DianaK

Hi Tom, I am bringing my two cats from Canada. The costs that you have incurred so far are almost the same as mine. You can always call the cargo department of the airline that you are going to use and ask them for a quote. The price of the flight will be based on the size of the kennel and the weight of the cats. I think I found the perfect kennel for cats and based on the size (27x19.5x19), the price is $700 per cat, that is from Calgary to Sydney. Usually flights from Canada are much more expensive than those from US but I am not sure if it is the same for live cargo. I would strongly reccomend that you visit the cargo office of the airline with the two cats in the kennels before your departure date. I have already done that and I had to to return the kennels and purchased new ones. The cats have a tendency to adjust their height to the height of the kennel, and often it is not too obvious that the kennel might not be the right size for them. This is the kennel I bought: https://ca-en.hagen.com/Dog/Home-and-Transport/Carriers/76725

I just looked at mine again and they are very specific about each of my degrees (2 bachelor and 1 master) in the Assessment Outcome section. I would think that you can claim points for your degree, based on the wording in your letter. Why don't you call them and ask? They are usually very helpful.

It should say in your CPA letter if it is equivalent to an australian degree and what degre e.g. bachelor, master, etc. It did say in mine.

Another article...sad and disturbing, if true... http://www.politicalears.com/blog/shock-claim-from-ghana-ebola-is-not-real/

What I cannot understand is why people are allowed to study for such a long period of time? I have absolutely nothing against the author of this post but it seems like most of the students who will stay so long are not really genuine students. In the end, there are people who have to put a lot of effort to get their qualifications assessed and work years to get the experience needed and there are others who come to the country and are allowed to stay forever just because they are students??? One would think that the governemnt sees all that...is it the money making on international student fees that prevents them from imposing more strict measures?

So, you will be on iternational student visas until your 3 children get a PR??? That is a lot of study that you have to go through... I do not really see a reason why the government will grant PR to anyone, just for completing a high school in Australia but who knows...

Wow! How does a family of 5 survive in Australia on international student visas? It looks like the easiest way to get into the country but what happens next?

So, you did not need those references for the assessment? Because if you provided the references at that point, and you are claiming experience based on what the professional body recognized in regards to years of experience and qualifications, you can submit the same references.

Usually professional references are required by the professional body assessing your qualifications and experience. Have you done this part?

Thank you for your reply, Maryrose02! We have to also look for a pet friendly accomodation as our two cats will be out of the quarantine facility couple of days after we arrive. I am almost sure that it makes finding accomodation even more difficult, especially an apartment. I am thinking of getting in touch with a real estate agency that deals with renlals and may be trying to secure 6 months lease if we pre-pay for the whole period, but I am still to find out how realistic is this option.

Thank you, LKC I will have a closer look at the areas close to the train stations then. Knowing that it is 40 min from Central to Sutherland gives me an idea of the commute time if I would like to check other lines within similar distance.

We are moving to Sydney around Christmas and I was wondering if you can reccomend any particular areas with easy access to the University of Technology. I can see on the map that it is pretty central but finding a rental at reasonable price at this time of the year is quite challenging and we have no idea about the commute times, if we are to consider searching further out of the central part.

Based on my daughters application through UAC and VTAC, there is no way that you can get a realistic idea about your ATAR when you come from a different country. They have their system of calculation and you will not know where you stand until you apply. For a start, go to the website of the universities that offer your degree and check what was the cut off for the last year. Then you can start arranging the different courses according to your preferences and the good thing is that the order does not have to be from the lowest ATAR cut off to the highest as you will be considered for 3rd or 4th preference before candidates with lower ATAR but first preference.

I have worked on cruise ships but I submitted only from the country of permanent residence (which is my home country) during the time I was employed on ships. It does not make sense to provide police certificates from all the countries where the ships were registered. I do not believe that a CO will ask that. Has he/she asked that? Are you claiming experience related to the positons that you held on the ships?

I also think that you should claim experience after December 2013.

Your dog should have his last rabbies vaccination done within the last 2 years as far as I remember. It does not matter how many other the animal had before that.

My 2 cats will fly around Christams and I have just checked this. The flight restrictions will be different for the different airlines but the quarantine facility in Sydney will accept animals until 19th of December and then again in the first days of January but I am not sure when exactly. After 19th of December, animals can only be released from quarantine but not admitted in the facility. I am using Air Canada and they allow me to fly the animals around Christmas only because it is a direct flight from Vancouver to Sydney, without a stopover in a different country. This is just an example, but most probably it is similar situation with other airlines.

Blossom79, I have just looked at pictures of bichons...they look adorable

The person at the top that has the final say in regards to those rules/price changes must really hate animals. I cannot understand how in a country where people seem to put so much effort to preserve their flora and fauna, cats and dogs can be treated in such a disgraceful manner. The quarantine facilities look bad enough and the attitude towards owners (although indirect) is just not acceptable. I have just posted in another thread that their advice for my 2 cats was to shave them, so they feel more comfortable instead of installing air condition in the qaurantine facilities, considering the price we are paying.

I just called the quarantine facility in Sydney to ask if there is air condition (there is not). I was concerned that we are moving 2 fluffy cats (ragdoll and himalayan) in December, when in Canada is around - 30 and they told me to better shave my cats??? Anybody had issues with fluffy cats migrating to Sydney at that time of the year? I guess, British shorthair cats also have thick hair, although not that long? I do not want to shave my cats, as i think that they should not be shaved but I do not want them to suffer neither.

I was wondering, are any of the expenses incurred to relocate to Australia tax deductable during the first year?

BBC's documentary on the topic, Jan 2014:

I was checking the health account regularly but nothing changed there. It was the visa account that was used for updates by the migration officer. In fact, I have never heard anything from them until the visa was granted.

Bulgaria has 10% Muslim population, 85% Christian. What appears to be Muslims at first sight are mostly gypsies and the majority of them are not Muslims. Unfortunately, the gypsies from Romania and Bulgaria contribute for the bad image of the two countries, as a great number of the immigrants who are trying to get government assistance are in fact representatives of this minority group. EU is sponsoring various programs for their integration but they just do not integrate, no matter in which country they live. If they live solely on government money in such poor countries as Bulgaria and Romania, they will try for sure to get whatever they can in UK.

Zack, What I cannot understand is why Farage made so much noise about the european migrants, who are NOT muslims and share the same values and believes like the british, while the bigger threat are the Non-EU migrants, mostly mislims, who try to impose their stone age culture and religious believes? It is another topic of discussion why the british government allowed them to take over whole towns and introduce their laws.