DianaK

I have read through several discussions regarding private health insurance vs Medicare and I still have one question - if you have a private health insurance and your GP sends you to a specialist, can you choose to see this specialist as a public health patient or you do not have a choice and you have to see him as private?

I have submitted EOI for 189 and 190 and I got selected for 189 first. NSW send me an invitation to apply 3 or 4 months after I got my 189 visa. In fact, I have been invited by NSW again this year, which surprises me. I thought that once we have a visa we are automatically removed from the system. I would not risk it and I would submit for both - you never know with Developers. Why risk it? There is no difference, especially if you plan to stay in NSW.

After two years in Australia, she might be eligible for university funding but not to become a citizen. Her course will most probably be recognized although you have to check. It was discussed here: http://www.pomsinoz.com/forum/education/32602-btec-national-diplomas-recognised-oz-universities.html

It only shows that you are a person who cares about people and who loves his/her family. They are certainly blessed to have you and I am sure that they realize that. Most probably, this is why they left without you - they know that you will all be together after couple of years, as you are obviously emotionally connected with them. So many parents wish that their children feel the same at this age! 2 years is not that long of a period and you will be busy studying anyway. Do not over think it. It is so simple...just be patient. 3 months ago we left our daughter in Australia, as we had to come back after validating our visas. She is 23 and transferred 2 years of studies to Australia, so we can all be together. It happened that we had to come back because of work commitments. Since we came back we talk everyday. She was very nervous in the beginning but she is getting used to it and I can tell that she sounds happy. We all know that it is just a matter of time and we will be together in the end. This is all that matters.

There might be a difference and you should start from there. is your degree equivalent to an Australian bachelor degree? Do you have 9 out of 12 courses? Do you have syllabus for those courses from a a recognized institution and program? Those are the requirements that you should look at and see if you comply with them. I think that it was discussed here that ACCA itself is sufficient to cover the requirement for bachelor degree but if not all courses are completed as part of the ACCA program then you should consider this as well.

Thank you again for the info! The price for Vitamix in Australia is double, which puts it in a really high price range for what it is. If you have it, I would take it and use it until it is time to be replaced.

Even if the exemptions were part of a course work completed in Australia? That might be the case but it beats any logic...

Thanks for the info! They quoted $13,000 for half container :shocked: I might have to give them another call...:err: Too bad for us that you are in QLD...my chiropractor advised on finding north american chiropractor when we move to Sydney, and he was even going to check that for me. Do you know if the Australian and European chiropractors are trained differently? In regards to moving stuff, we do not have much as we would like to start fresh, but there are items that are just not worth selling and might come handy in the beginning - like my Dyson, Vitamix, Actifry, etc. I know I have to use a converter but otherwise I have to give it away and they are so expensive in Australia.

Hi Topender, Would you happen to know agencies that find placements/contracts for Oracle functional consultants? Thanks.

https://iar.ato.gov.au/IARWeb/default.aspx?pid=4&sid=1&outcome=1 This might help...just click "next".

Would you share the name of the company? We will ship from Canada and they might work for us too. So far, I have been quoted ridiculous amounts to Sydney and any info will be of great help to us.

There is nothing wrong with one's preference to live in an area with less Muslims, as there is nothing wrong with Muslim's preference to live in areas with predominantly Muslim population, close to mosques. This has nothing to do with being a racists or showing intolerance. One might not like the way the Arabs dress, or their manners, or something else that is specific to their culture but that does not mean that this person hates all Arabs. It is similar to your preference to live in Australia vs in a cold climate country.

We have been driving for a week all around Sydney to get a feel of the place and there was only one word to describe the place when we were in Penrith - depressing. I am sure it can be very appealing to others but just sharing our first impression, as newcomers.

Very ture, littlesarah. I was very sceptical about the gluten-free hype until I saw what difference the gluten-free diet made to my daughter's and my husband's health. For myslef, I can only say that eventhough I am not intollerant, I feel much better when sticking to their diet, although I do eat wheat occasionally.

Thanks, Maryrose02. I googled too and was nicely surprised by the number of bakeries and restaurants I found Hopefully, this does not mean that too many people in this part of the world are gluten intollerant ....

We are family that eats mostly gluten-free foods. Any advice on stores and brands will be of big help for us as in the beginning we would not know where to shop and two family members are sensitive to anything that contains gluten. They never had issues in Europe but developed it here, in Canada. Also, would you reccomend certain organic stores or markets that carry organic produce?

Yes, this is what they say but I have read posts here that part time is also acceptable, as long as the dependent has no other income. Also, was he 17 when you got invited and submitted the application? May be you will be OK as he was under 18 at that time but I am not sure. As far as I know, for the age of the applicants, they take into consideration the age at the date of application. It is only logical that the same rule will apply for the dependents but again, I am not an expert.

Has he ever filed tax returns? If he did and it shows that he did not earn income, then attach it. Also, copy of his bank statements will work, showing that there is no inflow of regular wages.

We are planning a reccie to Sydney over Christmas and part of January to validate our visas. Family of 3 + 2 cats. Daughter stays in Australia for uni, and we will join her in September 2015. Can't wait to move there permanently! Just sold the house and now starting to accumulate savings, to make us last for several months when we arrive in September. We will be jobless and homeless, but hopefully happier... and for sure warmer

You need 7 on IELTS, for each component, before you can apply for assessment. For the occupation choice - it will depend on the responsibilities that you undertook through the years, which typically are outlined in your letter of employment.

