CommanderMaxil

i got married last year and we have yet to make any changes to my wife's name on any formal documents. It certainly not a requirement for the partner visa application. you could always do it later once you have your visa, its just an extra form to fill in so no big problem. You can get the visa sorted, get to Australia then get everything changed, i got my new UK passport in a two week turnaround from sending back the application from Darwin to the passport office in Liverpool

f i may throw in my own experience, i have now been in Darwin for 2 years. I originally came out to Canberra but relocated to Darwin after being offered a job up here. Overall i can highly recommend it, its a great (if quiet) town and there are very good opportunities here. I live in the CBD with my wife and we have an excellent standard of living, renting a 2 bedroom penthouse in a 10th floor apartment for $645 per week in an apartment with a gym and pool. We both walk to work and it takes less than 10 minutes. We don't have kids yet but i am told the schools here are pretty good. As i say its pretty quiet but its very safe for families and there are lots of sports activities for kids. As for suburbs, there are not that many to choose from but Malak or maybe Karama are worth checking out, or alternatively what they call the 'Northern suburbs', Fannie Bay and Nightcliff (they tend to be more expensive though). However i would offer the same advice as other people to consider renting rather than buying to begin with, for two main reasons. One is the climate here is incredibly oppressive in the build-up and wet season (Nov - May). Also, Darwin is not for everyone, if you are fond of the outdoors life and can bear the heat it could be a winner. People who like camping or fishing or shooting, that sort of stuff tend to love Darwin. My wife and i are not into any of that stuff being from big cities (London and Hong Kong) and we find it a bit dull (especially during the wet season when a lot of stuff shuts down). We remain here due to the professional opportunities it has offered me, which have been amazing. I would say its a place to come and experience, but not commit to until you have been through the wet season and know you can stick it. The Dry season on the other hand is like heaven on earth, beautiful conditions and lots of cool stuff to do, if it were like that all year round it would be a city of 4 million, rather than 130,000! The second main reason to consider renting first is though that house prices are going through a major slump here due to oversupply, and we are by no means at the bottom of the market yet. There is a major recession coming this way (for lots of reasons, cuts in GST allocation, ending of a major project, general slump heading for Australia) and you are likely to get a much better deal in 12-18 months time. There is massive oversupply of housing here, primarily in the Unit market but houses have been affected as well. if you are here for the long hall you can buy now and get a good price i should say and not lose out, but you are likely to see a drop in value for the next year or two. Hope this helps, happy to provide any more info if you have any questions, overall it is a pretty good place and i have enjoyed my time here

Happy to try and help a little with some of your questions sun2. I moved to Darwin in August so have recently had to address many of the issues that you are wonderign about. In terms of availability of housing, it depends on what you are looking for, which i guess depends on if you are coming alone or with others. I came here alone and there are lots of modern apartments in the city centre. In fact there are too many so there should be no problems finding a place. Darwin feels like a property bubble with an inevitable crash coming as new apartments are coming on stream all the time, but so far the prices are holding up. i pay $550 per week for my place, large, 1 bedroom. Bills included except for electric, which i top up on a card system. Don't know much about house rentals I have managed so far without a car as i live and work in the CBD, which is mostly fine and means i am saving money quite easily. There is a decent bus network to get from the Centre to most of the suburbs but the buses do not run very late. the last buses on the main routes tend to be at about 9.30pm (except on fridays and saturdays, when they run to 10.30 or so). So if you are working late in the Hospitality industry that might be a problem, unless you are able to walk to and from work you will likely need a car. buses cost $3 per journey and the tickets are valid for 3 hours, or you can buy a weekly ticket for $20, unlimited bus rides. Good value. I came from the UK to Australia so i find groceries relatively expensive, though there are excellent markets in Darwin. Difficult to say what i spend, maybe $$150 - $200 per week to buy all my food (inlcuding for all my lunches at work). I don't stint on this though, i have a good salary and i'm here alone so if i want something i buy it. Am sure with careful planning it would be possible to spend less. Coles and Woolworths both provide advice on their prices on their websites and it might be work putting together a notional shopping list on there and seeing waht it costs. Think thats about all i can advise on. Do let me know though if you have any questions on any of this stuff

