ItchyFeet76

Thanks dxboz. I guess we were thinking more Brighton area - doesn't the tram run from there then...? [emoji848] We lived in Prahran for a few months back in 2004 whilst travelling and used to get the tram into the cbd and I just remember it being sooooo slow! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks for your reply, Lady Rainicorn. I'm just a lunchtime supervisor at the moment (1.5h a day) and my wages are more coffee money than contributory, so I won't work unless I can find something similar (ie that fits around the school hours). Although it's not ideal, I just feel it's potentially more disruptive to put them in any old school near our temp accomm just to get them in, knowing full well we'll have to uproot them again when we find a rental! Plus I intend on making sure they do some form of schoolwork whilst off (albeit some kind of educational app on their tablets, no doubt!) and it's kind of my bribe to get them to come down under and leave their friends![emoji12] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Whilst my oh is looking for 457 sponsorship, I'm trying to look into suburbs and places to live. We think initially we'll stay in a services apt in the cbd (so at least he doesn't have to worry about a commute as well as starting a new job!) and then look for a long-term rental, but our original choice (sanctuary lakes) is now out, due to the long commute to the cbd. Ideally we'd like to be within a 20 min drive from the beach and a 30 min train ride from the cbd, so the south east side (whilst with beaches aplenty) may be too far as trams stop every minute and take ages... So we're thinking possibly Werribee or Hoppers Crossing, but all the properties we've seen have been 1.5km from the primary school and I think my 3 kids would struggle with that, particularly as the weather isn't great in winter. So I'd be interested to know how people get to the station / school - do you all have 2 cars? Do you walk miles a day? Do you get up early and catch a bus?! The school bus only appears to be for people living more than 4.5km away (roughly, can't remember the exact distance). Our budget is $500 pw for a min 3-bed (pref. 4-bed - more feasible in the west!)... Also, as you can't enrol your kids in a school until you know where you're going to be living long-term, do you just accept that they can't go to school for the first 6 weeks?!? Thanks in advance for any helpful replies ?

Good point Petals, and I think that's where the 457 can actually be advantageous. People come temporarily for a couple years and then return home, safe in the knowledge that their UK pension is safe (and the benefit of the 457 being that you can claim back your super (less tax) on return to the UK. If they can get PR then they have the option of staying and assessing whether they're happy to receive their UK pension without inflation (plus their Aussie super). Sometimes you have to suck it and see, and thankfully the new rules now allow 90 days to find a new sponsor if the worst happens ?

I don't understand your question, FoC - do you mean why should it BE acceptable to come on a 457 in a declining economy? It's not very easy to understand in the way you've written it, I'm afraid, but I'd be happy to explain our situation if you let me know what your question is [emoji106] I don't think anyone would choose a 457 over PR if the latter were possible, and I don't think it's a 'rort' to hire someone from abroad when there are no skilled locals to do that job (and no interest from said locals in learning that skill, or even a decent pathway to attaining that qualification in the relevant country because it's so new that there is not enough uptake so not financially viable to educate locals for said qualification). And I disagree that it's a back door, because that infers that it's a sneaky way in, and yet it is in fact an approved channel to a legitimate visa, as actively advertised on the government's official website. But we're digressing. The OP clearly understands the risks involved and I'm sure he isn't interested in the way this thread is going (ie a 457-bashing thread), so maybe this isn't the right arena in which to discuss these issues [emoji6] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

PR also takes longer (457s can be granted in a matter of weeks, sometimes) and yes, your Super would be tied up as a PR. 457s can be risky but if you're aware of the risks and accept (or even prepare for) them, then I don't see the problem. Not everyone is eligible for PR and the 457 has helped many people achieve their dream of a life in Australia. we are looking for 457 sponsorship too, but in a different industry (IT Security). We tried to emigrate a couple years back and failed, mainly due to the economy / job market (a big IT sec company got bought out and all their pen-testers were let go, flooding the market so my husband wasn't needed), but we're giving it one last go. Our aim is ultimately PR but, failing that, we will consider it a temporary move, a change of a scenery, and then return to our old life in the UK. Life is bloody short (as your profession surely reminds you every day), and you don't get a second chance. Grab any opportunity you can but just make sure you're aware of what could go wrong, and be prepared for the worst. That's our plan, anyway. We have 3 young children (5, 6, 9) and wanted to do it before my eldest was in double digits... At least the rules have changed now and you get 90 days to find a new job, not 30. And come 1 July there may well be some more changes to the system....so we're hoping to get our 457 granted before then, just in case the new rules thwart our plans! Best of luck anyway ? Ps you're right, there are no school fees on a 457 in Qld

Petal, have you considered getting in touch with a recruitment agent who specialises in your husband's field of work? They do take a considerable fee from the client (the employer) but they work hard to get you the right job with the right package. We're currently using one to try and get my husband sponsorship for a 457 (he's in IT Security). Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hi Pia, just seen your thread and noticed nobody had replied... Did you manage to find anything? We're hoping to come out in June (need 457 sponsorship - oh currently interviewing!) and will also (hopefully!) need temp. accomm. for 4-6 weeks. We looked online and found serviced apts in the cbd 'from' $1120 per week... Are you still in the UK? ItchyFeet x

I've heard of PlanIT - maybe this is whom he meant? I recall seeing some jobs by them on Seek last year... Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

@Briggs0102 Did you say you're in IT security? What do you do, exactly (if you don't mind my asking)? My husband is seeking 457 sponsorship and the recruiters have expressed lots of interest in him thus far, saying that there's a big market for penetration testers, particularly ones with CREST. Cheers, I-F Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yes that's what I thought! Wonder if DIBP know their website is old?!

