I Love Oz

Great post kimanda, glad your settling in so well :biggrin: keep us up to date on how your settling in. Did you have a job offer before you went and what do you both do? christine

Congratulations what part of oz you heading to and when? Have you told everyone?

Nope sorry you might be waiting a long time for me to get the joke :embarrassed:

Aww I've changed from a junior member to just a member, I'm feel a little bit more like part of the forum now :cute:

Good, although I did wonder if that was sarcasm at first then thought I'd explain, sometimes you just can't tell on here

Ha ha no Xmas and ny (new year)

No don't give up, you've put all this work in so far and it will get better for you, your doing this for a reason so just remember what the reason is

I'm off to Mexico this Xmas and NY to escape the cold, love the run up to Xmas but the days after i find it quite depressing tbh

sorry never heard of this what is the living away from home allowance? I can guess from the name but what is involved and why has this stopped? That's what I worry about as it will be my husband who will be going out to work first and I will be at home. thanks, christine

Hi, good question I wold also like to know info on this and child benefit.

We are using Go Matilda and they are very good. How much are their fees?

I guess it's a good thing we all don't like the same place or we would all want to live there! I have visited Perth and Sydney and preferred Perth but everyone is different and that for me is a good thing

Hi Colette good to hear your story, I think what you say about having A strong relationship with your OH is so true I can only imagine how much it puts a strain on in, tbh that is one of the main things that worries me it is so much pressure on it. Also you have to think about if one of you doesn't like it and wants to go back to the UK. Did this conversation come up with you? Do you feel completely settled now? christine

Glad you got to the bottom of it, good luck this time

I think it is a good life lesson and it has clearly showed the OP how much they appreciate the UK. If you don't go you will never know if it is for you, I personally think you will only know if you go (could be the new slogan) no amount of Internet research can compare to the real thing. I have been to oz twice before and fingers crossed if we get our visa we will be visiting for a month to activate our visa, I don't know what more you can do to prepare yourself for the big move and then once there give it enough time to decide if it was the right move and if not you can always say you've done it.

$2795 for agent costs just checked for you

hi jackie Yes as VS states that is quite normal for fees, speak to a few agents, our made it very clear that fees are none negotiable so you obviously have the option to do it up yourself but you will need to do a lot of research and one mistake and you may have to start again if you get declined. Get as much info as you can from the expo, they calculated our points for us and let us know which visa to apply for. We had option of 190 if partner did IELTS test but went for the 489 visa.

When it does come for our time to move the main things that will make us decide on which area to live is work and schools in the area. I have family in Joondalup but don't intend to live next door to them even if we could (can't as applying for 489 visa so have to live regional). We plan to do as much research as we can into different areas but unfortunately you will only truly get to know the area, good and bad, once you live there. I'd hope people won't only say the good things about the area but give a realistic view, I for one don't think it will be that easy to choose an area, also renting costs come into this too.

Hi jackie we also went to an expo at he beginning of the year, it was brilliant answered a lot of questions for us and gave us lots to think about! They will help to answer any questions about what visa to apply for, you are both young so will get more points for age etc. we are using Go Matilda for an agent, there fees are around $3k and then we have to pay $3k to the government. good luck christine

Good luck to you don't blame you for being excited to get to adsa as a woman I seem to spend a lot of time at the supermarket love it or hate it, it has to be done!

No we are applying through an agent (go Matilda) and they have asked for the docs to be certified so I am trying to get everything over by next week

Hi All We have received our invitation to apply for the 489 visa and will be applying in November. Was just wondering who else is doing the same so we can all keep up with progress. Going to the solicitors tomorrow to get all documentation certified then we can send off with our visa application...... Exciting times Chris

Hi We are in the middle of our visa process now. Here are the steps we followed jan 2011 visited Perth and Sydney (family in Perth) march 2012 visited an seminar for more info and to see if we had enough points June 2012 registered with Go Matilda who have helped us select the correct visa and helped with the paperwork. You will need to get your skills assessed once you have decided who is going to be the main visa applicant and may need to do an IELTS test if you need more points. We have decided to go on a 489 visa which is temporary for 2 years and we will have to live in regional Perth and after 2 years we should get PR. If you have any more questions just ask but I would recommend speaking to a migration expert Good Luck