That is interesting but not the legal position, as I understand it. I used a Migration Agent, and was very surprised, when having gone through all the hoops to get ACT sponsorship, that when my agent rang me to tell me my visa had come through she asked me where in Australia I planned to move to, "Canberra of course" says I, otherwise what was the point of all that effort to convince the ACT of my genuine intention to move there. Her reply surprised me a lot a the time "Oh its only a moral obligation, legally you can move anywhere" Ultimately I guess its a function of the federal system, where you have a central federal scheme for immigration, but the states have a role too Now I am working for a State/Territory government I start to see some of the contradictions and issues in the system. I sympathise with the ACT, as they don't want people to lie about the state they are intending to go to, but there doesn't appear to be any system by which they determine whether a person has made a "genuine effort". I certainly put a lot of effort in, but still I only stayed 3 and a half months, yet I don't feel I could have done much more than I did to try and settle there. Only JOJOGOINGOZ knows whether they feel they have made sufficient effort or not, which is what makes the ACT government response so odd I guess, as it doesn't reflect my experience of dealing with them

I'm curious as to why they think you haven't made a genuine attempt, have you been in Canberra very long? Have you been able to provide examples of jobs you applied for? The only interaction i had with the resettlement officers was meeting them upon my first arrival for the intial session, then replying to the 3 month survey to say that i was struggling to find work, before telling them i had left (after I had been in Darwin already for 2 months). I think meeting them in person was helpful for me as i arrived very enthusastic about my future in Canberra and that probably suggested to them i was serious about staying (which i was), but i am curious as to why they have given you the attached response. In terms of your options you can definitely leave if you want but agree it must leave you feeling a bit unsettled.

Without knowing what work you do in the UK Govt, I would say that the 5 year thing is not as bad as it seems. The citizenship restriction only applies to the Federal Government, you are free to work at a state level and luckily, unlike the UK, most of the Government services are delivered at a state level. The QLD govt have a great jobs website with all the govt jobs on it and it is well worth registering. I struggled to find work in Canberra but am now happily ensconced working for the Northern Territory Govt doing something very similar to what I did back home.

I think your feelings are entirely natural. I took VR from a great civil service career job in 2012 to pursue my Australian dream. It then took me 7 months to find a temp job in London to earn a living whilst I applied for my visa. Having found a brilliant contract job (also in the civil service) i then had to give it up last Christmas in order to make the move when my visa finally came through. So upon arrival in Australia I had essentially quit two really great jobs only to find that I couldn’t get any work. Took me 4 months to get something suitable here in Australia and I have had to move all the way across the country to do it. Those 4 months were some of the most difficult of my life, feeling like i had given up everything to emigrate only to find that nobody in my new country wanted to hire me, second-guessing my every decision that had led me to that point. Two long periods of unemployment in 3 years after working solidly in a meaningful career for many years was also tough to take. However now I am working in a great job in my chosen field and things seem great, although the last few years have been very difficult I have achieved my objective and have started to remember why i did this and that uncertainty was part of the excitement I was seeking by leaving the civil service. I think it’s inevitable there will be some dark days when you wonder why the hell you are putting yourself through it. As I got closer and closer to my move it became more and more real. For me there were so many moments in my last couple of months in the UK where I would stop and think "this is the last time I will do x, at least for several years" In particular for me was when I went and visited my grandfather, he is very old and quite ill and I had the sense that we both knew it was unlikely we would ever be in the same room together again (though of course we could not articulate it out loud). Had I not been so far down the road of leaving the UK I would have considered giving it up on the spot at this point. In the end though I believe that it’s a worthwhile leap of faith for most people, after all if you don't go you'll never know. Life is short and you have to pursue your dreams. But at the same time I think it’s about accepting that there are things you have to give up in order to get the things you hope to gain, and of course its impossible to know whether the things you gain were worth the pain unless and until you do it.

Don't mind at all, I came over as a Policy Analyst, after many years in Whitehall advising UK govt departments. The ACT was the only state that had my job on its list when I applied (back in Jan 2012). However the government cuts and the restrictions on non-Australians have bitten pretty hard and, as you can imagine, Canberra is full of people with similar skills to me.

didn't show anything. Just told them in my 6 month review that I had been forced to move to find work (after 4 months in the ACT). I think they know the score given that my occupation is no longer on the state list. I did have all the emails proving I had been applying for jobs had they asked.

