Queuball

Hi All I'm getting a bit of contradictory information. The Australian Tax Office say I can only apply to get a TFN only once I have arrived in Aus, where as I see websites that offer that exact service for $50. So which is it, I can or I can't? Has anybody successfully got one before arriving in Aus? I appreciate I don't have to have one right the way, but would prefer not paying the exorbitant tax, and are companies willing talk to you while you wait for this number to come through? Cheers Quintin

Indeed, not that I have looked at the paper work for pension transfers yet, but to me it falls under the same category as why use a migration agent to attain your Aussie visa, when it is a clearly defined and easy process to follow.

Hi Soooty. Good Luck, I know that final wait can be nerve wrecking. Where're you looking to head to?

There is very much hope to realise your dream in Aus. We have 2 kids. My son (my eldest) is 9 and is on the ASD spectrum. He was diagnosed with aspergers when he was 6. He is on daily medication, and is in a mainstream school in Bexley. He has a statement that covers most of the week at school, but in reality he does not need it all the time. I started the visa process during 2011. We were awarded our visa in April 2012 and have just completed our initial entry trip, and we hope move there by the end of July. I did not use any agents, I felt in reality didn't bring much to the process, and found that all of them I spoke with were interested in two things, their track record and/or your wallet. My entire visa application process from my skills assessment to my medicals could not have smoother. My son's medicals were no different to any other child's medical tests. Not all cases are the same, because my application went so well, it does not neccessary mean your's will, but hopefully it will have a happy ending to your application. good luck Queuball

Hi Everyone My son, who turns 9 this coming Monday, is on the ASD spectrum. He was official diagnosed with asperges 2 and a half years ago (end of his year 2 at school). We had a painful battle of well over 3 year to get his diagnosis here in Bexley(Sout East London). He is on low dosage of medication (our absolute last resort to deal with his anxiety so he could learn and understand his challenges better) and is doing well academically at the mainstream school he attends that has ASD provision. I can't comment on the schooling in Aus yet, but can say something about our experience of out visa process. The only issue I had was that none of the migration agents I approached were of any help with some even declining to take my case. I desided to go the visa process solo as I felt just knowing if we could get in to Aus was worth the £3500 ish I spent on the entire process. I couldn't live with myself not knowing for the sake of both my kids. We had no issues at all during the application process. When we went into the medicals I submitted copies of all his diagnosis reports including any details of how he is getting on at school. We had no further medicals for him. About 2 weaks after medicals we had our perm residency visa. We are about to go for a brief holiday in the next month or so to make our initial entry to validate our visas. I will be spending a couple of days investigating schooling while there. I will post an update. I hope this helps you in some way. Cheers Queuball

Thanks everyone. richselina, we're currently look at Perth. If thing don't work out there we'll be look at somewhere near Sydney. Cheers Queuball

Hi everyone I have had my PR visa for a while now and I'm about to make my first trip to Aus (wahey). I am the primary visa holder, and my wife and 2 kids are secondary applicants. As we may all know, at the moment price of a holiday downunder is quite pricey for a family of four and will eat into my funds thus affecting my final move date. On one of the attachments of my visa just stipulates "You must make your first entry date to Australia before `8 April 2013.", but is does not clearly stipulate who "you" is. Is this me, the primary applicatant or each and every person on the application? The main letter is addressed to me, so I'm interpretting this "you" as me the primary applicant. It may be just me being daft because of the way I am reading things. So my question is do only I as the primary applicant have to visit Aus by the date, or do all of the secondary applicants have to visit as well? Any help would be great. Cheers Queuball.

Hi Clive I'm an Analyst Programmer and did my ACS in March last last year. For the time period they required I could only get a detailed reference from my first complany (out of 3), which covered only about the first year of my application. The remaining 2 companies wouldn't give me detailed references as it was against their HR policies. This is pretty much the case all over the U.k. They gave me a generic references containing my employment period andjob title. I wrote covering letters for each stating they don't do detailed reference as part of their HR policy, and gave details of my duties. I would recommend you contact the ACS to check that this is okay as things may have changed since my experience. Good luck. Cheers Q

Hi There IT skills assessments are done by the Australia Computer Society. Check the following URL:http://www.acs.org.au/migration-skills-assessment/information-for-applicants. Cheers Q

Hi Jacks My son is also on the high performing end of the ASD spectrum. He is 8 and was diagnosed with Asperges 2 years ago. He is in a mainstream school with a bit of support. We (family of 4) went for our medicals on 14 April 2012. We got our visas sub-class 175 on the 9 May 2012 with no issues or further examinations required. All I took along for him to the medicals was his last 2 CAHMS assessments. Each case is different, but I hope this gives you some hope. Good luck. Cheers Queuball

Hi Davo1 Good luck, hope is goes well for you on both your IELTS test and skills assessment. As an English speaker, I can say that IELTS was really not that difficult a test for me, but is it very easy to throw away points. Perth is at the top of our desired Aussie locations, but ultimately it comes down to where I get a good job. We've got a plan which we have set in motion that will hopefully see us in Aus before April next year. I'm trying for a January move so that it helps our kids with their schooling. We've got to sell our house and car, sort out any outstanding bills/debt and ensure I have completed all my work commitments. cheers Queuball

Hi there We've just recieved our visa sub-class 175. We're a family of four. It was lodged online on 24 August 2011 and was awarded 9 May 2012. It could have gone about 2 or 3 weeks quicker if I had been able to get my meds and police checks done quicker. The big delay I had was waiting for a Case Officer, but once I had one it went quite quickly. I had my skills assessment and IELTS done before I lodged my application, and did not use an agent to go through the process as I fealt it was fairly straight forward. My sister who is in Melbourne now took about the same time about 5 years ago, as is the case with my cousin who got her visa about a 2 years ago. good luck Cheers Queuball