Gin100

First question - yes, a dependent on a 189 permanent residents visa can work, there are no restrictions I'm aware of on this. Can't help with the second question I'm afraid!

We'll pay rent up front & we've got leads on a job so we're hoping this will do!

Still not sure how this works. We opened a bank account earlier this year & collected our cards on our validation trip at Easter & the bank has our uk address on our account. When we arrive next week we are staying for a couple of weeks at a friends house while we look for somewhere to rent. We can't use our friends address as we are there for only a short time & we won't have a rental address for a few weeks so I'm not sure how we apply for a TFN, or for that matter, apply for a tenancy on a house if we don't have proof of address? Why might we need a TFN so quickly? Neither of us have jobs so we have no income, though we are renting out our house in the uk so there is some income there. Any advice appreciated, it's feeling a little catch 22-ish!

Interested in the replies on this - we land in Melbourne in just over a week but won't have an address for a few weeks after that...

No jobs, no house! Staying at a friends house while they're on holiday for a couple of weeks & looking round for somewhere to rent then. We've found decent jobs are very hard to get from here so we're taking a calculated risk & going out without (but with a few irons in the fire). The packing will be done by the removals company in a week or so's time, it's more the clearing out and the cleaning stuff which we're busy with at the moment & which takes forever. As a native English speaker, IELTS is harder than you think it should be! Good luck on your next one...

We certified passports, qualifications certificates & transcripts, IELTS certificate, skills assessment and work references so pretty much everything. We've got a 189 visa & we did it ourselves - no agent. We move out to Melbourne in just over 3 weeks!

Hi jsac0 - great to hear of another Pom going to the same area at about the same time! It would be good to keep in touch - always handy to know someone in the same boat to compare notes etc. If you haven't booked flights yet, we got great value one-way migrant fares with the International Organization for Migration (IOM - they're mentioned on your visa award confirmation notice) saving ourselves about £900, so definitely worth checking out... Good luck!

Has anyone tried to take sea shells into Australia, either in the shipping container or in hand luggage? Did customs let them through & did they need fumigating? If so, how much did it cost? We have a small collection that we would like to take with us but we're getting different stories from the removals companies - one said no, one said yes, another said we'd have to varnish them and another said take in hand luggage on the plane. As far as I can tell, hand luggage is subject to the same DAFF restrictions as shipping by sea so I'm not sure how this helps.... Thanks!

You're the voice of reason Petals! Being happy & fitting in is they key - we have tended to avoid the high ranking academic primary schools here because, although our kids are both academically-minded, we haven't liked the environment at the schools - pushy and pressurised (this is what puts me off McKinnon though it may not be like this at all) - and both kids of them have done very well at an average primary school & have been very happy. As the kids get to secondary though academic results do count for more though clearly you can never account for some of the things kids do! I think we just need to get out there & start looking round & hopefully we'll find that the decision is obvious.

We've just had 3 quotes which ranged between £3500 and £4300 for a nearly full sole use 20ft container from mainland UK to Melbourne. They say a 20ft container can fit the contents of an average 3 bedroom house. This includes packing & unpacking but doesn't include DAFF fees which should be around £250-300 but could be more if they find anything they want to fumigate. This was for the move only, we don't need storage. I think all the bigger players do storage too. This quote didn't include insurance either which is cheaper via a third party insurer - £900 covers £50k's worth of stuff. We've just booked in with John Mason - their quote was competitive and their reviews good. I can't comment on the shipping itself because that doesn't happen till August but their pre-sales has been very good, very prompt at responding to emails, knowledgeable about whole process etc. We also got £100 reduction on haggling :-). The proof of the pudding though will be when we get the stuff delivered in Oz!

Yes RosieW, I'd heard that. After the upheaval of emigrating we don't want to make the kids move school again once they're settled & not having been to that particular part of Melbourne before I'd be really reluctant to commit myself to living in such a small area for the next 5+ years. Thanks for the reassurance about not losing too much sleep - I think you're right. There's a temptation to plan everything beforehand but we've done our research & we've got some ideas & it'll be a case of getting over there & having a look in person...

I'm a bit confused now. I looked up the enrolment ceilings but this seems to mean the same thing as the school zone. So does this mean that, not only is there a zone which you have to live in, but there is also a ceiling on numbers even if children are in the zone? I'm not sure about McKinnon, everyone rates it & I'm sure it's a very good school & my sons are both academically-inclined but, as Petals says, there's more to a school than the academic side of things. There's no substitute for going & looking round the schools which is what we'll have to do when we arrive but it sounds like we might have missed the main application round so this might reduce our options...

