excitedbutterrified

She was on a 422 visa. Thanks

Hi, My wife lived in australia for several years up until 2007, and has a super pot of around 15k. on leaving she failed to reclaim any of it (stupidly) Now we are moving back to oz on a 457 for which we have an application pending. We could really do with that cash now that all the relocation costs are starting to bite. Can she still reclaim this given we don't actually have a visa yet? The application went in on monday this week, so we could expect approval any time. Thanks

I'm an electronics engineer (Meng degree), 11 years experience working in scientific research lab. Wife is a Doctor, soon to become a consultant paediatrician.

Thanks. As far as I know, we haven't had a skills assessment. I did have to provide degree certificates etc.. and CV + employer experience letters for the 457, is that similar?

I am shortly going to be starting a new job in Melbourne, moving from the UK on a 457 with my wife and 2 pre school kids. At the time I was offered the job, I was told they would sponsor me through a PR visa at my cost, or 457 at their cost. Due to the fact the missus was on maternity leave, we had no spare money to fund the PR so went with the 457. Now however, my wife is back now on full pay, and we are in the process of selling a flat, which should leave us a few spare quid, so could afford the PR. Looking at the cost of childcare (which will be one of our main outgoings), and the childcare rebate we would get on a PR, it would pay for the extra costs of applying for the VISA after just a few months. If we had the up front cash, it would have been a no brainer (however we really didn't have the cash). Now its too late to get a PR in time, so we will be going on the 457. My question is : is it possible to begin a PR application once we arrive in Australia on the 457. I know there is a transition stream from 457 to PR after 2 years, but can a different visa be applied for as soon after we arrive? Cheers

Hi, Im in the process of filling in 457 Visa paperwork and in one section, questions asks if I have military experience / military training / experience with weapons/explosives. My mil experience is quite limited - but several years with the TA but including a tour of Afghanistan, so the answer to the questions is yes. But I am now worried that this may trigger additional paperwork (Which I don't have - didn't receive any discharge papers etc..). Has anyone else gone through the 457 route with a military background? Pete

Hi Sammy, I'm not too familiar with the childcare system, what kind of help might we be eligible for under PR? I had assumed we wouldn't qualify for any help (as in the UK). Our incomes will be 100k and somewhere above 120k. We have been looking at the possibility of using a combination of Au-pair / nanny / childminder for 3days a week and day care for a 2. I have been doing a budget for living costs, and after rent, childcare will be our biggest cost, and were definitely keen to reduce it!

Honestly, Its going to be a struggle as it is without paying for a visa. My wife (who earns a lot more than me) is on maternity leave until just before we leave so our income is lower than normal and meagre savings are going to dwindle. The only things really going for us is that flights, furniture removals from uk to oz will definitely be paid for by the new company, and we will be housed and have a car provided for 4 weeks, all as part of the relocation package. So we hope to have the vast majority of the stuff we are going to need to set up home, buying a car may be our biggest cost, but we are selling both our cars in the uk, and will just have 1 in oz

Ah Damn, Just found out from my new company that they wont now fully fund any permanent visa. It turns out the person who had offered it didnt have any real authority, and when they asked for permission from management to proceed were knocked back. It seems they are worried that if they sponsored me through the process, I wouldnt be obliged to work for them, and they prefer to bring people in on the 457 and sponsor them for PR later. Apparently they have previously put people through the PR only for them to start working elsewhere in Oz instead. They have told us they will fund 50% of a PR, but we dont have the cash to fund the rest, so its a 457 for us!

Just wondering if it is normal for a move to Oz to be driven by one partner much more than the other. I am mad keen on sorting out the practicalities of our move to Melbourne, but my wife is much more subdued. She is still looking forward to it, and working towards that goal, but worries much more about all the practical aspects and is clearly much less excited. It kind of worries me, and I don't want to push her into something she doesn't want to do. (She assures me she definitely wants to go, but there is a difference between us).

Well it looks like she has calmed down for the time being. After spending 48 hours on a trip away with the OH, they talked it all through and made plans for an extended visit once we are settled down in oz. By no means is she pleased with the situation, but (for now) the wild emotion and guilting has subsided, and last night we all talked about some of the practicalities of the move, and what the process involves from now. I keep getting told off by my OH because when her mum asks me about some aspect of oz (the job, location etc...) i'm too enthusiastic and obviously excited. I'm going to have to work on not mentioning it when she is around and being more sensitive - not easy. Offering to pay for at least some of their trip sounds like a good idea. We will be spending ~$1000 per week on childcare, and the flights look to be about £900 each, about $3300 for the two of them so if we can convince them take the kids for a couple of weeks it might work out for everyone.

