JonSmile

I have a fairly large sum to send back to the uk. A high street bank would loose me too much on the exchange. Can someone suggest a good and secure way to send money to the UK? TorFX, Moneycorp? One of these new fangled setups? Bitcoin? Thanks Jon

When I did this (contractor with own limited company) I got signed documents from employees at the companies I contracted to - I ignored the agency completely. You were not employed by the agency - as you had your own limited company. I also provided copy contracts for the time period - where the contracts had the role title matching the job code I was going for. I also provided full company accounts for the period along with payslips and dividend evidence. This is was much more paperwork than when I was an employee of a large company but ultimately paid off ad I got my visa. as an aside - if you are a contractor using your own company, you do not want the agency saying you were an employee of theirs - this is very bad for tax / IR 35 purposes.

I found that when we set up our accounts (and sent money over) 7 weeks before we arrived, on arrival the bank informed us that our cards had arrived but due to bank security they had been destroyed - so new ones were ordered and 4 days later we managed to pick them up.

Well the registered agent number is for a different company name. [TABLE=class: searchResultTable, width: 0] [TR] [TD=align: center]Given Name[/TD] [TD=align: center]Family Name[/TD] [TD=align: center]Business[/TD] [TD=align: center]Suburb[/TD] [TD=align: center]State[/TD] [TD=align: center]Country[/TD] [TD=align: center]Map[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Darren Winston[/TD] [TD]Chatt[/TD] [TD]Visa Bureau Ltd[/TD] [TD]Glasgow[/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD]United Kingdom[/TD] [TD] [/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE]

hoping in here.. To get your 5 points I thought you had to have a skill in the same SOL as your partner. so unless your trade is the same and has also been assessed, you are down to 60 points. And as GetMEDownUnder said, you only get 20 points if you did the 8 years in AUS - so that takes it down to max of 15 (assuming you have been assessed) so that only gives you 55 points - without IELTS.. But I could be mistaken here... A partner can assist with 5 points if they: were under 50 years of age at the time of the application; had at least competent English (prescribed passport holder or 6 in all 4 IELTS modules); had nominated an occupation on the same skilled occupation list as the main applicant’s nominated occupation (can’t mix and match with SOL and CSOL); have been assessed by the relevant assessing authority as having suitable skills for the nominated occupation (formal assessment).

Hi all we are about to have our house packed and shipped to Aus. we have a few bottles of wine and champagne that we have not been able to drink and are quite old. As such I do not want to just bin them or give them away (one was given to me the year I was born for example). So so any idea what I will be charged if I put them in my container? As they are all old bottles of booze I have no receipts and can only guess at the cost but think some of them are quite expensive.

IELTS practice tests book for sale comes with 3 CDs there are are a few pages with pencil marks on but these should come off ok. £15 including postage (as book weighs 550grams)

Hi look here http://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Work/Skil scroll down to invite rounds to see the cut off and to the occupation ceiling to see the amount issued per area

Hi Rehan I had the same issue where the work reference was very basic. The CPA requested this from me when getting my work history signed off and I then attached this to my application. "If your client is unable to provide the required information then he is welcome to provide a statutory declaration signed by a recognised notary detailing his roles and all of the required information. Please note that we require detailed descriptions of duties and responsibilities performed within each role."

Hi, We are after a bit of advise on where to do a short term rental from landing until we either buy or do a long term rental. We are flying into Melbourne on Oct 1st and planning on living there. We are after a 1 month rented place (current plan) to get us in and settled and to allow us to start sorting our lives out. We have seen very expensive places in the centre of Melbourne (about $10,000 for the month!), some more reasonable prices and looking further out the price drops even more. We have seen a place on AirBnB in Coburg that meets our needs (and will not break the bank). So the questions... What is Coburg like - is it simple to get into the city and is it suitable for family living (2 adults and a 10 year old)? Can you recommend other areas in and around Melbourne that are family friendly but allow access to the centre? Also - has anyone used AirBnB and had either good or bad experiences with them? Thanks Jon

accountants only got invited with 65 points in the July round and the cutoff was the end of may. They issued 210 visa invites so it looks like they are being careful with their offers to not let them run out too soon in the year [TABLE=class: table-100, width: 482] [TR] [TD] 2211 [/TD] [TD=width: 253, bgcolor: #DDEEFF] Accountants [/TD] [TD=width: 101, bgcolor: #DDEEFF] 65 [/TD] [TD=width: 195, bgcolor: #DDEEFF] 31 May 2015 10:43pm [/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE]