I responded to the 6 month questionaire last week and told the ACT government i had moved to Darwin for work and received an email today from my resettlement officer which included the following text: Please be advised that you have been granted a Skilled Nominated (Permanent)(class SN) Skilled – Nominated (subclass 190) visa. This visa was granted with NIL visa conditions, as per your visa grant letter. Your 2 year obligation to live and work in Canberra is purely a moral obligation to the ACT Government and not a requirement of your visa. Moving to NT will have no affect on your visa, your residence status or any future application to become an Australian citizen. Whilst we don’t like anyone to leave Canberra, we do understand that if you are unable to find suitable employment in the ACT then you have to make the decision whether to seek work in another part of Australia. Your record has now been closed which means that you will not receive any further requests to complete the remaining 6 monthly settlement surveys. So that I think is, as they say, that!

I lived there between March and August before work took me away. It is a very nice place, but very quiet (although I came from London so really anywhere would seem quiet after that) Its really nice but you are correct that things shut early. I lived in a very quiet suburb (Evatt) and even the local takeaway shut at 8pm. Not sure about the nightlife in the centre though, think its fairly lively. Its a very outdoorsy place but almost impossible to navigate without a car, so you would need access to one I think. I used to travel by bus a lot which was very slow and took a lot of planning. There are some very nice restaurants and overall I do think its place worth staying in for a bit. Not sure about the summer but the winter was genuinely very cold at night.

Thanks for this Maggie thats really helpful advice. I have now completed my survey and set out my situation exactly to the ACT govt people. I may follow this up with a separate email to my resettlement officer as well. In the end i don't feel i could have really done differently than i did, since it is hardly in anyone's interest for people to have to head back home due to not being able to find work. As for Darwin, i love it! No regrets at all its an amazing place. The weather is beautiful (though it is really starting to heat up now) and there is lots going on here, probably more than in Canberra (though accepting that i was in the ACT for winter, and have been in Darwin during the tourist season). It is a little more expensive than the ACT, i think my rent here is pretty high (even compared to London) but on the other hand now i actually have a job and a decent salary i don't need to worry too much about what i am buying in Coles when i shop (though i do miss Aldi, which hasn't reached the NT yet), and i have been able to find a flat that is within walking distance of my office, so no need to buy a car. Perhaps most tellingly though is that i have already been approached by recruitment agents about jobs here in Darwin who have seen on my profile on linkedin that i am in the NT. In my field at least there seems to be plenty of work and a shortage of local candidates to do it, as well as difficulties in recruiting other australians to move here so for me at least i seem to have really fallen on my feet. Looks like i'll be here a good 18-24 months by which time i should be in a stronger position to find work elsewhere in Australia.

Can it affect my citizenship? At present its only 50/50 whether I would even go for citizenship, I don't plan to stay here past 3 or 4 years but I may decide to go for it to allow any future children I have to come to Australia unhindered so I want to at least keep my options open

Bit torn about what to do here. Just got my 6 month review from the ACT government and trying to decide whther to reply. I've set out my job-search struggles upon arrival and eventual move to Darwin for a job in the NTG in another thread but to cut a long story short, I moved for a job offer due to a lack of work in Canberra. The form itself does ask where i am now living and reasons for moving away from the ACT if i have moved so i could give it to them straight, but should I? As far as i am aware there is nothing the ACT government can actually do to punish me for moving, and my job area is no longer on the wanted list so its not even as though it could affect other people in my position trying to move from the UK, but i find myself hesitating. I really had intended to do the 2 years i committed to, but of course i had no idea how hard it would be to find work before i got here. In some repsects though i was a little embarrassed about how much i struggled to find work so i suppose i would have to admit that, on some level, i failed to do what i came here to do, i.e. survive and thrive in Canberra. Grateful for any views frankly

