corkonian

We used Crown Relocations in 2012; don't think I'd use them again. Communication was appalling and our stuff arrived at the very end of the timeframe they gave us. If you don't have furniture or bulky items I'd seriously consider An Post. We shipped six boxes out as an interim measure and they arrived in about a fortnight. In hindsight I'd have used An Post if I'd known it was so reasonable (we used it for shipping pots, pans, duvets etc).

Hi all, Thank you so much for taking the time to share your thoughts/experience. While it's still early days in my research, the sense I'm getting is that going public/shared care is probably the best option for me. Ozmaniac, thanks for raising the issues above. Speaking to VHI they were able to talk us through the Australian system, but to be honest, I don't see what benefit private health insurance is (for maternity purposes) when we have access to Medicare. Blossom and BeanieMac, congratulations on your new arrivals! Your experience with the public/shared system is definitely encouraging. In fact, I've seen somewhere that the public system here is better than the private system in Ireland so I think it's probably the way to go. It also means that I don't have to worry about waiting until after the insurance company's waiting period to conceive... Thanks again!

Happy new year! I’m an Irish woman living in Melbourne with permanent residency and am planning on starting a family in the next few months. Unfortunately, none of my friends here are at the babies stage so I’m at a bit of a loss when it comes to figuring out the system and have been receiving conflicting information from VHI at home in Ireland. Our current health insurance is VHI International. I’ve recently upgraded to level 2 to be able to avail of the extended pregnancy and maternity cover. We’re aware of the ten-month waiting period, but have received conflicting information from VHI staff about how this works. One VHI staff member told us we could not conceive until after the 10-month period was up, while another told us that if we fell pregnant during the waiting period, we could only claim for expenses after the waiting period, which sounds fine because both staff members told us we can use the maximum €5000 that VHI will pay in whatever way we want (i.e. we could use it for the hospital stay). Has anyone had similar experience and what actually transpired? Can you start public and transition to private mid-way through your pregnancy? Did you go public, how did you find it and were you left with much out-of-pocket costs? What is people’s experience of shared care? My doctor has recommended it, but I’m confused about whether I can start shared GP-Private if our private health insurance won’t kick in for a few months. Is it possible to pay initial costs ourselves until the VHI is activated? Any advice in this regard would be appreciated! Thanks

Have you looked at shipping by regular mail? We shipped six boxes with An Post in Ireland (each weighing a maximum of 20kg) and they got to Oz in about 10 days at a cost of €65 per box for registered post. Not sure what price it would be with Royal Mail, but might work out a lot cheaper than shipping with a company. My only dealing with Seven Seas was trying to get a quote from them...emailed and phoned twice and no-one ever got back to me - not a great way to attract new business...

Hi everyone, Our stuff was picked up in Ireland by Crown nearly seven weeks ago for shipping to Oz and I've just been told the full groupage container just got filled on Friday last in Leeds. I was originally told it was being sent to the UK first because of the volume of stuff being shipped from the UK and that the ship would be sailing around the first week of July. I'm stunned that seven weeks on, it's only got from Ireland to the UK, while we had a whole other month in Ireland, moved to Australia, found a place to live and started work...Has anyone had a similar experience? Thanks!

Hi Braidwood, I've checked out that link and was told it probably wouldn't be worth bringing my Toyota Yaris. The only reason I'm considering is because we've some relocation expenses leftover. Also, I've had no luck selling it and we leave next week! It's a great little car and would be perfect for city driving! I'll keep you posted!

Hi, Has anyone any experience of shipping a car from either Cork or Dublin to Oz? I've contacted a few companies and they're all recommending taking a container, which we don't need (shipped our belongings a month ago). I'd like to just ship the car RORO (or whatever is most reasonably priced). Also, if anyone can give me an idea on what customs, quarantine etc cost on the Aussie end, I'd like to have an idea... I know it'll cost a few grand to ship, but the only reason we're even considering it is because we've some money leftover in our relocation budget... Thanks!

I was just speaking to AA Economy Freight about shipping my car and they said I'd have to take a 20ft container, but that I could fill it out with our belongings. Quoted €2,750 and takes seven weeks. Leaves Dublin every Friday. We've already shipping our belongings so don't need a full 20ft container. If anyone has any experience on shipping a car, you might let me know! Thanks!