Thanks! Couldn't find mention of 60 points but only had a cursory glance (didn't expand all sections)... So long as it hasn't changed (yet!), that's fab :-)

Ah sorry CaptainC, didn't mean to duplicate your post! Yes I noticed that the new visas weren't mentioned but couldn't find an updated page (typical government website, lol). Am hoping that's the case anyway. The system is being reviewed though from what I gather, with changes implemented from July 1st 2016, though not sure how many of the proposed changes will take place...

http://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Work/Work/Allocation-dates-for-General-Skilled-Migration-applications/points-test#wpsm

Just Googling and the official government website (DIBP) says the passmark is 65. It also mentions the old visas though (ie 175 not 189) so I presume this is typical government incompetency (not updating website) and not to be trusted, as if the passmark had gone up it would be all over the news...?? ~~

Thanks guys. We're determined to focus on the positives this time around (last time we were too focused on the negatives as didn't want to be disappointed or see it through rose-tinted glasses, so everything was 'assume worst-case scenario' and not letting ourselves get excited.... I like the idea of telling the employer we'll be out X weeks post visa-grant - seems much more practical. If we don't have a tenant before we leave then we'll need to save up a month's mortgage before we go...which will delay us even more and ideally we wanted to be out by July as we've heard they may change certain things about the immigration system in July and we're worried my husband's job (262112) might come off the CSOL (it came off the SOL last year, despite his job being in demand still!).

Ps last time we tried to emigrate my husband was going to go out on his own but we can't afford for him to fly back for me and the kids and I'm my doing 10'500 miles on my own with 3 kids!! [emoji33] Plus we want a stopover enroute to break up the journey, and he'd miss out on that... And I don't think I'd manage to sort out the house, selling cars etc on my own...

No we own our house (with a mortgage) so will be renting it out - never done it before so that'll be fun! [emoji33] We also have a dog but she's a French Bulldog and I don't want to take her as I don't think she'll make it... So we need to find someone to look after her whilst we're away - I won't sell her as she's part of the family and we'll have her back once we return - so that's another hurdle, but nothing is insurmountable I hope [emoji6]

Yes we're aware that no visa = no move, it's just if it takes a few weeks to get the visa and months to find a tenant then we'd want to concentrate our efforts on the house first, as that will be more time-consuming (cleaning, photos, realtor contracts etc) whereas I guess the visa is more paperwork...? Thanks, yes I'm decluttering as we speak! :-)

Yeah I guess you're right, and that's partly why we've spent years trying to emigrate and never managing to actually leave! (Other reasons were not finding work or failing on points test, hence why 457)... Do you have PR then? That makes it so much easier to plan as you know you're actually going so can start selling stuff way in advance... We've not even had interviews for my husband yet as have to save up £10k first (don't want to get offered a job but not be able to afford to make the move!).... And we've no idea how long the whole process takes...

Hi all, We're currently saving up for our hopeful move next year but my head is spinning from what happens when! Assuming my husband can get a job with 457 sponsorship, when do the following things happen? (1) Putting house up for rent (before or after visa application)? (2) Visa application - and who does it, us or the company? (3) Deciding on house availability date - if we say a date and then the visa gets approved quickly, we'll be out of pocket as won't have our mortgage covered (unless the company are flexible and wait a few weeks?); conversely, if the visa gets delayed and the tenants are waiting to move in, is it acceptable to tell them to hang on a few weeks? (4) Does the company get an email to tell them the visa has gone through (and presumably we get the actual visa)? (5) When do we start selling everything and how long have people taken to sell the contents of their entire house? (we're only taking a large move cube or some tea cartons so will have lots to sell, but don't want to start now as we have to save up £10k for the move so aren't looking for jobs just yet, and if it doesn't work out then we'll have sold stuff for no reason!). Thanks, I-F :-)

Thanks Alan, that's good to know - will bear it in mind if / when we sell [emoji106]

Yes we get statements so I guess I just look at a certain month's figure and put that down then...? I assume we'll have to use someone like Alan Collett but do they have to be local or is it all done online? When you say 'not cheap' are we talking hundreds or thousands of $$$? [emoji15] I think if we'd moved a few years ago we'd be ok, but the new rules only came into play this April [emoji36]

Hi Chortlepuss, thanks for explaining that. Unfortunately remortgaging isn't an option but luckily one of our 3 mortgages (Yep just one house but erm moved 3 times and took out a different mortgage each time, lol) IS interest-only... With the other two, to work out how much the interest part is, I've gone on an online mortgage calculator and worked out what my repayments would be for those mortgages based on our current interest rate (+1.5% letting fee), term and have selected "interest-only" as mortgage type. Is this correct? Did you sell before you got PR then? I guess if we sold whilst on a 457 then HMRC wouldn't tax us simply because it would still be classed as our primary residence due to the fact that our Aus visa was a temporary one... [emoji848]

Thanks for your input guys. Alan, I'm working on the assumption that we wouldn't sell up unless / until we got PR... What are the annual and letting exemptions? Not heard about those before... And when you say the last 18m = exempt, what does this mean exactly...?? Pls excuse my ignorance, I'm useless at anything tax-related (and HMRC don't make their rules easy to inderstand)! [emoji15]