Chickbock

Sounds good. Brisbane is a great place. We will hopefully be off to Darwin soon.

My weekly shop in the UK for the four of us is £150 and from coles my weekly shop would be $235 so not a great deal of difference.

It would be very difficult for anybody to advise as everyone is different as to the standards they expect. I could easily live decently on that amount in Brisbane and I have a wife and two teenagers. This would be based on rent at $600 a week. My advice would be to research the properties in the area. Register for an online supermarket and do a mock shop. Do you have expensive hobbies? Utilities and stuff can be estimated and I am sure a lot of posters will be able to give their take on these costs.

why Adelaide Becks?

Thanks for your input Becks. It is only PR i would be interested in. My job is on the CSOL but as it stands only SA will sponsor with 85 points. I would ensure I get the max points in IELTS. My partner has more experience than me in the same industry on the CSOL so if I test positive chances are she would and the cost is something I would happily pay. I have contacted Alan Collett from this forum who comes highly recommended to run through everything... who knows their may be other options. I know 85 points is high it would only be a possibility if I can get a positive assessment for my 8 years experience to score max points... However after doing a lot more research the on the AQF framework it seems the info I had was out of date so I do not have the Australian diploma equivalent.... so now I am looking into RPL (I would need to score the points from this too).... but I also have my fingers crossed for the refresh in July. So right now things are still possible (I love positivity). So for you I take it you did not need state sponsorship (5 points) or partner skills (5 points) were you older than 32 (-5 points compared to me) how many years experience did you claim?

Hello All. Can anybody recommend a good migration agent. When you recommend them can you give a reason why?

Good to know! I'm in Solihull

Hiya Jodipodi, I would really really appreciate if you kept things updated as there is a possibility I may be in the same boat as you. (I replied to the thread also so I can get email updates for when posters post... I am unsure if the is a subscribe to post button)

I work in Insurance, from what I see there are quite a few vacancies within this industry. I would get my Tier 1 qualification before I come out. Insurance I have found is not really a career path for people. We 'fall into it' and once we are in we do not leave.

Yes, I have thought about this.... This was generally my train of thought.... Faith would like to be a Vet (exotic vet), veterinary school in Australia is a lot cheaper. Timing would be everything. If we left it too late Faith would not have enough time to settle into the SA school system so would ruin her chances. If we don't do it now we won't ever be able to do it. Nothing will be taken lightly.

Of Course he could, but we would only need his permission for the 15 year old. If he change his mind then it would go to court, if we lost, then she will come off the visa. A separate visa would then be lodged when she is 16.

I assume they have a relationship with a recruitment agency and they would just manage that process. Migrate abroad has been used recently by another forum member who recommended their services hence why I contacted them. They are about the same price and offer this additional recruitment service. I always think very hard before parting with money!

Kavita @ Migrate Abroad, yesterday. I agree it is still on the DIBP website so maybe it is super new and only she knows about it. However even if the partner skills can be added and I can achieve 85 points I do like the sound of using Kavita as she will be sourcing employment for me so at the point of me emigrating I will already have a job which is appealing.

My NVQ level 3 is in my nominated ocupation. However I have been advised that partner skills can't be added anymore? I still have hope though, just unlucky that wont give me extra points. so to get the 190 visa now I need a job offer.

Thanks Pingpoma, you have actually may have just given me hope (feel free to take it away again)..... Right at this very moment to get to SA I would need to have 85 points, so I would need every single point that is available to me. I would need the 20 points in IELTS which may be difficult but I would think achievable. I have been a qualified broker for 8+ years.... so hopefully that will get me the 15 on work experience. My partner has worked for the same company as a broker for 15 years and has the same qualification as me so I would have to pin my hopes on that being enough. (Cert CII = NVQ level 3 = Australian Diploma). I also hold a BTEC National Diploma in a completely irrelevant subject so hopefully that would give me the 10 points. If VETASSES are the body to test my occupation skills. Who would asses my my education?

Thanks lebouvellec My partner is older than me and has the same occupation so we are in the same boat.