An excellent question, and one I am currently mulling over. My 6 month survey came through just over a week ago and I had my reminder yesterday. I am torn between ignoring it and letting the ACT have the truth, which is it was either move states or come home (it contains questions asking where you are and if you have moved interstate, why). Was thinking of even starting a thread to ask for advice on how to respond. I'm leaning towards telling them the truth, my job is no longer in the skills-list so it hardly matters either way, am just unsure about any possible repercussions down the line (can't see how they would be, but you never know)

After my arrival in mid-March, I thought it might be a good idea to put down some thoughts on my experience of moving to Canberra in case my experiences might be of use to other people considering making the move. In the spirit of full disclosure I should admit that I did ultimately end up leaving Canberra and relocated to Darwin at the beginning of August after receiving a very good job offer but nonetheless I feel I have some (hopefully useful) insights into Canberra, trying to settle there and look for work, particularly for people with a similar background to myself. So, a little more detail about my background, I’m 37 and spent the past 11 years as a Policy Advisor in the UK government covering a range of issues in Justice and later, Health. In 2011 voluntary redundancy was offered to everyone at my grade in my department and I decided to snap the money up and use it to pursue my dream of relocation to Australia. I applied to come to Australia as a Policy Analyst on a regional migration 190 Visa, sponsored by the ACT government. In all honesty I don’t know if I would have chosen Canberra abut it was the only state looking for policy analysts so it was that or nothing. In addition the Australian visa regime means I have to pay for this permanent residence visa despite my long-term intention being to return to the UK once I’ve done a few years here, which meant things took a bit longer. I applied to come here on my own (although I am currently in the process of applying for my fiancé to join me) which has made it easier to be flexible. I got my visa last December and arrive here in mid-March. In practice the time from when I made the decision to leave the UK govt and apply for the visa until the time I arrived (July 2011 – April 2014) could hardly have been worse for a person like me looking to come to Australia and do some kind of policy work, with cuts to the number of public servants etc. So what about Canberra then, finding accommodation was pretty easy, I was looking for a shared place as I didn’t know anyone so it seemed like a good way to meet people. I used a website called Easyroomate and was able to arrange viewings of various properties before I even arrived in Australia. Found a fairly cheap place in Evatt and there were plenty of other options as well. The beauty of this system as well is that I didn’t have to sign a long-term lease of any kind and my deposit/bond was also fairly small. I would recommend it to those who are coming by themselves or if you have any doubts about whether you will stay long-term in Canberra. Canberra itself I liked a lot, very quiet of course after living in London for many years but a beautiful city with much to recommend it. I spent a lot of time in Belconnen and in the area around Lake Ginninderra and I fell in love with it. My plan would have been to move there once I had a long-term job, apartments overlooking the lake are pretty reasonable and it’s a wonderful spot. Getting around Canberra without a car is a bit more difficult, it is very much designed for car use, I used the buses a lot and they are very good, very reliable, just very infrequent during the day. It’s likely had I stayed I would have had to buy a car as it is just something that makes life there much more easy. Upon arrival I sent my CV round the various recruitment agencies in Canberra and had several calls saying I had a strong CV and that companies would register me, but that it would probably take a pretty long time to find a job because of the cuts in govt departments. One agent told me that 2 years ago (2012) there was so much work that there were more jobs than they could find candidates for but this situation had ended by the time I arrived! In addition there are restrictions on the employment of non-Australian nationals in the public service which severely limited what I could apply for, restricting me to the ACT govt and third-sector organisations/lobbyists etc. I cannot speak for finding more general work in the ACT, but I found it very tough in my field. From talking to my flatmates, I got the sense that knowing people is very important in Canberra (which is something I’ve seen suggested here on this website too), it’s a small place in many ways. Having said that I had no problems getting agencies to take me on and occasionally they would put me forward for jobs. More generally there were policy/govt jobs advertised which I applied for but at first I was getting nowhere with them. Ultimately for every job I put in for there would no doubt be a number of local candidates with experience of the working inside the australian system, so I could hardly blame managers for not wanting to take a risk on a pom who had just arrived, despite my extensive experience in Whitehall and the UK parliament. After a few weeks in Canberra I realised that I needed to start applying nationwide for jobs. From the point of view of my personal job search the federal structure of Australia was a very good thing, the restrictions that are in place on joining the Public Service here do not apply at state level, and unlike in the UK (notwithstanding devolution) state governments in Australia deliver the bulk of services to the public and better still, they all have assemblies/parliaments which meant I was able to apply for a range of policy positions essentially in 6 different jurisdictions (I never saw anything in my field in Tasmania or WA). I arrived in Canberra genuinely serious about staying for the 2 years I had committed to as part of the application process but ultimately I realised that, once you have arrived, you are out of site out of mind as far as the ACT govt is concerned. That isn’t really a criticism on my part, there is no reason why they should have to help you find anything but, given that you get a national visa that entitles you to work anywhere in Australia, I felt that there was no reason why I should show commitment to them or their Territory either. To cut a long story not very short I was eventually offered a job in the ACT government, a very good job with a good salary, but only for 3 months initially with no guarantee of extension. At the same time my wider applications bore fruit and I was offered a 12 month contract working for the NT government on excellent terms that included relocation expenses and I moved to Darwin, the one place in Australia I never thought I would get to. Unlike in Canberra all my experience in the UK govt has been highly appreciated here although I get the sense that in part I was able to get the job because it is difficult to persuade Australians to move here. It’s their loss though as it’s a wonderful place. I have no doubt that once I have a years’s experience under my belt here it will be easier to get into other state govts so it’s worth moving. I realise that it’s much easier for me as I had no ties holding me to the ACT/no kids etc but on the other hand I applied for a lot of jobs in my 4 months in Canberra so I feel like I’ve earned my slice of good fortune. My overall view about the move to Australia is to be flexible. I think that unless you are coming here to a job you’ve already arranged, you need to consider the possibility that you won’t end up in the city/state you planned to be in. I would definitely consider returning to Canberra in the future, but only to a job, or perhaps if I stayed here long enough to get my citizenship so that I could work for the federal govt. Another tip I would have is that Canberra is cold in the winter. Not as cold as the UK but I found the houses here are in no way set up to deal with the cold weather so I was much colder in Evatt than I ever had been in London. As such I would recommend not arriving as autumn gets underway, try to arrive in Sep/Oct maybe so that you can go into summer. Certainly I have learnt that, once I leave Darwin, whether it be to move to another state or even back home, I shall try to arrive ahead of the nice weather and not at the end of it. I essentially did UK Autumn/winter followed by Aussie autumn/winter and I would not want to do that again This has probably been a bit rambling but if anyone finds it helpful, and/or has any questions let me know and I’ll try to answer as best as I can. Now that the ACT has taken Policy Analyst off their list of shortage applications there may not be many more like me but you never know I suppose.

