leftyandstumpy

14 hours ago, TheWayOfThePony said:

Do you mind if I pick your brain on that? I know you need to declare what's in the boxes,  but how much detail do they need? I was thinking they might want to check clothes made of wool (for moths) etc... do they ask you to list the materials of all items per box?

Good reminder in the insurance, need to look into that as well... Then give notice to HMRC etc... Wrapping up your life in one country is one long job! 

we had movers pack us up and get us here, I questioned how to specify what needed to be listed and above answers similar to what we had, they did mention they would pack any wooden items in a box (x amount of boxes) so that if the wooden items needed to be looked at then it would be easy for them to find what had been declared in that area and fumigated if customs felt was required.

We also put down a drop sheet and cleaned the bottom of every pair of shoes we owned and wiped with bleach etc as OZ can be harsh the possibility of diseased soil being bought in.  We also wiped hubby's golf clubs and golf balls clean so that we wouldn't have to be charged fumigation.  We were advised by company we shipped through (and almost all 6 of the companies I had come quote) that cleaning above items and anything that maybe a threat to OZ (wood etc) is worth making the effort and labelling well for customs.

Good luck with the move, ours was crazy fast and arrived in 6 weeks, we had to put in storage due to not having arrived in OZ at that point!

On 9 May 2017 at 4:52 AM, zx6r said:

Assuming medicals and police check goes through ok then we will be heading to the Melbourne area.  

We think its going to be around April time next year.  Once granted then the hard part begins, finding a job and somewhere to live!

You'll be in the same boat we were in a little over two years ago!  Well we'll be here so feel free to touch base or ask anything if you need info at all, more than happy to help and catch up for a drink once you finally make it to OZ!

On 8 May 2017 at 11:44 PM, Beffers said:

Thanks!! We may be as close as Seaford or over Upwey direction. We arrive 16/6.  Think there's another thread on here under the Victoria section too! 

Brilliant, I vote Seaford!  Bayside is lovely.  Safe trip over and def touch base once your here and ready to get out for a drink!

Hi All,

My hubby and I have been in Melbourne for just over 2 years, we are Bayside (Beaumaris), have met a few friends but would like to make more!  For some crazy reason have had a push for this thread come through recently and thought we might just let any newbies that have arrived or about to arrive to Melbourne that we would be more than happy to offer any info we have gained over our past two years being here & of course meet up should you too like to meet some new people!

We have just started a new topic "Newbies & Oldies Friends in Melbourne?!" So please if you are also interested in making some new friends or just want a little helpfull info please hop over to our thread.

Cheers

ps: congrats to all who recently received their approval, it seems there is an unusal quick approval rate going on you lucky things!

@bobby122 I would personally check direct with your CO on the general email they give. The medical/police check have to be valid for entry on your 309/100 visa not on a tourist visa previous as I am assuming you are initially entering on? That's why they ask for it to be done later in the process so you have enough validation. From what I have read previously you can still do your medical at/after time mentioned by your CO and I believe if you decide to move to OZ before grant you can do it there and once grant is due you'll be asked to leave country for 3 business days etc for the visa to process into the system electronically. Hope that helps, but I'd def check with CO

@Bound4Tassie

forgot to say yes we mentioned all our previous processes of visas for me to live etc in UK for my hubby's OZ visa I think these were in our personal statements but can't remember for sure

@Bound4Tassie

Yes I applied for my citizenship a couple of weeks after we lodged our OZ one we were told that process would take approx 6 months which worked well timing for us. Mine was approved and I took my ceremony a matter of weeks before we were approved so my OH and I decided not to add the info to our application. If I had of had it in the first few months of applying we would have. It shouldn't make a difference to your outcome I would hope they see it as a couple/family being sensible in setting up their lives for the future.

For us we wanted to know we can both come back should my in-laws need us as they get on health wise etc nothing worse than being apart and not having emotional support with you while one is looking after elderly parents & the other waiting on a visa to go back coming through!

anyone doing it I would highly recommend using the checking service you get to keep your original documents. They just visually check & take copies make sure your form is filled out correctly & then forward special delivery giving you barcode to track. Of course more £ but peace of mind for me having passport should I have had the need to make an emergency dash home to OZ!

Good luck

Update... We emailed the general email for the visa process just to say we are aware they have made a note of our travel plans, we are two weeks out from our arrival is hubby ok to land on visitor visa or should we check closer to time so we can change flight should it be needed. Well 2hr & 5 mins ago we got 3 emails, one granting 309 the granting 100 then our lovely CO confirming in an email to expect a grant email that we have been granted!!!

