Anika

Hi all, it's been ages since I've posted anything, my only excuse really is that I've been busy trying to settle over here in Oz :-) I do now have a question, or rather couple of questions. The time has nearly come for me to be able to submit the second part of my 309/100 visa. I'm working my way through the online application but I'm getting a bit confused as to what paperwork I actually have to submit. I know I have to submit a Police Clearance certificate, I've already filled out the form for that and it's ready to be sent off. Now when that comes back do I just upload it to my application or does the original have to be sent to them in the post? Both me and my husband have to fill out a new stat dec, that's fine but online there is an actual stat dec to fill out so do I have to attach the paper copy as well as filling out the electronic copy? What other paperwork do I need to submit, just the 2 stat decs, a stat dec from an australian citizen/perm. resident that knows us both and the police certificate? Or do I need to submit certified copies of passports, marriage certificates etc. again even though we did all that for the first part of the visa? I know they want evidence of financial situation, so bank statements, rental agreements etc, can these just be copies or do they need to her certified? Finally, as an added "complication" my husband is currently at Kapooka completing his basic training for the army so he's not really contactable should immigration wish to speak to him so I'm assuming I should probably call them and let them know? Sorry, it's become a bit longer than I thought. Thanks in advance :-)

I live in Ipswich and I agree that there are some bogan areas but I wouldn't judge the whole town on those. I think Ipswich is pretty decent, it's not too big, it's close enough to Brisbane and public transport is reasonable, renting is still affordable and you can get some decent properties for a lot less than what you'd be paying in Brisbane. As for the hospitals, my mother in law is a nurse at Ipswich hospital and I've been in to visit her and my first impression was good, plus 2 of my sister in laws have had their kids there and have never had an issue with it. This is just my opinion but I think Ipswich gets lots of bad rep and I admit that I used to think it wasn't the greatest either but I really enjoy living here. Looks like I won't be here for much longer though as my husband is in the process of joining the army so if (when) he gets in we'll be upping sticks.

I worked for an investment bank in the UK and now work for a tax accountant, something which I never thought I'd enjoy but actually really do. Thinking about doing a diploma in accounting when I get my residency :-)

I work for a tax accountant and get a lot of people asking this question :-) The ATO have 30 days to get the refund to you but most of our clients have been getting their returns within 2/3 weeks

I got my licence here, didn't have to do the 100 hours as I was over 25 which was a relief also didn't have to take a written test or a hazard perception as they just transferred my UK learners to an Australian one (usually you have to take the written test to get your learners over here, well in Qld anyway). I still have to drive round with green "P's" but only for one year so no big drama. Definitely think it was easy to get a licence here, only took me 3 months and 4 professional lessons before I took my test.

We paid $800 for our Queen mattress, was meant to cost $1000 but we got it cheaper as it was the last one and had been the "display". It's got a latex topper and is really comfy. Our bed was free, it was my brother and sister in law's spare bed which they kindly donated to us when we moved over here. When we buy our own house and stop renting we'll buy a new bed and use our current one as the spare

I've got a Honda Jazz, only passed my test in March and am not the greatest at parking but the Jazz makes it quite easy as it's nice and small on the outside but has the added bonus of being really roomy on the inside (back seats fold completely flat so even trips to Ikea aren't a problem). I paid $8300 for it and it's 10 years old although has been well looked after by the previous owner so doesn't show it's age. Have you browsed carsales.com.au? That's where I found my car and there's everything on there from brand new to vintage :-) Also forgot to say, it's really great on fuel, around $50 to fill up and the best fuel economy I've ever got out of it was 6.9L per 100km

Have you tried SevenSeas? We used them to move out here to Australia and we only had 6 boxes. They do worldwide shipping so I'm sure they can ship your things back to the UK for you. I found them very good, they provide the boxes and loads of bubble wrap and masking tape, as well as a pen to label everything with. Their prices are pretty good too, they offer both shipping via boat and plane, we took the boat option as it was a lot cheaper and although it takes a bit longer as long as you don't need your things as soon as you land then it shouldn't be a problem.

yeah we aren't sure about kids yet, we like looking after them but we also like coming home to a quiet house and being able to do what we want when we want to do it. I think if kids do happen it won't be until I'm in my 30's

No children (yet) but 5 nieces and 5 nephews with another on the way which the mother thinks will be another boy, so my OH and I have plenty of choice if we want to "borrow" one or two to practice on :-)

Not really sure about quirky shops as I'm more of a River Island/Topshop girl myself but I'm sure you'll find something. The most common clothes shops I can think of are Forever New (like River Island but more expensive I find), Cotton On (really good for basics like vest tops etc. there's also a Cotton On Body for underwear, pj's etc. and a Cotton on Kids), Supre, City Beach (surf brands/beach clothes). You can also visit Myer or David Jones which are the two big department stores. I live near Brisbane but I have friends who say that Melbourne is the best place in Australia for shopping, there's a Topshop there too as well as a Zara but sadly we have neither in Brisbane but apparently they are meant to be coming soon.

