've stripped out some of the details but should give you an idea of what we included... You could argue that we laid it on a bit thick, but it is all true and heartfelt. We thought that it should clearly demonstrate that you are serious, have put in some work and have thought it through. I included about 5 jobs, and effectively applied for each one... showing the skills and how i would meet them, and included website screenshots to demonstrate that they were legit jobs i felt i could apply for. Feel free to use the theme/style, but obv it needs to be your own words and feelings. FWIW, it took 8 working days for us to get sponsorship after we applied. Maybe this letter helped... Start: This letter includes: 1) Our reasons for myself and my family wanting to apply to live and work in Melbourne Victoria. 2) A table of current suitable roles available, with an explanation of how my skills fit. Along with this I have included screen shots of the roles, as advertised on the jobsites and a link to said jobsites. In 2007, my wife and I (now married for 3 years) stayed with friends in Melbourne. We soaked up the atmosphere in the city, admiring the different cultures, the excellent food, the historic and modern parts of the city. It felt like ‘home’. There aren’t many cities, out of the ones we’ve visited in the world, that feel as clean, refreshing and welcoming as Melbourne. We want to make it our home city. We spent some time on the Great Ocean Road. What a breathtaking place to be! We were blessed to see the sights and excited to spot some very special wildlife. We also went in the other direction and spent time on the Mornington Peninsula. We often looked at the suburbs and talked about what it would be like to make it our home. We asked our friends what it was like living back in Melbourne, compared to the UK. There were many differences and some similarities, all of which attracted us to Melbourne. When we went back to England we knew we wanted to come back to Melbourne at some point and explore more of Victoria. However, coming back for merely a visit was not going to be enough for us. We tentatively explored the idea of emigrating. A few years have passed, we have had our two beautiful children and the dream of returning to Melbourne has never died. Now especially we want to see our Children grow up in an environment of adventure and culture and give them the best chance in life. As well as going through all the necessary processes to apply for our visa, we are also continuously looking at our future in Victoria with regards to jobs, houses and schools. My current employer, has offices in Melbourne. I have had initial discussions about potential relocation but most openings require citizens only due to security restrictions. However, I have been encouraged to revisit this upon a successful visa. Whilst in the UK, in the midst of the economic downturn I have continued in my current employment, and have even been headhunted from a number of companies. In all these discussions I have looked at the viability of working for them within Australia and specifically Victoria. I am currently in advanced negotiations with XXXX for a new role with them. They also have offices across Australia with their Australian headquarters in Melbourne. If successful this could open opportunities to transfer to this office as well if a PR visa was granted. I have had a conversation with a previous colleague who has successfully migrated to Brisbane. He was keen to pursue me into a role in his current organisation in Redland that he was recruiting for. I had to decline due to us wanting to migrate to Victoria and nowhere else. On the following page is a screen shot of the communications from this previous colleague as proof of his interest: screenie. Since our previous application (end of November 2013), I have continued to monitor jobs and opportunities within Victoria. I am a member of a number of Australian based groups within Linkedin including; XXXX I also follow a number of companies that are actively recruiting within Australia including PWC, ANZ Bank, and Telstra. As an example of the positions currently being recruited to, I have picked five roles which interested me and which I would apply for if I was in a position to. For each role I have explained my suitability. Please find this information on the next few pages: I then had a table of jobs in the format: [TABLE=width: 99%] [TR] [TD]Employer: XXXX[/TD] [TD]Role:XXXXX[/TD] [TD]How my skills apply to each role and why I would be a suitable candidate: [/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] I am also a member of the pomsinoz forum and have had some conversations with a number of recruiters who have jobs advertised that I was a viable candidate for, if a PR visa had been secured at the time. I am looking forward to exploring job opportunities in my area of expertise and whilst I am always aware of the ever increasing changes in economies, I am positive around the future opportunities. An article from the Sydney Morning Herald in May outlining that the Australian Job Market is showing signs of strength and growth seems to reinforce this. I also continued with my professional development, renewing my XXXX certification and have now passed my exams and am a certified XXXXX. My wife is also looking forward to exploring employment opportunities for herself. We feel her role, when we set foot on Australian soil, will be to settle our children into school and life before she explores employment but contributing her skills and work experience in some way is high on her agenda. She has had success in a number of Senior Administration roles with employers such as local government, a city university and currently our local church. We have also explored where we would like to live. Our friends live in Seaford and we would want to look at somewhere near here, taking full advantage of the rail link into Melbourne City for commuting and leisure purposes. We would like to give our children the opportunity to be near the sea if we can. We will rent for a while to make sure we are all settled into the area, before hopefully being in a position to buy our future home. We have already started to look on the following websites for an idea of what we could rent and/or purchase: XXXX We have acquaintances that live in Brisbane and Perth, who we may consider contacting to visit once we are settled in Melbourne but not once in our discussions as a family, has there been a sway to either of these locations. It has always been Melbourne. If it isn’t Melbourne it isn't anywhere. And, of course, we would be foolish not to visit other parts of Australia but this would be as ‘holidays’ and we would always want to come home to Melbourne. We would also look to have our friends and family in the UK come to visit us. We’re looking forward to showing them the sites! I hope this has given you an indication of our passion and ambition to live in Melbourne.