Whoo hoo, currently celebrating in New Orleans drinking hurricanes!!

thats is approved 10days short of our 9 months!!!

Good luck to all still playing the waiting game

We decided to travel for a month before flying back to OZ my hubby contacted our CO to ask if he should apply for his e-visitor at that point (he still had a current one from a recent trip back) our CO agreed applying for it at that stage was a good idea so it wouldn't interfer with the grant of the 309/100 when the time comes. Our CO has made a note on our application regarding our travel dates. Our 9 months is up a week before we land and we're hoping it comes through before we land but if not my hubby will land on his e-visitor visa we will have provided contact details for local contact before we fly so he can be contacted once he needs to fly out again for visa to be granted.

we will be booking the cheapest flight out NZ will likely be our best option. Hope that helps.

In that case try transglobal, we sent two boxes with them with summer clothes & toiletries to get us up & running, we also had a last min box go 3 days before we started travelling, they give you options with diff companies such as UPS, TNT, DHL etc. we used UPS both times both lots arrived within 5 days & we insured using transglobal offer as our order went thru. Much cheaper than going direct through UPS and the likes, yes I checked!! Be aware UPS will only accept boxes no cases so you might want to double check if you go another company for their rules. Really easy site to use also.

@Ashleighsuzi

We recently shipped, we used John Mason they use Wridgeways on OZ side. I had 6 companies come out and quote our move, they all have different size estimates and prices. We went with John Mason due to reviews we had read and just gut instinct on first meeting etc, they weren't the cheapest nor most expensive and our pack came in smaller than original quote so we saved a little also!

We were given a 10-14 week from collection to delivery approximation. Our move was amazingly packed by 2 men on the 6th Nov they arrived packed and left in 4hrs (we only had a 1/3 container worth) the guys were very professional and fast, felt their packing was great also!

Our shipment arrived on dock in Brisbane 20th Dec cleared customs from memory 30th Dec or 2nd Jan, we have had to leave in storage with Wrideways as we haven't arrived, really didn't expect our shipment to arrive til mid Feb!!

We used insure your move and once our shipment is delivered we will have 14days to claim if any issues. Fingers crossed our shipment looks healthy when we have it delivered late Feb!!

We would have happily used Crown Relocations but just too expensive. All shipping companies offer marine insurance but we took ours seperate as its a massive saving, insure your move didn't charge extra for the "premium insurance" the shipping companies charge they just include and cover almost everything you want for a smaller %

Good luck, I was a bit neurotic about it all hence the 6 companies quoting but can say happy with this side of things and hopefully will be with the other side when we arrive!

Nice to see some approvals coming through already this year, we are now just in our 8 month mark. We leave the UK in a few days and hoping our approval comes through a week before we finish our travels through the states.

Good luck to all the April approvals, so looking forward to them getting to the May batch!

Oh @coxy1804 I also ment to add as I am an aussie citizen and they have my passport details etc I was able to have our belongings shipped to my mum and she will be responsible for OZ fees (AQIS etc for clearance) I have her listed as the Australian contact, so regardless of if we have landed or not our belongings will still be released to my mother not me! Oh and she gets the bill (lucky she has access to my funds for this!!)

@coxy1804, your aussie half can ship, we have ours set to be packed/collected in the next couple weeks, my hubby hasn't been approved yet (we don't expect approval until mid Feb) and we are shipping in my name. I had asked about the arrival details and they had said that they just need details before the shipment arrives on OZ soil etc, so it can be 9-10weeks into sailing and added just before arrival. We started our shipping process with no flights details, but have since booked and have been able to add the details to the form for AQIS. I would advise calling a few shipping companies to see where they stand on this, also one says one thing and another something different, always remind them another company can do this or that, we had them bending over backwards to get us the answers we needed! We had 6 companies come to quote and ended up going with John Mason who we hope will be easy to deal with. Another tip, make sure to take your marine insurance separately (we're using insure your move) as the premium is so much cheaper and they are the companies generally insuring the shipping companies anyway! Good Luck

Hi @Ronansmyth, when you say that emailed the general email address was this the familymigrationlondon************** email that was included on the original email or did you use the link at the bottom of the email next to the phone number for the department of immigration which takes you to a general form on the website? Going to try the general email first and if this does not work try the CO direct.