Thanks RosieW! We move over at the end of August to Melbourne & are staying temporarily in a friends house while they're on holiday & we'll spend that time looking for somewhere to rent & schools to go to. I believe Victoria has a school holiday mid Sept to beginning of Oct so we'd aim to get the kids into school in early Oct when the schools start back. I had understood we can't apply to a school until we have an address but we won't have one of those until probably mid-Sept when we move out of our friends house (they live in a suburb in inner north Melbourne & we're looking to live Bayside) which might take us out of the standard school application timescale - will this be problematic? As we're looking Bayside, a number of the schools are zoned. McKinnon clearly is very sought-after & I've heard good reports of Brighton Secondary College too but this area is obviously very expensive so we might consider moving further down the coast but have heard very mixed reports of the government secondary schools there i.e. Cheltenham Secondary College, Sandringham College, Bentleigh Secondary, Parkdale Secondary. If anyone has any views on these schools they'd be much appreciated!

We're moving out to Melbourne in August & are doing some research on schools. Our oldest son is 11 & will be moving to secondary school at the beginning of the next Australian school year at the end of Jan '15. We'd heard that if you lived in a school zone then legally the school have to give your child a space but I've just seen a post on another forum from someone who said a school had refused her child even though they lived in the zone. Can anyone clarify what the position is? Thank you!

Shouldn't be long unless you've been classified as a 'B' & referred. I'd imagine 1 week for the clinic to get them up on the system & then another week to get the case officer to sign off. You'll probably have a year from the day of your medicals to make your first entry into Australia, so you'll need to go (at least for a holiday) by June next year! Good luck :-)

Hello, I'd really appreciate your advice on whether or not it's worth bringing our car; the details are: Year: 2009 Make: Citroen Model: Grand C4 Picasso Variant: HDi VTR+ EGS Body: MPV/Estate Engine: 1.6 Fuel: Diesel Transmission: Automatic Mileage: 33,000 Aircon: Yes! UK market value: £6,500 Australian redbook & market values: difficult to tell as both only have 2014 models which seem to go for $45,000 to $50,000 City: Melbourne Thank you!

I posted on this subject a couple of weeks ago due to my last minute nerves! We fly out to Melbourne on 26 Aug - I'll never know until I do it whether or not it was a good idea but we've got to try it & we'll come back if it doesn't work out. Nothing ventured nothing gained - good luck!

Cheers Tina0101! I think what I'm giving up is one of the things for me too - we have a very comfortable life here; if I completely hated where we lived or my job or didn't have so many good friends then it would be a different matter. But we're stuck in a rut & I know that if we were still here doing the same thing in 2 years time then I'd feel down about that. Quitting while you're ahead - always a good idea but always difficult decision to take! Hope your adventures work out well :-)

Thank you Mxmanus. All my friends & colleagues just say "wow, how exciting - I've always wanted to do that!" but it's only people who are actually doing it who know what it really feels like. I have now booked my one-way flights (got a great deal through IOM - a saving of about £900 for a family of 4 plus 40kg baggage allowance each so you might want to check them out if you've not got your flights yet). A big emotional rollercoaster as you say. All the best to you & good luck with your adventure :-)

We've been thinking about emigrating on & off since 2000, finally decided to last year & got a 189 visa last November. We've done our validation trip, decided where we want to live, handed in our notice at work, have had various removals quotes, got estate agents to rent the house & are just about to book the one-way flights for August. This has been long-planned & well thought-through & makes sense for all sorts of reasons so why do I feel bad about it? I thought I'd feel excited (like the rest of my family!) but I feel all doom & gloom. Is this just last minute nerves or my heart telling me something I should take notice of? What have been other's experiences?

1.5 hours on the train from London, definitely sure. Expect it's longer in the car but most people go by train to avoid the endless London traffic, the congestion charge & high parking costs. Yes, the Roman Baths are good, there's a fabulous spa using the natural hot waters with a swimming pool on the roof, the rugby & cricket grounds are in the middle of town (though the rugby team is a little past it's heyday but still premiership material), the university has been recently voted no.1 for student satisfaction, and there are lots of great bars & restaurants. And a good theatre. What's not to like? Oh yeah, those hills & the cost of living...

Yes, it's not cheap. And you've got to like hills! Come August, though, I'll be swapping Bath for Melbourne & I will miss it no end...

I've heard you shouldn't take wicker at at all but I've not tried it myself...

If you get your flights via IOM (http://www.iomaustralia.org/projects_selfpayers.htm) you can get cheaper one way flights even if you have already validated your visa provided you've not used IOM before. And the e flights come with a 40kg baggage allowance per person :-)

You can't beat Bath. World heritage site, gorgeous buildings, beautiful scenery, stacks of cultural events & you can walk from one side to the other. 13 miles from Bristol, 1.5 hours from London, an hour from Cardiff.