Took us 8 working days to get Vic SS. Then applied for the Visa in July, got the grant 24th October.

You're never too old to be starting again. We have two kids, my wife is mid thirties, I am near the end of the mid thirties... We are starting again next Easter! The only time age comes into it is when you are too old and regret that you didn't have a go!

Thanks Boris. Assuming this happens, can i get a refund on my visa application fee???????:biglaugh:

We used the emigration group. V good and kept us in the loop. Challenged us when statements could be better etc. They run intro sessions / seminars around the country that we went to as a start and have guys to talk to including banks, removals, state government reps etc.

As said above... Don't panic and don't rush... I downloaded some sample papers and did a practice test the week before. Got 9.0.

Probably go over for a reccie at Easter at then go over next July...

"I wish to advise that a decision has been made on this application and visas have been granted on 24 October 2014 to the applicant(s) listed in the attached Visa Grant Notice" Officially now: Oh Crap!

The first time we applied, it took about 3 weeks before we got rejected. We then had to wait 6 months before we could reapply. Which we did in June, and got a positive result 8 working days later!

Hi - no Birmingham... was closer. Prices seem to be much of a muchness... [h=2]Prices for Australian visa health examinations at Spire Little Aston[/h][TABLE=width: 100%] [TR] [TD=bgcolor: #e0eeee] Australian Adult Medical (15+ Permanent)[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #e0eeee] £320[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD] Australian Child medical (11-14)[/TD] [TD] £215[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=bgcolor: #e0eeee] Australian Medical ( Under 11)[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #e0eeee] £105[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Australian Medical (Under 5)[/TD] [TD] £75[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] The following link lists the panel doctors in the UK, http://www.immi.gov.au/Help/Locations/Pages/United-Kingdom.aspx and we just chose the easiest to get to.

All appeared to go pretty well... blood test, height, weight, blood pressure and pee in a cup with the nurse. Then a chest xray, and then a physical with the doc, bit of poking and prodding and a quick chat over medical history. Mentioned AS and he didnt think a problem. He will need to write to my GP and request details but thought that would provide enough answers for DIBP. Took 2.5 hours for the 4 of us though!

Nope. Paid the fees and waited for the Case Officer to request medicals. Decided that based on this: "The panel physician who conducts your health examination will not provide an opinion on your ability to meet the health requirement. The panel physician is only required to record the results of your health examination and provide a recommendation regarding the status of your health." so figured we would go through the process regardless...

Thanks - its this friday at 3:30, so we'll see how we do! I think it 'should' be fine, i get the impression its about assessing potential impact on the Oz healthcare system, and i have a fairly mild condition that is managed by regular exercise.... so i am hoping its just a box ticking exercise.

Yes I would - and i did. I basically completed a statement of service letter, outlining which projects i worked on in the format: "To whom it may concern I confirm that XXXXX was employed by XXXXXas a full time, permanent XXXX from XXXX to XXXXX. Role included: xxxxxx xxxxxx xxxxx etc I then contacted previous line managers and colleagues, asking them, if they were happy to sign the letters and print out on headed paper etc and send back to me. Any formal ref letter will only really include job title and dates of employment - this shows the detail needed to prove you did what you said you did. I got all that together from all the previous companys (including one that had gone bust) and sent that off to ACS. Took about 12 weeks to get a positive response.

Hi - feel your pain - literally! I have been diagnosed with AS for over 10 years, but again dont have any prescription meds and am a regular runner (although no more than a half marathon!!!)... I have my medicals for a 190 visa this friday - will let you know how it goes.

HI we are in the process of doing similar, Our agent submitted the EOI and State Sponsorship application at the same time. When state sponsorship was granted, Victoria officially informed DIBP of the Victorian nomination by nominating the EOI application in SkillSelect. You should then receive an invitation to make a visa application from DIBP.