DeeTowers

Ha Ha, I still do the closer holidays too! Best of both worlds :-)

No not loaded, we just chose to use our holidays visiting family and friends that we left behind and miss, we have also been very lucky that our house has had a revolving door since we arrived of everyone coming to visit us - its like we never left sometimes!!! Also we had committed to attend some family get togethers before we moved so knew we were going back for weddings etc... I don't like the flight either but its a small sacrifice :-)

I was so excited in the months leading up to our flight, I was absolutely fine packing up the house and showing renters round, put the car in storage, and even treated ourselves to business class seats on Emirates but on the day of travel saying goodbye to my family as the Emirates car picked us up was the worst feeling ever. I cried all the way to Australia - I'm not joking, I tried to compose myself somewhere between Dubai and Sydney but then the crew brought out a "Bon Voyage" cake that my family had ordered for my flight!!!! Well that was it I think I cried myself to sleep after that! Its been just over 4 years since that day and we have been back about 6 times and we have had family come and stay with us - we know we are lucky. This year we went back twice in the space of 3 months, once for the Easter holidays and then in July because we had a sale on our house and we had to clear out all the stuff we had stored in the loft and shed "Just in case" we moved back to the UK. We have no plans to move back in the next 5 years so we have some choice pieces of furniture on a ship bound for Oz and are buying here in Sydney. You never loose the pain of not being near your best friends or family but it gets better over time - I love my life here and that is the only thing that is missing but with modern technology it makes it easier - My mum now has an iPad and knows what facetime is!!!!!! All the best and embrace it, that 1sst flight is the hardest but give it a go, my husband said we were going for a year, its been over 4...... xx

My hubby's took 2 weeks and came back by DHL. He was disappointed that he didn't get his old one back so we called the UK passport office and they said it is sent separately and arrived a couple of days later! Very good service!

Yeah it was my first time with Etihad in April and i have made a point to fly with them again in July as the service was awesome (don't believe anything you read on the airline review websites) the service was top notch, food good and they have just started to use the A380 on the AU routes which are so much more comfy than the 777. Enjoy :-)

Hey there, I flew them in April and am flying them again in a couple of weeks. Abu Dhabi airport is nowhere as big as Dubai and is super easy to navigate around. IF you have your onward boarding cards just follow the signs for transferring flights, i went down some stairs and then went through security again - You don't need to queue at the transfer desk if you have your onward boarding passes. Your bags will be checked through so you wont see them until your final destination, once through security which was pretty quick you are still airside and will be able to visit the airline lounges or find your gate. There is a food court also with local fast food and take out along with the usual suspects of Burger King/Hungry Jacks. Enjoy! :-)

Its not a black mark on your CV, companies have the right to employ or not employ a 457 holders/spouses. Both my husband and I have been a spouse on each others 457 and both of us got full time permanent employment being a spouse on the other ones 457, redundancy happens to anyone. I am now a spouse holder again on his 2nd 457 and am in a full time permanent role (not contract) and am treated like any other employee. My company have offered me a 457 too so we can both be on them separate to each other so we have fall back if the other were to face the redundancy fate again. As for our roles, they are not run of the mill and too are very niche but are only on the CSOL list so 457 was our only option. Also as for research, you are moving to the other side of the world! As stated by everyone in this thread you do as much as you can e.g professional migrant agents, friends/relatives if applicable, emigration shows, call companies and recruitment agencies in Oz before you make your mind up to see what the market is like for your spouse, get networking before you go. Research your own job, is there a market for it here or is it so niche that it is limited to one or two organisations including the one you came out with. To take the advice of one source before you make a massive leap like moving to the other side of the globe is ludicrous! You should have weighed up the pros and cons of leaving your job in the UK and made sure you were coming with ALL the facts not just those of your new employer who seems to have got you out here, used you for what they needed and now you are surplus to requirements. The 457 is a great Visa but is a risky one too so coming from someone who has the t-shirt and is still wearing it after 2 redundancies I would tell anyone to go for it but only after some hard grafting research to see if it is right for them!

It is your responsibility to research the visa and not just take the opinion of one source, in this case your employer. My husband and I are on our 3rd 457 due to redundancy on both sides, the last one was mine and we were 1 month from making a residency application which sucks!!! However we fully researched everything before we left the UK 3 years ago and knew the risks - it is temporary, its not guaranteed and we sought the advice of experts outside of the company that sponsored us for the 1st 457 - We came here with our eyes open, with all the facts but could not wait for the experience!!Yes we want to have PR but fully respect what the 457 Is for and are living proof that redundancy does not always mean you have to go back to the UK, however we left most of our lives in tact in the UK and rented out our house, stored our cars and possessions so that if we do loose our TEMPORARY visa we could go back to live our lives where we left off albeit looking for new jobs but we fully understood it is temporary, anything can happen and to enjoy it while it lasts! 3 years and 3 457's later we are still here - Australian companies will and do take on new 457's and their spouses but yes of course they should employ an Australian over a foreign temporary worker, if I was still in the UK that is what I would expect - UK jobs for UK citizens and the same for Australia - look after your own first.