Wirephobia

Thank you all....absolutely can't wait now

Yes, we're headed to Brisbane (myself, wife & daughter). We still don't know which suburb is for us, so we'll explore for a while & do some of the tourist things on our list while we have the chance. I've started job hunting but I don't really expect to secure one until I'm there, so we're full of excitement & trepidation!!

Hope you enjoy the time away. We head out in June for good.

My personal view of the budget, based on 3 of us In summary: £21,000 to obtain visas, get us & our stuff to Aus $5,500 One off costs in Aus + $7,500 for each 4 weeks without income So assuming $2 to £1 FX rate, my expected costs are £35,000 if we have jobs within 8 weeks (which means 12 weeks without income as paid in arrears of course)...rising by £3,750 for each further 4 weeks it takes to secure jobs. Detail Skills based assessment (ACS) £250 IELTS Test £150 Visa fees 2 Adults, 1 child £3,085 Medical & X-rays x3 £750 UK Police clearance cert x3 £135 Agent fees (Could avoid if you DIY) £2,700 ============================ Sub total to obtain visa £7,070 ============================ Shipping 40' container, full wrap and pack, door to door plus insurance, fees at Aus end etc = £7,000 (Could reduce if you do the wrap/pack yourself) Flights x 3 plus 3 nights hotel on arrival (Business class, so could reduce this a lot as noted in earlier replies) = £7,100 ==================================== Sub total to get us & our stuff to Aus £14,100 ==================================== (Above based on actuals, below based on research) Stay in short term accommodation for 1 month in the UK after selling house and sending contents to Aus = £0 (Kind of......the costs net out vs costs of running our home, but we lose the benefit of reducing the outstanding mortgage, so you can debate whether to include that.) Cost of living in Aus before securing jobs = approx $7,500 per 4 weeks inc rent, bills, extravagance etc (As others have said, depending on your job prospects, plan for 6 months, hope for 3 mths or less without jobs). Maybe this could be reduced, but I'm aiming to be realistic. Rental bond $3,000 Driving licences x3 $500 Purchase of things you couldn't ship / needed before container arrived (Super tough lawn mower, mattresses, temp crockery/cutlery, something to sit on in an almost empty house) $2,000 Purchase of cars in Aus $0 (Kind of.....Limit the budget to the price of our cars sold in UK.....but does mean likely reduction in spec or accepting older car.)

This time last year it was surprisingly quick....around 2 weeks! I'm sure somebody with more recent experience will reply shortly.

Out of interest, do you mind sharing how much that ended up costing and for what size container?

Visas all granted today......we're so excited and relieved! Lot's of steps to go yet, but glad to have this one sorted. Good luck to everyone else waiting for grants.

All info now sent in to case officer (Medicals and Police checks all clear). Now we just have to wait for the decision.

@supercow We're ready for another long wait.....as long as it's a positive outcome in the end we'll be happy

Finally had contact from DIBP yesterday (our application went in on 9th July). Just need to complete police checks and medicals now, so fingers crossed!

Looks like you'll be fine with 65 points as a Systems Analyst Nina. It's a little hard to tell how much of a backlog there is for analysts especially because, as you say, the official site is not updated quickly, but it looks like 65 points EOI submitted in June will get an invite in the next one or two rounds. In the July invite round for analysts, there were no 60 point invites, and the earliest 65 point invites were for EOIs submitted sometime between the end of March and May 6th (based on posts I see in a couple of forums plus my own experience). The uncertainty is hard I know! Wishing you luck and peace of mind.

Slightly ahead of plan, our application is now submitted!!

Time is right

...

@shanners @RMT1980, Looks like we have similar hopes on timeframes & locations....plus a healthy distaste of all the waiting :-) Good luck

Not quite submitted yet but aiming to do so next week after receiving an invite on the 5th (189 Visa as a BA - 261111). Family of three of us heading for Brisbane if all goes to plan. Although I don't post often, I do read the forum posts often so good luck to everyone reading this, whatever your path is and wherever it takes you!

I just managed to speak with my agent and I have been invited....so pleased!! Good luck to all who are waiting. BA (261111), 65 points, EOI submitted 28/3/15

The new SOL is documented here: https://www.comlaw.gov.au/Details/F2015L01059 (No info on occupation ceilings though as far as I can see)

No new SOL yet, but an announcement here on key changes: http://www.minister.border.gov.au/michaeliacash/2015/Pages/skilled-occupation-list-updated.aspx

My first reaction to the headline: "Rain or shine, it makes no difference to how happy most Britons feel." was to emphatically disagree....I simply know too many fellow Brits that enjoy a welcome sunny day in the midst of yet another dreadfully dull season. However, I am not surprised to find that for some people a single day makes a difference whereas for others it doesn't, therefore leading to statistically insignificant results. Even for those that are cheered by a single sunny day, you'd have to survey them on that sunny day, otherwise it's a distant memory. Overall, the research being reported doesn't support the headline the Guardian have given it.

Firstly, I am by no means an expert as I am just going through the visa process myself. I'm not an accountant, my degree is BA (Hons) Accounting and Business Information Systems. The key to assessing my degree as equivalent to an Australian Bachelor Degree was the ECTS credits earned, which needed to be 180 or more. ECTS credits are half of UK credits. I provided a copy of my degree transcript to the assessing body indicating 365 UK credits / 182 ECTS credits, which led to it being assessed as "comparable to an AQF Bachelor Degree". Hope this helps and hopefully someone with more expertise will confirm if there are any exceptions!

It was surprisingly quick; 8 days after submission whereas I was expecting 12 weeks!

Just thought I'd say hello and a thanks generally to all the authors of the many posts I've read over the last few months (I've been lurking a while!). Reading those posts, including the often opposing views, really helps to understand the pros and cons from different perspectives and I'm sure that if we're fortunate enough to end up being granted visas, it will make our journey even more successful. We're at the early stages but just received a successful assessment from the ACS which will support my 189 application. I'm taking the IELTS test soon and if that goes well I'll be ready to submit the EOI. Although it will ultimately be governed by jobs (and getting a visa in the first place of course!), we'd really like to make our next home in Brisbane as not only do we find it beautiful and varied, we also have a slight head start with a couple of friends and family there. Fingers crossed.......

Hi Iron Chef, Please could you tell me what category you'd assess my car as: - year of manufacture: 2007 - make, model & variant: BMW, 530D, M-Sport - body type (coupe, convertible, etc) - Saloon - engine size & fuel type - 3L Diesel - transmission - Manual - drive type (4WD, front wheel drive, etc) - RWD - mileage - 140,000 - any special features, options or modification - None - does it have aircon - Yes - realistic current UK market value - £6,000 - Australian RedBook value - $24,8000 - $28,2000 - Australian market value - $25,000 - which Australian state/city - Brisbane Many thanks