Lisababy

Easter break at Agnes Water and 1770

My wife and I have decided we would like to move to Queensland. Its very early days and we are finding it difficult to find all the information we need.

 

If anyone can help it would be much appreciated.

 

I am a bricklayer so I believe i can get a 189 visa. Can anyone advise me on how much this visa would cost for me, my wife and our three kids under 4?

 

From what i can gather, bricklayers are making upwards of 75k, is this going to be enough for a family of five renting a house for 4-500 dollars a week. I know this is a difficult question to answer but a rough answer would be appreciated.

 

Can anyone advise a nice area to bring up a young family, our eldest is 4 and our twins are 1.

 

Any other advise or experiences you can share would be much appreciated.

 

Andy

Hi Andy,

I have recently moved to Queensland, Rockhampton (been here 5 weeks) and can say that it is more expensive than the UK but not massively so but $75k I imagine will not be enough sadly unless your wife works too as you will be short but you are entitled to more benefits as someone has already said on a 189. Just for advice, what I found is that I looked for jobs from back home in areas I imagined that I'd like to live but it never worked out like this as I had to go here the job was so just be prepared to be open to this idea too.

Regarding nice areas though, I can't advise about this but others will be able to. The Aussie's here have been good on advising areas to avoid while here which is good and they say they they don't suffer from gang cultures like U.K. This is from those that have lived in Rockhampton, Melbourne and Far North qld though so not sure about the Gold Coast.

Definitely do lots of research and be prepared for the weather and humidity... It's hot... very hot :cool:

Tom

Hi,

I did my IELTS in 2014 and the academic one and didn't find it too difficult mainly because I prepared like any other exam. The best material I used was totally free and online and also watched a video of a guy who talked through an essay structure.

Try these;

http://www.ieltsbuddy.com - had loads of tests that you can take and can submit essays for an expert to review and give you pointers to improve.

IELTS Ryan on YouTube does lots of really good videos and helps with the essay structure and offers really good pointers of how to structure what the IELTS service want.

I got an average of 8.0 and these are the only ones I used and not terribly academic myself.

Hope this helps,

Tom

Hi everyone,

I am after some advice regarding the potential to prescribe in Australia as I was a nurse prescriber in the UK before the move over here. My current manager doesn't seem to know and suggested pointing me in the direction of nurse practitioners (UK equivalent to a prescriber) but I spoke with one today who also had no idea. I have started as a Clinical Nurse Consultant and keen to keep hold of this qualification as I did really enjoy this part of my job in the NHS.

Is there anyone who would know anything about this or be able to offer some advice.

Tom

(and thanks in anticipation) :wink:

Thank you all for responding. I am not currently homesick or pineing for home, and i feel that i am going to settle well. I am with my husband who is very supportive. I am going to give it my best shot to settle here. My thinking was more it would be nice for them to know when they will see me again.

Thanks again. Its all really helpful.

Lisa

HI all,

So we finally made it and having been living here for two weeks now. We were so busy getting ready to move that I put off dealing with saying goodbye to my family until the last moment. I found this very difficult and emotional and it hit me that I didn't actually know when I would see them again (it's unlikely for lots of reasons they will be able to visit).

I'm already considering returning to the UK during 2017 for a 2 week holiday to see my family as I thought if we had a date in diary to see each other again it might make the move easier for everyone.

Does anyone have any experiences or opinions on this please?

Lisa

Hi everyone, I just thought I'd post an update REGARDING ahpra registration as I know this is a topic that brings about much discussion (and usually frustration)

I am a qualified mental health nurse, initially diploma level but completed my degree top up 12 months ago. I did Non medical prescribing, psychopharmacology, leadership and evidence based practice. I had applied to ahpra in May and was granted registration in principle in June. This is only applicable for 6 weeks but I emailed my case officer and was extended my another 12 months (I think I was lucky because he replied to all emails and I had no issues at all - his name was Phoenix Leonard)

We arrived in Australia on our permanent visas on 31st December and presented to the ahpra office yesterday at 2pm, by 4.30pm today I was on the register so really quick!!! And start my job on Monday as a nurse consultant ? never been higher than a band 7 back home so really nervous.

If anyone needs any help, just send a message or reply here and and if I can help, I will do.

Tom

Thanks everyone for great advice. will do that. Love pomms in oz.

Hi all, we are due to land in Brisbane tomorrow and hoped to go to a phone store and get mobile contacts.

can anyone recommend somewhere to go to organise this?

best mobile provider - will be living in Rockhampton

are the contracts 12 months

Please could someone with experience help. I am flying out to Perth on the 4 January in order to register with AHPRA prior to the 13 Jan.

 

My letter in principle states that I need to provide the following: Certificate of Registration Status or Certificate of Good Standing validity.

 

What at exactly do I need to do...

-print off the stat Dec and get it signed by a JoP or;

- can I contact NMC to re-issue my confirmation of registration to confirm validity??

 

I I would be grateful for any response. Contacting the NMC will be much easier that arranging a stat Dec to be signed because I don't think my local JoP carries out document signing anymore.

 

TIA

Hi there,

I'm a nurse too and battled this minefield. If your last cogs for AHPRA reg was less than 3 months old then you need another from them ASAP. I have heard of people asking the likes of pharmacists signed an ID declaration but please don't rely on this as I am not even 50% sure. The best bet in my eyes would be to contact the NMC and pay the £34 hoping it gets there in time which I admit is cutting it very close.