We are being pretty hard about it with her, saying it like it is, i.e. we are definitely going, we will miss them, we will come home for a visit, we are both scared about going and we wont be changing our minds no matter what she says. Maybe this is the wrong approach, but I'm all up for being completely honest about everything, and not sugar coating it. As i said, we have planned this in detail for the past few months, and fantasised about moving for several years. All out in the open without hiding it from her. It seems like the reality of it has suddenly hit home. Perversely, I actually think she may end up spending more time with our little-uns if we do move than now, she is retired, pretty well off and well travelled so could spend an extended holiday with us / live with us for part of the year, we will also spend a few weeks in the UK mid-trip My OH is also going to be spending a lot of time with her over the next 6 months on the Mat leave. (which may make the moment of separation even worse!!) Maybe she is acting completely irrationally, but i cant see what she is hoping to gain from being so hostile. She isn't going to change our minds (and actually her reaction has steeled our resolve to make the move) it is only going to ruin the time we do have with her before the move. We definitely aren't going to put off the trip for her. I would never forgive her if she managed to stop us going. - just realised how harsh that sounds but its true.

Im sure this is a common theme but we have now told both sets of our parents that we have job offers in oz and are planning to accept them and move for 1 or 2 years to see how things go, then come back to the uk, or stay if its awesome. My folks are being mostly good about it, dad seems almost excited and is researching the places we are going to and very interested,already planning a visit. mum is a little sad but said she has been expecting it for a while and wouldnt want to stand in our way, not entirely pleased, but not anti either. OH's parents a different kettle of fish. Dad (usually very placid) wrote a big email about how we will be giving up financial security / taking large risks by moving, (all probably correct - we are risk takers!) but has since been quite calm about it. Mum has gone mental, swinging from extreme sadness to rage to not speaking to us at all. Mainly saying she thinks we are totally selfish taking her grandkids away from her (she may have a point?) she doesnt know what she will do with all her time if she cant see them (she looks after them for a couple of days each fortnight). She also thinks we are lying when we say the plan is to just try it for a year, thinks we are not coming back. Not trying to belittle her obvious grief and genuine emotion, but we need her to move on from this, wife is preggers and doesn't need this stress. We have been laying the ground work for a couple of years (dropping hints, visiting oz, telling her we were looking for jobs...) so it isn't a big surprise for her. Any advice on how to deal with this? At the moment her reaction is driving us away from her, which is the last thing we want.

Probably a silly question, but... We are about to start the process of applying for a sponsored working visa (either the 4 year temp , or PR) to work in Melbourne. But we also have a holiday booked for this November in perth (booked before we even planned to apply for aussie jobs, but we will use the trip to visit our new employers) Does anyone know if the system allows for a tourist visa to be issued whilst another application is in the pipeline? (obviously if by some miracle we have our working visas sorted by November we will just use those to enter) Cheers

Thanks, I currently work at a very similar organisation in the UK, and the work is very specialist, in fact I think I have specialised myself out of most of the electronic engineering jobs that exist! I've been watching the oz synchrotron jobs webpage for about 6 years, and to be honest when this role was advertised, I wasnt going to apply as it has come about a year too early (due to daughters age and wife is preggers , wife's career isnt at the ideal point) but it was too good an opportunity to miss, so we are going to do everything we can to make it happen.

Its the aussie synchrotron just down the road from csiro.

Hello All, Just a quick hello. My family and I are planning our move out to Melbourne next year. I have been offered a permanent Electronic engineering job with a government organisation, and my wife is a Doctor in the process of sorting out a 1 year medical post. Will hopefully both be working in the Clayton area of Melbourne. 2 pre school age kids so a big nursery bill is in the pipeline! Anyone on here live in or around Clayton? I've heard Clayton itself isn't the nicest suburb, but is relatively close to some decent areas.

Family income will be in the region of $220k Ill be working for a Government organisation and she will be working at a public hospital.

Thanks for all the responses. The job my wife is going for is definitely 1 year fixed, as it is a medical fellowship position with no prospect of being extended. After that she would have to find a consultant post, or we would come back to the uk. My offer is for a permanent role. Sounds like the permanent visa is the one to go for. What's the deal with childcare rebates / salary packaging childcare? Ive looked at a few nurserys close to where we both will work ( Clayton, Melbourne) and they seem to be around the $100 per child per day. $50000 per year for both kids - half what my salary will be!

My worry about the permanent visa is : what happens if we decide to come back to the Uk after 1 year (the job my wife is applying for is a fixed term 1 year post, so its quite likely) would we then invalidate the visa by leaving early, and ruin any future chance of moving to oz. Our original plans were to move out several years down the line when the kids are of school age (or even later) and probably to WA rather than Melbourne where the new job is as we have a lot of friends in WA. I wouldn't want to scupper any future move. Melbourne was never in the plan, but I've had an excellent job offer. What generally does happen if you leave before the 2 year minimum term of the permanent residency visa? My understanding is that to maintain a permanent right to residency, you cant be leaving the country for long periods i.e. you are obliged to be "resident"

Hi, I have been offered a job in Melbourne which doesn't start for about 10 months. Given it is so far in the future, the employer has offered to fund and sponsor either 186 permanent visa or 457 4 year visa. We will be a family of 2 working adults, and 2 pre school children who will be in full time day care. We intend to stay on a trial basis for 1 or 2 years (i.e leave work on extended unpaid leave, not sell the house in England in case we hate it and want to come back) staying on if everything is rosy. Are there any significant benefits / downsides to either visa? I get the feeling the permanent visa may come with some advantages once in oz, but will be a pain in the arse to go through the longer process. cheers,