DianaK

For $650 you can find 1br within walking distance from CBD and your office. Walking to work will save you quite a lot of time and money on public transport, plus you will have all the entertainment areas close by where you can go for a drink or a nice evening out without the need to pay for a cab on the way back. There are also lots of activities around CBD and for a younger couple this could be quite suitable. We came 3 months ago and secured a rental in a newer apartment building in Surry Hills, close to Oxford street. I walk to work and after we lived in the area for a while, we both think that it was a great decision we made. Initially, we also had a lower budget but I guess, it is a trade off.

Hi Sarah, I hope that I am not providing misleading information but you can put yourself as an exporter, if you are applying for the permit. In my situation, I had to involve the agent after the permits had been issued. For one of my cats all the documents and flights were arranged by me and for the other cat I had to involve an agent due to last minute airline rules change for certain breeds. For both cats, I put myself as importer and exporter. In any case, if it is you submitting the application it makes sense that you put your names. I thought that when you involve an agent they take care of all that?

The import permit should state you as the importer. The address and phone number are formality. They even do not need to know if you change it.

Regarding the accounting/bookkeeping opportunities - we came from Canada 3 months ago and my husband is still looking for a job. He is a CPA from Canada and recently became a CPA in Australia, has over 10 years of accounting experience(including supervisory roles and audit) in big corporations in Canada but only in the Oil and Gas industry. According to the recruiters and some of the employer's feedback, this is a huge problem. Both, the lack of Australian experience and the industry that he worked in makes it very difficult to find a job. This is in Sydney. There are a lot of accounting jobs advertised but the market is flooded with accountants. He has never had a problem finding a job in Canada, even when he had 0 years Canadian experience 12 years ago. So far he has sent over 100 applications. it is true that he did not tailor his resume for each position he applied for, but still.... The recruiters are also saying that the market will be dead until the second part of January.

My first "above 40" day here .... Had to walk 40 min outside and by the end of the trip I was totally done for the day...difficult to explain that to the "boss", who expected of me to come up with a "brilliant solution" to a complex issue.

I would not worry about these too much , if you are doing it with a shipping company. They keep the crates till the release date, and it does not make sense to change them if the crate is in good condition after the long flight. In our case, when I collected my cat, they gave it to me in a different crate, but they never notified me or asked me to pay for it. They most probably will let you know in advance if you have to provide. Sorry I cannot be of more help.

Well, I have had it twice with the Canadian check in process. The first time to Australia and the second time to New Zealand. They do require a return ticket (may be cruise ship ticket as well, I do not know). Luckily we had return tickets but we will test the procedure one more time this month when we are leaving on one way thicket. For us, it will not be a problem as we are PR but for somebody who is on tourist visa, it might be a problem.

On electronic visa with a Canadian passport they might enter without talking to the immigration officials However, nobody can tell if they will be pulled aside to be questioned, regardless of the passport or type of visa. Also, they will not be allowed to board the plane in Vancouver with one-way ticket.

May be you can put your name c/o the company that do door to door transport? Call them to confirm as it is so new, there will be hardly anybody that knows what the rules will be after November.

On the contrary, they are not ashamed at all and there is a government program, according to which 2 million cats should be killed within the next 5 years or so. I am not sure where they will find so many stray/feral cats but it is on the agenda.

Thanks! It is good to know that we have a chance with less than 20%. 20 was our goal, but with the property prices in Sydney, I am not sure that we will manage to raise such a deposit. Do they require certain period of time with the same employer before we can apply?

What is the deposit that will generally allow you to get a mortgage within the first 3 - 6 months - 10%, 20%?

If they have a visa on any passport, they should be allowed entry Losing ties with Canada is important for tax purposes only. They will lose ties only after they were out of Canada for more than 180 days and have no bank accounts , property, family, etc. If they have their Canadian passport with the e-visa (visa required to board the flight in Canada), they can enter through the smart gate and they do not have to meet with the immigration officer.

The 3 years post qualification experience should only matter for the assessment. If the OP has more experience, it will be considered when actually applying for jobs.

Enter everything - most recent to 2004. Mark all postilions between 2004 and 2010 as not relevant. With 70 points, it does not matter really. You can choose not to enter 2004 - 2010, it should not have an impact, if your occupation is not with limited quota.

We have two cats that will fly to Sydney at the end of the month. The way I look at it - their relocation will cost me one month salary. It is one month of my life vs. the countless moments of joy that my cats have given me. Hope that you will find your reasoning, that will work best for you.

Have you declared something? We will leave in couple of weeks and I am still wondering if I should declare several decoration pieces made of wood, the table top of of a coffee table, Dyson cordless vacuum and a portable BBQ.

I was thinking of removing the filter and clean it as much as I can.

I was wondering if we should declare a portable BBQ. We love it and we consider taking it with us. My only concern is that you can never completely clean a BBQ. Also, I am thinking of taking our Dyson Animal cordless vac and I was wondering if there are restrictions for vacuums. Any thoughts or real life experience?

Yes, if you used pet shipping company they take care of that. For us, by the time we started thinking about contacting such company most of the work was done and we decided to go on with the rest of the preparation. It turned out to be a structured process and it was like arranging this and that for your own kinds. :smile:

Thanks, Peachy. I just have to stop worrying too much about them. Most probably I will go with the pads, just in case.

Very encouraging to hear - my two cats will fly in the end of September and I am really nervous, as I am organizing everything myself. Question - did you put liquid absorbing pads at the bottom of their pet carrier? I would think that cats are too anxious to make a mess but mine will be on a 16 hours non-stop flight. I was just wondering what do.

Make sure that each subject that CPA requires as mandatory has a description of each chapter or lecture. The more detailed, the easier for them to recognize it. An outline of the program only will not do. Also, you should provide syllabus for the relevant subjects only, not for all subjects that you have taken. It does not have to be official if you create it. On the other hand, if you cjoose to get it from the university, it has to have all university stamps and whatever they require.

I have provided a very detailed syllabus, which I created myself and attached a statutory declaration explaining that my university cannot issue the requested document and I put reasonable effort to describe the subjects as close as possible to the original curriculum. My CPA sassement was positive.

Sometimes I get the impression that Melbourne is perceived by potential emigrants as a big city that has the "Sydney wow factor" but the real estate is a bit cheaper, which makes it more affordable and more reasonable choice. Personally, there is not much that appeals to me in Melbourne.