Thanks JoeBloggs and inxie. I hadn't even thought about PayPal will check it out along with OzforEx.

Hi, Can anyone advise on transferring savings from Ireland to Australia? Have you used banks or a foreign exchange service? I'd really appreciate any advice...leaving in about three weeks and just haven't had time to start looking into this yet! Thanks!

In case it helps anyone...I've just shipped with Crown this week, around €1,600 for 130cubic metres. They sent just one guy and he spent around 4hrs packing, but was a quick operator and answered any questions I had. I'd also looked at Careline, and while they were great for getting back to me, I'd heard better reports re Crown. I also contacted Seven Seas by email and followed up with a phone call but they never bothered getting back to me. Didn't bode well so ruled them out. Stuff heading from Cork to Melbourne so if anyone wants to check in and see how its going along the way, feel free!

Thanks everyone! Left out the wicker basket after all. Not worth the cost they might charge for fumigating or destroying it!

Does anyone know how you should go about declaring clothes that you've owned less than 12 months for Customs? i.e. Can you just write down 4 x trousers @ $50each or would you need to write the colour, brand etc for each one... Also, we have a straw/wicker laundry basket we were going to ship. Has anyone experienced any problems with having such items fumigated etc? Thanks!

Hi guys! (Bonniem and Braidwood) I stopped by my small local post office today and they told me there wasn't any restriction size-wise once it wasn't a coffin-size! We had looked into shipping by air with Seven Seas and it was going to cost around €399 a box, so An Post sounds amazing. Doing the same Bonniem and posting few boxes the day before or day we're leaving (duvet, clothes, some kitchen stuff). We have a holiday apt booked for two weeks and are hoping to find a home during that time. Thanks for setting up the Shipping from Ireland thread; it's exactly what I would have needed when I started looking. I've decided on Crown (mainly based on recommendations). I'll let you know how it goes; waiting for a call-back tomorrow to try and get stuff shipped asap...

Thanks Bonniem. I was leaning towards Careline as they've been replying to queries really quickly, but hearing pretty good things about Crown, and like you said, it helps that they've an office on the other side. Good luck with your move!

Hey guys, Here's the An Post link mentioned above. I was just checking it out yesterday as need some items shortly after we arrive in early July. Seems like great value... http://postage.anpost.ie/transit.asp As for sending stuff by sea, does anyone have any opinions on Careline vs Crown? Trying to decide between the two within the next day or two. Flight booked for early July from Cork to Melbourne, so we're anxious to get stuff off asap... Thanks!

Have another one for you if you wouldn't mind... 0.99 litre 2005 Toyota Yaris, 135,000kilometres Air-conditioning, petrol, five-door, manual, five gears Market value in Ireland - €3,500 Market value in Oz - $8,500 - $10,000 Should mention that our sponsor is paying some relocation costs, which is why we’re actually considering taking the car…

Hi, My partner has applied for a 457 visa and I'm hoping to travel as his de facto partner. We're together nearly seven years, but because of work circumstances have lived in two different cities, commuting to each other every other weekend. Over the past two years, he's been able to spend more time with me - leaving here on Mon/Tues mornings and returning Thurs/Fri evenings. However, we never added his name to my lease or bills so have no proof that we've lived together. We submitted our visa application along with car insurance (he's a named driver on my insurance), yearly travel insurance, a number of flight itineraries going back six and a half years, a joint credit union account statement for 2012 and two wedding invitations addressed to us both. We've just been asked to provide further evidence of our relationship so have put some photographs together of us in various places over the years (on holidays, at weddings and at family graduations) and have organised four statutory declarations - one from his parents, a mutual friend, a local councillor and one from my employers. My partner is also planning to include a copy of a book he dedicated to me. Is there anything else we could submit? I've trawled through dozens of threads and some people mentioned writing individual or joint statutory declarations. Does anyone know if these need to be witnessed and if so, can a garda do so in Ireland? Also, can anyone give us an idea of how long it takes to process the 457 visa application if we get the info back to them within a few days? My partner is due to start work at the end of July and we're waiting to book flights and begin shipping our belongings. Thanks!