PeterJa

Good comment! I get angry about places with plenty of opportunities yet a lot of kids and adults want to doss around like there are none.

Hi, I know what you mean. The organisation of mine was an absolute disaster. Our morning tests were supposed to finish at 1, but we only got out of the room at 1:35. Then I had to collect my bag and get across London for my speaking test at 2:15 - which they said I should get to 45 minutes early.... like, how? I was annoyed as I completely crashed in the speaking test as I was exhausted and hadn't eaten since the early hours. I did think of complaining but complaints should be made to the test centre... duh, aren't they the ones we're complaining about??? In the end I was happy with my grades. I think the IELTS tests are VERY good, but the test centres are just big money making cash cows.

Cheers all for the info, thanks a lot.

Hi, I've submitted my EOI for a 189 and I'm confident of getting an invite soon. If I do, at what stage in the process do I get my medical and police checks please? I'm thinking it would be better to get them now so I'm not waiting later on? Cheers, Pete

Sorry, I'll stick to the rules in future and criticise everything Australian.

Why not, it's pretty relevant for anyone moving from London to Perth. There's a huge difference in the size of the two cities but that puts the 5 lane roads into even greater perspective. How many of them do we have in the UK? This was going North to South and back a few times. Probably a freeway but it went through the city. We were laughing as it was busier late Friday afternoon / early evening than other times but it was a walk in the park compared to what we're used to.

I think the problem with the nhs is it is a political football. No party dares change it in any way as the opposition will crucify them no matter how good the changes are (presuming any politician has every suggested a good change). Whoever said the nhs is the closest thing we have to a religion in this country was bang on. And whoever says "it's free" has never paid UK tax.

Mine is a 3 week wait. When my kids are ill they recommend a&e... which drives the local a&e crazy.

I'm no expert having only spent a few weeks in Perth and never done morning rush hour, but I drove across the city a number of times during the day and early evening and compared to London the traffic was light. Laughably light. One main road we drove on through Perth had, if I remember correctly, five lanes in each direction. Compare that to some of London's main arteries that have one lane, or two lanes effectively reduced to one because of the parking on both sides of the road.

Hi, does anyone know any good resources or websites explaining financial issues when emigrating to Aus. Off the top of my head I'm thinking what happens to my UK pensions, can I still contribute to my uk pensions, what tax do I pay on my rented property in the UK, do I have to pay tax in Aus on this UK rental income? Thanks for any help, PJ.

Mine was > 12 weeks. I think around 15. Do you need to sit an IELTS test to get points? If so, now is a good time.

Frank was my hero growing up, I'll be getting my hair cut there all the time before I move.

Hi, I did mine a few weeks ago. You're right to take it seriously but there is no need to panic. Practise I would strongly advise you to practise - a lot. A native speaker like me, and I presume you, would be doing very well to get high marks otherwise. Spend half an hour on google and you will find lots of sample papers and recordings. You will also find some very good advice. Test Sections There are four; listening, reading and writing are tested in the morning, then talking in the afternoon. Each section is marked out of 9 points. 7 points and above on each section will get you 10 points on your skilled immigration, 8 points and above on each section will get you 20 points. Listening Test Easy, but don't neglect it. Some sections are very fast and you need to be able to spot the "trick" questions. You only need to do 2 or 3 practise tests to be an expert. Reading Test This consists of 3 or 4 passages you have to read and answer questions on. You have an hour. I finished in 20 minutes and spent the next 40 checking my answers. To me this was the easiest section and I think you have a lot of time due to the non-native speakers taking the test. Writing Test This was by far my hardest section. You have an hour to write an essay and a letter, and for me that was pretty tough. You also have to write a minimum of 150 words in the letter and 250 in the essay. Now, this sounds easy but it's not. I wrote one or two sample letters and essays every night for a few weeks and I always counted the words afterwards to get a feel for the length. It's pretty tough. The subject is chosen for you, but I would advise to write both about a situation you have been in - the words come easier that way. For example, if the letter is complaining to a landlord then complain about a problem you have actually suffered. Speaking Test Remember you're tired from the morning so have a decent lunch before this. Have you seen bladerunner where they cross question the androids until their eyes dilate and they give themselves away? It reminded me of that It's easy, but don't just answer "yes" or "no", explain and justify your answers. And you will be asked to talk for 1 to 2 minutes on a subject - look at your watch as this is harder than you think. I gave a great speech about a subject I'm an expert on and it turned out to be for less than a minute... Again, practise, practise, practise. Definitely find the sample tests online. There is a Cambridge sample exam you can buy but it's probably too late for you to do this. All the best, Pete.