Very Stormy, thank you for your comments. This is the response from Immigration2oz my migration agent.... (I was asking about my occupation slipping off WA) "However, we would still recommend starting the process so that are ready to lodge, as soon as possible if an opportunity arrises. At the beginning of each financial year the State Migration Plans are negotiated by each State/Territory with the Federal Government. In so doing all eight States/Territories (States) effectively short list occupations that they will publish on their State Nomination Occupations Lists (SNOLs); for which they will accept nomination applications. Each occupation is subject to a quota which is renegotiated annually after the 1st July. Please note that thereafter the State Migration Plans (SMP’s) are regularly revised, and liable to change, due to the imposed ceilings and quotas. As a result nomination’s for your occupation could change before you are ready to apply for your State nomination. Although we cannot predict what State(s) will nominate your occupation in the future, we have noted that the best time to lodge State Nominated applications is in the latter half of the year, because the nominations peak shortly after the July State nomination renegotiations. In the interim it may be prudent to get ‘decision ready’ by applying for a skill assessment which we can assist you with. This application, together with obtaining your English language test result can take approximately 4-6 months to achieve. Only after this point will then be ‘decision ready’ (i.e.: ready to decide whether, or not, to apply). It is only after becoming ‘decision ready’ that you can apply for your State Nomination, should a Nomination still be available. Should Nominations not be available, or if you are not happy with your nomination options, you can also decide to pursue a permanent employer sponsored ENS visa (Subclass 186): providing you obtain a satisfactory job offer AND you already have a skill assessment. Looking for Job offers is another option to pursue once you are ‘decision ready.’ Since the SMP’s are liable to change we would recommend that you proceed with your application without delay to avoid disappointment in the future, whether you are totally satisfied with your State/Territory nomination option, or not. We will regularly re-evaluate your State/Territory nomination options throughout the visa application process. If at any stage you require an update, please do not hesitate to contact us. For these reasons above we would still recommend proceeding to get decision ready so that you are ready to lodge as soon as possible, if any new opportunities arise." I calculated my points as follows... Age 32: 30 Ielts Proficient or Superior: 10 or 20 work experience: 15 Education (diploma / trade): 10 Partner skills: 5 State sponsorship: 5 or Total: 75 or 85 The Father or the children of course would not be happy, but yes he would agree to the move.

sure 190 visa fixed fee £2150 + VAT in staged payments (not including assesment fees / DIBP / medicals etc). They do a event that if you buy a ticket they will do a free visa assessment. its called live down under.

I haven't paid them yet. But it will be immigration2oz.

Hello All, I will start by saying that I have had a dream to move to OZ since I was about 20 having never visited. I did visit in March 2010 and loved every minute of it staying with an Australian family near the Gold Coast. On returning back to the UK I found love and my journey to Australia was put on hold, my other half has 2 children from her previous relationship. So moving across the world was not a option as they used to spend a lot of time with their real dad. She has also wanted (/ liked the idea of Australia).... Over the last few years my soon to be step childrens father has been drifting away, so now they rarely see him and do not really want to go to his house (he has a new family etc). They are not young, Megan will be 16 on application and faith will be 14 on application and 15 when we move, (IF). When we first started to look into moving we attended a seminar and had a visa assessed. My occupation was on the CSOL list (Insurance Broker) and SA and WA were accepting. Now when I have decided to get the ball moving it seems it is not possible. I am 32 (today) my fiancee is 38. I do not hold a degree. All I really have is 8 years work experience as an insurance broker I hold the CERT CII qualification. I would be the primary visa applicant. The migration agent has advised to get myself decision ready i.e Ielts, work assessed, ready to lodge an EOI in July when the list / quota is refreshed. Part of me says cool I will do that.... the other part says is the migration agent just saying this to make some money. I don't really know what I am asking but any advice would be appreciated on how to save my dream. Currently on the points system I could achieve 75 - 85 points. I work as a Branch Manager for an insurance broker, I do not need to continue in this field and I am always open to other roles. For the last 4 years I have also been managing the running of 3 let houses (for my other half).... Property management? Andrew