Hope someone else can offer better advice or assistance and good luck.

Tom

So it's all coming together. Formal job offer in Queensland, flights booked and notice given to employer... 7 weeks til we will be in oz!

im feeling a little bit overwhelmed with everything we have to do and will be working full time until we go.

if anyone can share to do lists I would be so grateful and would save us time.

does anyone have a list of people we need to notify that we are moving abroad?

lisa xxx

You'll need the Fit2work for employers as well

Can I ask, my husband is presenting in person and it's been longer than 3 months so he will need a new fit 2 work. How do ahpra link this to his registration in principle? Do fit 2 work send to ahpra or do we need to take a copy when presenting?

Hi,

Me and my wife considered an agent and went to a couple of shows where we met various ones and the one that we considered strongly was immigration2oz. The guy who did the talk at the Birmingham down under live was called John, very friendly and explained things in a very easy way. In the end due to finances we opted to go it alone and sought help and advice from this very forum which was priceless.

If you are going to use an agent, ensure that they are MARA registered and reputable as there are stories of people losing a lot of money in 'agencies' going bust. The website for the one we considered using is http://immigration2oz.com/

Best of luck

Tom

Hello there, I was hoping someone may be able to give me some advice on who to contact to discuss the likelihood of my husband being successful with a visa when he has diabetes and health issues surrounding this. We feel a bit lost with who to contact for health advice with our application and any help would be greatly appreciated.

Hi Lise,

I am a type 1 diabetic being diagnosed in 1990 at the age of 8. Although I don't have specific health issues as a result of this, I am unable to offer the advise you may need. With diabetes, we are more likely to develop cardiovascular problems like high BP for example. I would have thought that if he is well controlled, there wouldn't be issues regarding obtaining a visa as I was granted one with absolutely no issues at all. Sensible advice would be to try and get this under control but medication I can't imagine being an issue.

Hope this helps and if my advice isn't wholly accurate, I'm sure someone will come along and correct me but this is based on personal experience.

Tom

Hi All,

we are emigrating 29th December and we pay for a bank account for holiday insurance, phone cover etc.

was going to cancel after we have completed the flight over but I'm thinking will we be covered on our annual holiday insurance policy anyway?

lisa:wink:

Hi Jamie, definitely inform the tax office before you go. Ive read somewhere that you're supposed to but not 100% on this. Me and my wife move in December too and will be notifying HMRC.

Tom

Nice one, a month before me and my wife. Goodluck

Tom

we are flying Singapore airlines. You can take 30kgs per person but as far as I am aware there is no limit to the amount of suitcases as long as it totals 30kgs.

Can you share 60kg between 2 people - me and husband would like to take 3 cases between us.

Don't cancel bank accounts and credit cards. You will not easily be able to obtain credit if you decide to come back to the UK (never say never). Tell your bank you are going overseas temporarily - they should be fine with a 'care of' address (they won't post replacement cards to Australia). Make everything Internet enabled as possible - Think of any pensions, investments etc.. Are you renting out a property? get a valuation for capital gains purposes. Inform TV licensing, council tax, HRMC (you may be entitled to a tax return).... Good luck!

Why would you be entitled to a tax return?

If you have already sold you house and its a great job offer i think you should go for it. I dont think amount of time prior to leaving ever feels like enough time anyway,lol you always end up running around like a madman those last few days.

 

Lots of luck with everything

Cal x

Thank you everyone, you have made me feel so much better that what we are doing is quite reaalistoc. Your posts are appreciated!

Thanks DeniDeni - so we can present once then fly onto out final destination? How long from presenting does it take to get you on register?

We are hoping to be there by Feb/March.

It depends on your circumstances and finances but after alot if consideration we sold up as we didn't want the stress of renting out from so far away.

Hi all, - another post seeking reassurance and opinions. Looks like husband is going to offered a job with start date of 9th January in oz (non negotiable) this gives us around 10 weeks to pack up our lives and go! Is this possible and what things would we need to consider? We have sold house and are living in rented but it still feels overwhelming! Job offer is a good job and will cover first months rent.

Im not sure if we should be singing for joy as we didn't expect to be able to secure employment from U.K.

Hi Louloubelle,

I have been to AHPRA to present today. I would ring before you present as it has taken 5 weeks for my COGS to arrive. My fit to work was from January and I did not need to do another one, but if it says you do in your offer letter then obviously that is different.

 

Make sure when you arrive in Australia you have you passport stamped, if you go through the automated immigration control and don't get a stamp you will need to save your boarding card to present as evidence of when you arrived. You will also need a copy of your visa.

 

I also thought when when I presented that it would be all done, but no! Because of the condition on my registration it needs to be finalised by the Registration Officer that contacted me throughout the process. Hopefully that won't take too long as I was hoping to start in 2 weeks!

Hope that help.

Can an I ask a question? Once you have presented in person do you have to wait and then present again or is it just a case of getting an email? Our final destination is not near the aphra office so I'm wondering if we have to book accomadation for a few weeks or if once we have presented we can go onto our final destination and wait for An email?

We haven't been able to find anywhere private that will do it xxx