Hi, thanks all for the advice. Does it take some time to get onto the list? The reason I ask is looking at the last round my profession has a threshold of 60 points but I have 70. Thanks, PJ

Hi, I submitted my Skilled Independent EOI this weekend. Does anyone know how long I should expect to wait for an answer please, or what are the variables that change the waiting time? Does marital status and number of children influence it? Thanks a lot, PJ.

I agree, trackers all the way until you really know what you're doing. You put the money in, turn your brain off and don't have to think. Read the first half of the Motley Fool book - before it starts recommending individual stocks (note: presuming it hasn't changed since 1999 when I first read it). It is VERY hard to beat an index. Especially over several years.

No, not at all. Think about it. Imagine someone moved to Aus six months ago when the FX rate was 1.45. If they had sold their house in the UK for £100,000 and changed it to $ they'd have $145,000 Now, if they moved back today with the FX rate at 1.83, that $145,000 would be worth £79,235. So, are they unwise or wise to change their dollars back to pounds now? No one in the world knows the answer to this. Any answer is just a guess. If the exchange rate goes back down to 1.5 then yes, it would be *advantageous* in hindsight to keep their money in $ for a while as they can change it back to £96,667. BUT, what if they hold dollars and then it goes to 2.2, which is a very, very feasible situation? Their original £100,000 is now only worth £65,909!!! And then what do they do? Take the loss or wait some more? Add to this the property market. If the property market changes at the same time (uk homes get more expensive, the place they bought in Aus goes down) you now have a double whammy of badness and you could come back with hardly anything. On the flip side, if the Aussie dollar gets stronger, the Aussie property goes up, and UK property goes down you'd come back and buy your old home twice. Unless you're a politician and judge everyone with 20/20 hindsight you cannot say "wise" or "unwise" in this situation as no one knows which way property or exchange rates are going to go. I've been doing this for years and the only certainty is they can ALWAYS go further up and until they go to zero they can ALWAYS go further down.

I wouldn't say anyone could be unwise about when they choose to move. Show me the person who can predict both (or either) FX rates and property prices and I'll show you the richest person on earth. It's best to work out where you're exposed, or what your "worst case" situation is, and protect yourself against it.

Me too. I was in a test centre with at least a couple of hundred people crammed in to it. It was hard to get into your chair as it was pressed between your own desk and the one behind. It's one big huge cash cow that the test centres and the IELTS organisers are milking.

When I was a kid our neighbours sold up and emigrated to Aus. They were back about a year later... The problem was, in addition to spending some of their cash while they were in AUS, UK house prices and GPBAUD FX rates had moved; so while they sold a fairly nice house when they left the UK, they moved back into a flat in a horrible (and I do mean, horrible!) area where they lived until they died. I guess the moral is always cover your a$$.

They're not compulsory (someone will correct me if I'm wrong here) but unless you're about 32 years old, have 10 years relevant work experience, and have studied and worked in Aus then I think it's a gimme that you need to sit the IELTS test to get the required amount points. That's certainly the case for my profession... Cheers, PJ

I understand this question as I was in the same position myself: I could have applied and proved experience of about 5 different categories, so I wanted to know which was the most in demand. I couldn't find any numbers myself and the dodgy recruitment agent I started to use before I went bust wouldn't give a straight answer - though I suspect that might have been for legal reasons, like they can't help a client "make" a history that gets them in. If you find a list, please post it! I would be very interested to read it. All the best, PJ.

It's certainly the land of plenty. Free homes, education, healthcare, and free money every week to spend on whatever you like. And no need to worry about working to pay us back, we'll get Eastern Europeans to do that.

I'm in the process of applying for a skilled independent visa without an agent. I was about to pay an agent about £5k then I noticed their service was going down the pan (previously they had returned all my emails very quickly) so I changed my mind. A few days later they went bust. Anyway, one MAJOR pitfall is I spent ages doing my proof of skills then as I filled out my Expression Of Interest form I found out I needed to sit an IELTS test to get more points. I guess an agent could have told me this and I could have done the IELTS test as I got my skills together, but "no drama"... I'm just behind schedule. This is a silly error btw, but hey, I made it.