Do you not get a summary on the eoi? You back use that to compare to what you think you can claim

it is also worth pointing out that the current year occupational ceiling for accountants has been reduced to only 2525, last year it was over 5000 and they all went. I expect they will either go quickly or need higher points to get them... However, who really knows the thought routine of the immi department

And is your occupation on the SOL? http://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Work/Work/Skills-assessment-and-assessing-authorities/skilled-occupations-lists/SOL I would guess it is but you would need to confirm. To get a 189 ( independent) you need your job on the Sol, need it assessed, then need to gain 60 points to allow you to submit your EOI. You get points for passing an English exam -0 points up to 20 point) points for your age points for your work history and points for your qualifications

Hi Bungo, Thanks! I was relying on information I was given at one of those exhibitions in London where they said that I as the primary applicant had to land first to activate my 189 and then the rest of the family could follow. I also seem to recall someone from my MA team saying the same (but I could have imagined that!) So the good news for me is that the visas all have 'Visa Conditions NIL' on them - meaning my slightly twisted (and expensive) plans can be ignored and the girls can just arrive.. Happy days

Hi, I know that on my 189 - as the primary applicant - I have to 'land' first before my wife and daughter - which has not happened yet. Now, say they want to come over to Aus on holiday to look at schools and rental properties - but before I can arrive and active my 189. Do they now apply for additional tourist visas to have a visit and then say fly to NZ, I meet them there and then we all fly from NZ to Aus and 'land' under 189 visas? Is this a problem? Will applying for a tourist visa mess up their granted dependent 189 visas? Does this sound a possibility? I know it would be easier to either all come at once, or even for me to arrive first on a very short term in and out flight but just looking at all the options open. I have seen a return flight on Vietnam Airlines for about £500 so I could do a quick in and out - but the transfer is horrid and I expect the in air entertainment will not be very english! Your thoughts please Thanks Jon

For us the kids one was (from memory) wee in pot behind closed door eye test - read a chart at a distance doc examine - no removal of clothes. Adults - same for wee and eyes then chest X-ray ( which nice lady then showed to us on the computer to keep kids happy) blood test - extract small vial of blood - did not hurt at all doc listened to heart, did blood pressure, and then strip to undies and prodded but no where near groin area. All fairly pain free. Think for my wife she had the additional discomfort of a chest exam but did not spot the note saying she could have a female present until after. But all in all a fairly painless,but expensive couple of hours

It is a waiting game. We heard nothing from lodge date (29th April) until grant arrived (8th July). We also saw lots of people getting CO contact with later lodge times. But I guess we loaded everything upfront that they needed so despite the status showing application received there was a CO working behind the scenes reviewing our application. Just sit sit tight and twiddle your fingers! good luck

it means that as of about 4am uk time today, our 189 visas were granted all we have to do now is sell the house, book the flights and land (and sell things, pack the house, inform 100's or people / companies, etc etc..), find somewhere to live, find a job,...

yes we used an agent for all parts.. we had tons of paperwork for the skills assessment and proof of work history. I am not sure what was needed for the EOI but think this is just a lodgement and you do not have to prove what you are claiming. it is only when you come to lodge your visa you really need to get your ducks in a row!

I have to say using an agent was the best for us - as others have said, the skill select was the hard part, but having an agent ensured that the documents used for the EOI were correct and the items lodged for the visa were also complete and what we said we were claiming tied up to what we claimed and lodged against - and paid a small fortune to the immi department to. Getting the lodgement part wrong is the one area where you will feel it as you have now paid your money. This is where I think a registered agent added additional value.. Just my 2 cents worth..

Ours (today) was Adelaide team

I have received the best birthday present ever this morning from the Australian government. Three visa grants

So happy. Just logged in and IMMI account has gone from application received to finalised. . Three letters sitting in the correspondence section. Never had any contact with them. Now need to keep quiet until a sensible time.