Some help needed please, I need to inform my CO that likely to be in Australia around the time my Visa approved (hopefully approved) and the original letter received from them did not provide a contact email it only provided a link to contact forms europe beside where email address should be. Has anyone had to contact CO to provide details similar to fact that travelling to Australia and if so where did the send the details to. Has anyone used the following link to contact there CO http://www.immi.gov.au/contacts/forms/europe

I have been given the CO email from another member and not sure whether this should be used for the details that need to send or whether better to just use the general link, any help appreciated.

A question on the medicals hoping someone could help with. I had my medical around 10 days ago and was told by the doctors everything was fine no issues and they sent it off the next day. I have just looked on my online immi account at the requested and received document list and it is still saying that evidence of health is requested. Does anyone know if this will be updated to received when my results are sent and if so how long this usually takes after having the medical? Not wanting to contact the CO to ask if received yet as know they sometimes do not like being contacted (but doctors stated there were no issues and sent them 10 days ago) but also want make sure nothing holds up the process.

Police checks done and submitted final piece (hopefully) next week with the medical. Can anyone tell me how long usually takes after the medical for the documentation from the doctors to be submitted to the Immi account? Also how do you find out if your medical was fine or if has been referred for any reason?

Thanks for the clarification @MovingtoTasmania, we will continue to wait fingers crossed closer to 8 months but I expect it will be more like 9!!

Hi @MovingtoTasmania,

Would you mind letting us know how all previous applications to the new time frame stay at the old time frame? We've been trying to look and see if that is the case but there doesn't seem to be any information (it only shows the new time frame )so wanted to check and see how you found this out.

Thanks for any response we seem to be days behind on reponding and thanking everyone, so many thanks in advance!!

Fingers crossed, we really want to stay under the old time frame!!

Thanks for all your info @Leesweeting, we to applied online through the immi account. We have been assigned our CO and booked medicals as requested etc. I think we'll ask questions when and if needed but knowing you've had good contact helps us feel confident should we need to ask any questions of our CO. Again thank you for letting us know what you know

Hi @Leesweeting, do you mind sharing the initals of your CO? Through reading many posts we have found it seems to be best not to contact your CO so that the process isn't slowed down any but in your case it seems you've had a great CO to have told you that you are now waiting on moving up the approval pile!!! Did you ask many questions or just the one to see how you were progressing? Fingers crossed you are approved soon Thanks in advance for any info you are able to provide.

Hi @Seizethedance,

My hubby and I applied online for his visa. We started a couple weeks before we submitted it as you can access and start filling out the form and save along the way, making it easy to gather info needed etc! After it was submitted and paid for it then took us to a page for uploading all our scanned docs. We have previously done visa applications for UK and they were all postal, we personally think the online process was much easier and a huge saving. If you send in the paperwork you have to have certain documents certified £££ or $$$! scanning means certifications are not required, we did double check and had confirmation that we wouldn't have to scan certified documents.

Once your application is submitted and paid for your partner can then fill in their form and submit, thankfully it is slightly shorter than the applicant form!

Good luck and let us know when you submit, some are already celebrating and the rest of us are counting the days!!!

Hi Moving to Tasmania, unfortunately we do not have the email address of our CO either and need to let them know about our travel plans, would you be able to send me a PM explaining how to work out their email address?

Hi @LaurenCatriona,

We would seriously be asking for some kind of refund from your migration officer if it were us!!!! We were back in OZ earlier this year and met with many migration agents and mentioned the 5mth time frame on the immi.gov site and they all said we would be looking at the 9 mth mark, once back in the UK we also contacted a few migration agents here (see if we could get a slightly cheaper quote to help with the process!!) and again were told the same 9mths. All agents also mentioned we should wait until assigned a CO and told to do our police check and medical due to the time frame on them being valid to enter OZ with approved visa etc.

It's so disheartening to see a migration agent (whom we would all hope to be able to trust with this important task) giving incorrect information, they of all people should be up to date with the above information. Please please ask for some money back, it could be part of an airfare!!!

We too have lived in numerous countries and that's why we considered using an agent, after finding out more, reading threads and already having done similar process for the UK with and without the help of an agent we decided to do it on our own, a long process but we did it!

Good luck we hope it all goes well, we'll keep an eye on your progress and fingers crossed you can get some airfare money back out of that migration agent!!!!