1charlie1

Thanks snifter. Was just hoping someone on the forum who's been through the process might drop a quick line in response, to save me having to find time to make phone calls at work. There's so much to organise between now and emigrating, and this forum is usually a godsend. Fingers crossed someone still might...

Following on from threads on this site, we'll be arranging our insurance via LP or IYM, rather than through our shipping company. In this case, will it cost us more to insure if we self-pack? And how detailed will our inventory need to be - do we need to list literally every book and plate? Any advice appreciated!

Thanks MrsPOB, that's good to remember. Another thing added to the list!

Thanks very much wolvesaussie, that's brilliant, sounds very straighforward.

Hi all. Getting quotes next week for our move from the UK to Oz. I'm a bit confused about the logistics of storing our belongings once they arrive in Melbourne. We'll be staying with my parents for a bit, so we'll need to arrange storage until we get our own place - if the shipment arrival dates are approximate, how does this work? Will we just have to arrange storage and start paying potentially before our container arrives? And do we need to arrange the storage right now so that we have a 'ship to' address to give the shipping company, or can I just use my parents' address and change it later (the storage place we want to use is about 10 mins drive from them)? Any advice really appreciated.

Thank you all! Having a copy of the grant on us seems eminently sensible. Will do. Thanks again.

Just that really. Husband moving to Oz on his Partner 309. No label necessary for Oz, but the information form says to be aware of any transit country's visa label requirements. Will Singapore be ok with his one way ticket to Oz? Thank you for any advice!

Thanks so much for that information, Scottydog. John Mason have said they will require us to allow them to construct a wooden case around the hard case for extra protection, as that will probably be required by their insurance. But we intend to buy our insurance separately, so your technique sounds more than adequate. Thanks again.

Any suggestions? Would it be safe in its hard case in our shipping container? We've got a lot of stuff to take with us on the plane to tide us over until our container arrives (husband has double baggage allowance from Singapore Air), so would rather not use up the allowance with the guitar... Any advice appreciated!

Thank you, KirstyLP, that makes sense. The subcontractors Doree Bonner uses in my area are literally down the road from our house, so I'll at least get them round to quote and see how they are. Thanks for your reply.

Dear All My husband and I are just getting around to seeking quotes for our move from the UK to Melbourne in late December. I've been poring over past threads regarding reputable companies, and seem to have come upon a common theme: don't use companies which subcontract, as they're staffed by badly-paid workers who don't care much for their job. My question is: should I bother to get a quote from Doree Bonner, considering that I'm in the South East, and they use subcontractors in my area? I know they're one of the 'top' companies, so I was a bit surprised to see that they don't have their 'own' branch in my region. Any advice would be much appreciated. I've currently got John Masons and Crown Relocation at the top of my list, and am going to check out Global Moving Systems too. Thanks!

Hi All! Thanks for your replies. He was thinking about $60 - 65 an hour, so that's good to hear.

Thanks wolvesaussie and milliem. He can tutor primary, secondary and tertiary level students. As for the teaching of two specialisms, he had to do that in the state system here in the UK, and didn't like it. It's one of the reasons he now teaches in a private school. I've noticed that private schools in Oz, like in the UK, are less likely to require teaching of multiple subjects (which makes sense, he spent 10 years at uni developing expertise in mathematics, not science, so is a great and effective maths teacher, not so keen on the science!) Expert subject knowledge is absolutely critical to effective teaching. I'm sure that one of the reasons the UK has plummeted down the OECD rankings in educational achievement is the fact that in state schools here many teachers are not graduates in their teaching subject. It would be very sad if Oz went the same way, especially in critical subjects like maths and science.

Dear All My husband is a maths teacher (secondary, but has postgrad quals in both Engineering and Industrial Maths, so has tutored tertiary level as well). We're moving to Melbourne Dec 2013/ Jan 2014. Does anyone on here know the going rate for maths tutoring? I've posted in the education forum as well. Thank you!

Hi All I'm going to post this in careers too, but just wanted to ask any Melbourne parents who might be on the board: what is the going rate for a maths tutor? Husband is a secondary maths teacher, and we're moving to Melbourne in early 2014. Does anyone on here know? Thank you!

Crikey! Submitted application in December, nice email from CO two days ago, acknowledging receipt of payment and application, and requesting a tiny amendment to one question on husbands' 47SP, which he sent off yesterday, after emailing the CO to say it was in the post, and receiving an almost instant response from the CO. All very good so far. The initial email we got says processing times at the moment are 8-9 months (we expected this, being heavy lurkers and occasional posters on this forum). But in the information contained in the email, it also says my husband should wait until 14.12.2013 before submitting his medicals. This is well after the latest processing time given in the email. We are confused. We had hoped (and expected, to be honest) to be in Australia by the New Year, so that we can both settle in and start work in schools at the end of January, 2014. Does the stuff about medicals make sense to anyone here?

Thanks for the replies! I won't panic just yet then!

Hi All, My husband and I posted our application for a partner visa on December 12th, payment was taken from my debit card on the 14th (according to my online account), but we have yet to receive any email/ letter acknowledging receipt of either the application or the payment. I am concerned as it is a large amount of money, and I would have expected a receipt by now, even though it's Christmas! Is this time frame normal, or should we be contacting them to follow up? Thank you for any advice.

Thanks for your replies! It wasn't the photocopying that was a pain - it was having to make another appointment to see the solicitor to get the copy certified, and the fact that it wasn't a required document according to the checklist on Form 47SP. Not sure why it's even in the handbook. As it is, we just submitted with what we had. Fingers crossed that it's enough!

Hi All We're getting ready to submit (this week!), and were going through the document checklist last night. My husband is the applicant, and on his form 47SP, it states the requirement for a certified copy of his passport, as one of his supporting documents. We had this done by a solicitor last week, along with our marriage certificate, birth certificates etc. Last night I was skimming through the Partner Migration handbook that we downloaded, and I saw on the checklist on p. 36 that he needs to include a certified copy his passport. All fine, and the same information as on form 47SP. However, on p. 38 of the Partner Migration handbook, it then says he must provide 'a certified copy of your current passport... and all your previous passports.' Is this right? If so, why doesn't this item appear on the document checklist in form 47SP? Very annoying! Do we need it? Thank you for any advice.

Thanks very much for that information! We will submit as planned, and then await further instruction from our CO.

Dear All We are hoping to submit our spousal visa application (we're in the UK) in a couple of weeks, everything is looking good, just got mum's and dear friend's stat decs in the post from Oz yesterday, solicitor booked for document certification next week... and I just remembered the health and character requirements! Does my husband need to have undertaken his police check and medicals first, and then include everything all in the one application? (In which case we won't be submitting in a couple of weeks!) Or can we get the ball rolling, and submit those bits later? Any advice on the best option would be much appreciated.

Thank you, just checked, that is possible with my version. Brilliant!

Thank you, GeorgeD. That all makes good sense.

Hi All My mother is doing one of our two statements in support of my husband's spousal visa. I emailed her the Form 888, but can only find it as a PDF. Does this mean the department want a handwritten statement from her, or can she just fill in the form, leave the box for the statement blank, and attach a typed statement (making sure this page/s are also witnessed appropriately)? Or is their a word version of Form 888 on the department website which I just haven't managed to find? Thank you for your help!