I can empathise with you. I moved to Ipswich (near Brisbane) with my husband in October last year. My husband is an aussie and this is where his family live so this is where we moved. I have not been able to find a full time or even part time permanent job so far, the most I have done is 2 months of temp work but that has now finished. My husband works as a casual storeperson and on average works 3 days a week, so in a bad week we could be surviving on $400/$500 between 2 of us. We had to bite the bullet not long ago and my husband signed up to Centrelink for some assistance, however so far we have only received $60 from them as eventhough I can't claim they have been taking my wages in to consideration (I have stopped working now though). To say things suck is an understatement. We do have some savings but we are slowly going through these. Even though my husband has family here there is only so much they can help us with, we have now been considering moving to Melbourne as friends of ours are also interested in moving there so we could share the costs and share the rent with them and also the job market looks more promising there. My husband is also in the first stages of applying for a defence force job, his dream was always to join the Qld police (his dad and one of his brothers are both coppers) but he hasn't been able to pass the literacy test (after 2 attempts) and the application process as a whole is very lengthy and costly. So he has decided to try for a trade in the army. Have you thought about maybe moving to another state if you can? My sister lives in Perth and she always tells me how expensive it is there. Anyway, whatever you decide I hope it works out for you, do what's best for you and your family

I had my best friend who is british fill out a form 888 and she had it "witnessed" by her optician, we also had my in-laws who are Australian do a form 888 each and they sent them over to us to submit with my visa application. Those 3 stat decs are all we submitted (along with our own statements) and I got my visa last august and had no problems.

There is a Topshop in Sydney and also in Melbourne, I think there is also a Zara in Melbourne. Sadly no River Island, wish there was as that is one of my favourite shops, there is a chain called Forever New over here though which is very similar to River Island.

My best friend flew with them when she came to visit me last year and she had no issues, she even got a night in a hotel as her layover was so long which she didn't know until she got to china. However, they did change her flight here to be 2 days later than originally booked which made her holiday here shorter, they gave her over a month's warning but it was still a bit annoying.

17, that was with my aussie husband sat next to me who it turns out knows less than I do :-)

Telstra are a pain in the backside, when we first moved in to our rental last november we went to them to ask about internet as Optus couldn't offer us anything, they told us that they cannot offer us anything either but couldn't give us an actual reason and suggested that our only option would be a dongle. We bought a dongle and left it at that however a couple of months ago we decided that a dongle was just too expensive and chewed through the internet far too quickly so we decided to do some research and found that we could get the net through dodo, iinet, tpg etc. but only their "offnet' plans so it meant a trip back to Telstra to ask them to connect our phone line. We didn't expect much but Telstra said they would happily connect our phone-line and also could potentially offer us internet, when we asked why we were told in november that they couldn't offer us anything they couldn't answer that question. Needless to say we've only used them to connect our phoneline and have gone elsewhere for our internet services.

It's a Honda Jazz sports, beasty little car and great on fuel as well :-) I'd never heard of the 7 speed before and everyone looks really surprised when we tell them

I've just finished root canal treatment, cost me about $260 (would have been around $1500 without extras cover though). I would have preferred to have it done at home but my dentist didn't spot that I had an abscess under my tooth, that only came out 2 days before I was due to leave when I had to book an emergency appointment with another dentist because I was in pain. Unfortunately that didn't leave enough time to treat it properly so I had to have all the work done here. I'm very happy with the work I've had done here though and my dentist is lovely so I guess you get what you pay for :-)

They actually tested me on hill start in my test, easiest thing ever in an auto :-) My car is a 7 speed auto and it has a "manual" setting where you can control the gears via a button on the steering wheel, I never use that though.

I did my lessons in an auto and only have an auto licence even though lots of people told me to get a manual licence and my husband's family keep telling me now that I don't have a "proper" licence. I love my car though and love that it's an auto. A car is a car to me and auto's are a lot more common here than back home anyway. I might take my manual licence in the future but as I only got my auto licence a month ago I'm in no rush :-)

My husband and I live in Ipswich which is about 45 mins from Brisbane CBD, there's lots of greenery around here and definitely space for a horse (something which is important to me because I want to buy a horse too :-) ) Also rent here tends to be cheaper than Brisbane suburbs and it's easy enough to get to the city from here.

Hi, I can't seem to be able to PM you. My husband and I are currently located in Brisbane but would be willing to move to Melbourne (we are only living here because my husband's family is close by). I have banking and customer service experience, I don't have permanent residency yet but do have a spouse visa. My husband is also looking for work, he's an Australian citizen and has retail and customer service experience. I can send you both our resumes if you would like to have a further look. Thanks Anika

We have a Honda Jazz, 10 years old but so well looked after by the 2 previous owners that it looks half its age. it's great to drive, easy to park (important for me as I only passed my test a few weeks ago :-) ) and great on fuel. We also get a lot of comments as the last owner put some rather nice rims on it. If we didn't have the Jazz though and still lived in the UK I'd probably want the Citroen DS3, preferably in pink and white :-D

Makes me think of home :-) My parents live down there, closer to Woolacombe and Ilfracombe though, makes me wish I could just pop over and go and walk the dogs on the beach with my mum