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Thanks for info, but do you know if we can purchase a car straight away (or at least in 2 weeks) once we touch down in Melbourne? We're trying to see the cost of shipping our car against the cost of hiring till we purchase a car, for example if we are not permitted to buy a car till we have resided in Oz for at least 6 months, then the cost of hiring or leasing is going to be more than shipping our own car and it value....dilema's dilema's :chatterbox:

G'day, Does anyone know if there is a restriction on the expiry date you must have on your UK passport before emigrating to Oz? For example, we are coming over on a 457 visa, with my passport expiring in 3 years (2017)and my wife's in 4 years (2018). I'm worried that when we land in Melbourne the customs people stops us and turns us around back to the UK because our passport expiry is too short!? Sorry if this topic has been covered, thanks for any input. Cheers all,

Hey everyone, Got a simple question, hoping someone might know and help?: 1. Can we buy a car within the first 2 weeks of landing in Melbourne? or are there rules restricting temporary visa holders (we will be on a 457) from purchasing a car so quickly? And if you are a guru on these matters, what documents or items do we need to purchase a car? Many thanks in advance for any help.

Whoops...:wideeyed: Reading the threads, it seemed like Craig was the voice and experience of Iron Imports, and was under the impression you were an apprentice of his taking over his business...LOL, your giggle is permitted. :wink: My Apologies.

Hi there, What happened to Craig? Is he setting up a separate company? Please don't take it the wrong way and no offence intended, but it seems Craig had all the know how and experience. So just wondering what credentials and experience do you have as the new Iron chef ? Regards,

Hi everyone, Having read the surface of threads on 457s, and not wishing to spend hours trawling through the remaining thousands. I really wanted to know if anyone has processed a 457 visa application by themselves without an agent? I'm getting mixed messages from the various threads, some say no need for agent others do, what I would like to hear is from someone who actually has completed a 457 visa application all by themselves. If they have, just a few points: 1. Was it difficult? and does it take alot of your personal time? 2. Any pitfalls would you recommend to avoid? 3. How long did it take the visa to complete to approval (eg: just as fast as using an agent?) 4. Would you recommend doing it yourself from your experience? If there is anyone who fits this description, i would be grateful for your advice and opinion, thanks in advance !

Aaahhh I see, but thankyou Ken & rosie for more reassurance that its not potentially a poor and dangerous surburb. Hey Donna, thanks for your reply, nice to hear first hand someone who lives there and even more promising to see you still live there. We won't be out there till the end of next year (October 2014), so doing alot of reserach at the moment, and will probably get back to you with some questions if you don't mind, maybe PM you Maddock/Donna? Thanks to everyone for Reply once again, Ray

Thanks Adam, Useful links, having read most of the migrationagentreview.com. I think we will definitely use go matilda, no one can fault them :-). Hopefully they wont be too expensive compared to other agents .

Hey Guys N Girls, We are in the same boat, looking for a good reliable agent. Can you give us ideas of what the costs are like for comparisons. We are totally new to this and hope to be in Australia by next year November. Starting the Visa application once we have a good agent. Of topic has anyone ever done it without an agent? and is it recommended? Cheers all :biggrin:

Brillant Adonna, thanks a ton, really helpful. @Melza, haha, good point, I guess in this scenario for me, PLS = Person Lacking Self-awareness...LOL..whoops did it again..LOL=....nah won't go into that one too obvious). Thanks again

Hey everyone, I wondered for someone completely new like me, it would be useful to have a thread like this where newbies can find out quickly (rather than surfing through tons of threads) what all the abbreviations, lingos and acronyms mean. For example OH? WA? CO? etc etc If this has been covered already, could someone kindly link me to that thread, it will help me understand better when I'm reading the posts. So to kick off can some tell me... OH = ? CO = ? HR = ? PIO = ? I'm sure there will be more I will pick up as I go along reading these posts, so will add more later, but if someone can be good enough to fill the gap it will help so much in understanding when reading these posts. Thanks a bunch to all in advance, to those who have time to reply.

Thanks for the info Celt, really much appreciated, just wondered why Caroline springs does not feature in any of the 'most liveable suburb' surveys? was worried that it is so bad that it did not even make the top 300!!? Overall sounds decent and positive. Looking at streeview google maps, looks like alot of development going on, (that was 2010) is it still like this? many construction and development of houses? What would you say the cultural mix is like there in springs? eg: mainly national aussies? or POMS? or mix with asians? Thanks again.

Hi All, We're new, so excuse us for going over covered grounds, but we wondered why is there no rating or ranking of Caroline Springs in the suburb surveys? (any of the rankings and stats). We are thinking of relocating there as job offer is there, so been researching about Caroline Springs, if anyone has info and opinions on it we would be very appreciative of your advice; in particular on: 1. Internet availability? good speed? 2. Safe area? 3. Schools good? 4. Amenities, like availability of leisure centres, gyms, cinemas, kids playgroups, etc 5. Healthcare provisions? good surgeries and pharmacies available? 6. Parking around the area is easy and free? 7. Is there much airplane noise traffic? as its near airport could be in flight path of airplanes? Thanks all, looking forward to any responses...