Calyx, It does not matter what degree you have, if they do not recognize as completed 9 out of 12 mandatory courses that are in the requirements. If you have those 9, then you can worry about the degree. I am not sure wether Summer1261 means 3 modules or 3 courses? I am a CPA/CGA in Canada and I applied for CPA membership after I got the positive assessment. They told me that I have to pass one course to become a full member. I did that and now I am a member. Based on mutual agreements with CPA bodies around the world, future members may be directly admitted or asked to complete 1, 2 or 3 courses.

Apart from having tall small cats, we have a match with the second cat as well My ragdoll is very moody and I would never think of putting him in the same kennel with the small cat. He was behaving very badly for several months and it turned out that the poor guy had kidney stones. We put him on a diet and he has totally changed since, but still, I would not like to put him through additional stress. You can always go to the US site fo Hagen( the distributor of the kennel) and see where to buy the product in Orlando. I was really impressed by the quality as the door is very sturdy, the bolts are metal and the locking mechanism is very reliable, in my opinion. Also, I was able to fit a cat bed in there and the little guys look quite comfortable when they use it (it is a topic of different conversation how much they hate kennels). I am already done with all the formalities and vaccines for the cats and it is only a matter of when we are going to fly them, dependening on when we will move permanently. We got our 189 visa in January and we have until 7 Jan 2015 to enter Australia - this is why we paln flying on 25th of December, although I will be back to Canada in January to resign "properly" In my opinion, you would save yourself a lot of trouble if you apply for 189 directly, as Partners Visa is quite an ivolved process and requires a lot of documentation. This is, if it is not too complicated for an US lawyer to trasnfer his qualifications to Australia. Is the assessment too complicated? I know that if Canadian lawyers want to practise in USA, they have to go through a state bar exam but do you have to do that for the assessment in Australia? Also, depending on age and recognition of a doctorate degree (I am not sure if they recognise JD as such) you might even not need the points for experience, which will make the process even less complicated. If you need help with that, I can give you the contacts of an australian lawer who migrated to Canada and who is a MARA registered agent. You do not have to use him for the whole process as he gives consultations if you have specific question as well. He lives in Vancouver and we considered him as the closest agent who we can meet in person but we decided that we will not use an agent in the end. Despite that, our preliminary communication with him left a good impression. Getting 189 was a very smooth process in my case. Everything is so well organized that I had to only follow the steps. Considering the fact that you are a lawyer, I do not think that you will have any issues with that. Just some people are intimidated by the number documents, rules and regulations that they have to go through and this makes it almost impossible for them to manage on their own and they require the help of the agent. Similar to you, I am very optimistic about our move to Australia, just thinking about the first months there makes me feel a bit uneasy. For me, it iwll be a second migration and I know that with time, everything falls into place and one can make their life what they want it to be. I love my job but I am willing to make sacrifices and if I have to work as an accountant for a while (what a horrid thought!), I will, as I am already a CPA in Australia and this the most realistic job prospect in the beginning. I love my job with systems and this is what I want to do eventually but I am ready to embrace a temporary change. I have always felt that Australia is the place I belong to and soon it will be another dream that will come through.:smile:

Funny you say that for your small cat One of my cats is Himalayan, quite small I will say, but also tall, and this is why I decided to get the same size kennel for both cats (the second cat is Ragdoll and naturaly bigger than the average cat). I got excellent reviews for this particular kennel from people who flew their cats on 30 Hrs plus flights and when I saw it in the store, it did look very well built and had all the features needed. This is how I ended up with buying the same size for both cats. I am still planning a trip to AirCanada cargo office to confirm that the kennels will be OK. I was thinking about the codeshare and is it possible to buy the ticket from Orlando to Melbourne through United and use their services for live cargo or it will be Qants regardless? At least, you have an option somebody from your family to accompany them to LAX which is wonderfull. Unfortunately, my family is in Europe and I have to fly the cats couple of days before I fly. I'm in the IS/Finance field, and although my skills are transferable I still feel very insecure in regards to the job prospects. At the same time, I have no doubts about the move and I know it will be worth it in the long run. This is why I applied for 189 and did not consider sponsorship.

Hi Tom, My cats will fly with AirCanada from Calgary to Vancouver and then to Sydney but they have never mentioned that the transfer will be a problem??? It is true that a flight from Calgary to Vancouver is only an hour but isn't it a responsibility of the airline, if kennel clean is required? Plus, cats are usually so stressed while they travel, that for 5 hrs, I doubt that they will need a kennel clean... Have they refused to board the cats in Orlando and how long is the stopover in LA? Unfortunately, in your situation, you are flying to Melbourne and you do not have a choice... It is great that you will be earning Aussie wage and it will be higher than in US. In my situation, I will be leaving North America to face the unknown, only knowing perfectly well that I am leaving tons of jobs opportunities in Canada and US Hopefully, I will manage to secure a job when I get there, but it is a bit scary not being familiar with the market and what to expect. When are you planning to fly your cats to Australia? I have been warned to not fly them couple of weeks before or after Christmas.

Forgot to mention that I am not using an agent and so far I do not find the process to be complicated at all and I cannot see a reason to use the services of an agent. I would say that if you got that far ( got all the vaccines, government vet signature, import permits, quarantine accomodation organised) an agent would not have much left to do apart to organise the flights. And you are right...whatever the costs might be, these little guys are simply irreplacable.