I've been here a couple of weeks and would be keen to meet up with some brits. Living in Evatt and have already been to the George Harcourt. Cool place and happy to go there one day

I think mine took around 3 months, submitted end of May, got the invitation mid-august

I think in any case I shall get an Australian driving licence so if and when the time come to get a car, I am all set

that useful to know. Actually today I went to visit a shared flat up in Evatt, quite far out but regular bus from the centre (312). Took about 40 mins which to me coming from London seems fine but has amazed the Canberrans I am staying with(who seem to consider any journey over 30 minutes an outrageous imposition on their time). There is also a fast bus to the centre which takes 20 mins so it all seems fine to me. I suppose its what you are used to. In London I used to do something like a 24 km round trip cycle each day so anything like that distance would be fine.

Thanks all, lots of good advice here I shall bear in mind. It seems pretty inevitable I will need a car in time but plan to hold off for a bit first and see how things develop, am unsure precisely where I shall be living yet or indeed working so no need to decide yet. Lots of things to sort out in any case!

I'm a Blackpool fan but well up for watching EPL matches, and definitely the CL final and World Cup. Gonna be the first major football tournament i'm out of the UK for. How does the time difference work though, are EPL matches even on at a time when places are open in Canberra?

Have now spent my first 24 hours in the ACT. First impressions are very good. Its a beautiful place, and the weather has been nice. However, despite having a small population it is much bigger than expected and my plan to do without a car to focus on using buses and cycling may need revisiting later on. Luckily a friend of mine has managed to find me a great place to stay with friends of his and I have several viewings for flat later in the week organised through a flatmate finder website, so I was able to arrange lot in advance of arrival. I feel I will be very happy here. Just need to sort out a job and all will be perfect!