dazza9

I came across this article and hopefully it'll reassure, or help, anyone thinking of making the move from the UK to Australia: http://www.feelingpurpose.com/home/how-a-single-thought-changed-my-life

I thought it was great, mega busy but great! Remember its the first time they've ever done it so the organisation is going to be difficult!

We have a relocation agent working for us and she has arranged some viewings before the open for inspection, if we applied for a property and got it the open would be cancelled, this is probably whats happened with the properties you've looked at. Good luck finding somewhere anyway.

On our recent 457 we didn't need police checks, you only need health checks if you are going to be in direct contact with the public eg a nurse or teacher. You still need the same skills assesment as PR (thats the bit that can take time). What job is it you do/are applying for? You can purchase property on a 457 but you need to be approved to buy by some government deptartment-this shouldn't be a problem so long as you plan to live in the house, you will need 20% deposit to get a mortgage. Surely you'd want to rent for a while to decide what area you like before buying though? Our 457 application took 5 days to process and be approved, then you can enter Oz whenever you want (think it may be a 12month cut off), it just depends how quickly your employer wants you here. The bit that takes the time is getting the paper work together for the application.

In London it has definitely increased, I know a lot of people that avoid going out at night now as they don't feel safe!

Sorry, thats not what I meant. I just meant that I'd hope when people are in a country other than their own they would have a little more respect and behave themselves, maybe thats just the way I think and not how others think. I have personally been the victim of a vicious attack in London over the last twelve months, as have a lot of people I know, and I always think its these pathetic small minded people that would never be the sort of people to leave the UK that would commit these crimes. Maybe Australians are just as bad, I have yet to find out when I make the move in nine days time. I'm just fed up of waking up in London to hear of another senseless, unprovoked murder thats happened.

Great to see that its people from the UK causing these problems! We are a disgrace where ever we go!

Yes it is travel insurance, DIAC checked the policy and they were happy with it. It covers for trips of maximum 90 days. As soon as I get To Oz I'll be registering with Medicare which will cover me anyway.

I just had my 457 approved with an annual policy from virgin. It was a basic policy and cost me £25 for the year. I won't bother cancelling it at that price.

The pound to AU$ exchange rate seems to have shot up slightly over the last few days (we get more dollars for our pound),anyone know why this is and more importantly can anyone predict what will happen over the next couple of weeks? I have a fairly large sum to transfer before our move in mid January, do I take advantage of this recent increase or hold off and hope it goes up even further?

I think its human nature to always want what you haven't got. The grass is always greener and all that!

Had our stuff packed and collected by Pickfords last week, couldn't fault that part of the service. Can't comment on the actual shipping as its currently sitting in storage until we're ready to ship it in a couple of weeks.

Agree with Joebloggs. Your visa is no longer valid. Why would they go through the hassle of sponsoring your visa then to withdraw the job offer before you've even got to Australia?

Having transferred money a couple of times recently to my Westpac account I can say they won't contact you to say the money has arrived-although I don't know of any bank that would. As mentioned before online banking is the easiest to check. I recently used a broker to transfer some money, I completed the transfer to the broker at 6pm UK time and when I checked at 3pm the following day the money was in my Westpac account! Couldn't believe how quick it was!

I recently opened with Westpac because you can complete an ID check at their London branch which then means your account is fully functional so you can transfer money in and out. I think the other banks only let you transfer money out when you've presented to a branch in Australia. Also Westpac sent us our debit cards to our UK address so we could use them the moment we stepped off the plane.

Thanks for the info Sara, good luck with settling in further and have fun visiting your cat!

Good luck and as I say any optometrist will be able to look after your daughter. May be worth looking for an independent practice instead of a chain as they generally can spend more time with the patient.

As an optometrist in Australia there is a maximum fee that can be charged, I would be surprised if its different for GPs. If the GP is bulk billing or charging a GAP they are not private as they are claiming from Medicare.

Hi Diane, I have just qualified as an optometrist in Australia after ten years practise in the UK. Australian optometrists (what you call an optician) are more clinical and perform more procedures than those in the UK so your daughter will be fine under the care of an optometrist, she doesn't need to go to a hospital-but if she does the optometrist will refer her. Where are you going to be living?

No, GP's have to be registered and approved by medicare, the amount they can charge etc are all set by the government.

I'm in the same situation, moving just after Christmas and my wife is a bridesmaid in August back in UK. My decision has been made really as my employer is paying for our one way flights out there so we'll have to buy return flights from Oz. I imagine in the grand scheme of things (overall cost of moving) the extra its gonna cost you to buy returns from Oz its not going to make all that much difference.

Great report, thanks. We're moving over just after Christmas and are thinking of basing ourselves in Richmond. Would you mind saying what your budget was for accommodation? We also have a cat, did you find that to be a problem or were most agents/landlords ok with it? Thanks

Speak to an immigration agent and get some proper advice on which route you need to take if you want to work towards the Australian dream.

It seems that just as everything looks like its going well another hurdle comes along that needs to be jumped through with the visa journey! Good luck with the move and whatever you decide to do with your visa.

I'm pretty sure HSBC UK and Australia are run as different businesses so you would still pay the same transfer fees as if you had bank accounts with two different banks. Much better to use a broker like moneycorp.