evets

My own impression with Melbourne, bring as much supporting documents as possible ie mortgage statement/agreement from the UK, rental agreement from the UK. This shows that you are a landlord and homeowner yourself. I personally think this is a plus as shows your are more likely to look after the property. As other mentioned bank statements both UK and AU, will help, as will the personal character references. Do you know anyone in Australia already that you could provide a phone number(I found this odd as most of them have never called the references I put down!!!) Get photocopies of ID: Medicare card(if you have it), UK driving license, passport so they are ready to submit with your application. When you arrive it may be a good idea to pop into a few real estate agencies and ask what the market is like, what the vacancy rate it like and how many people on average are turning up to open inspections. This will give you a better idea of what to expect. Since the rental market works differently here, you could try your luck at asking to see what they available and if you could review before the inspection... When I first arrived in Melbourne 2009, it was crazy. I would turn up at some places and see 30,40+ people all waiting, lots with applications already completed and handing over to the agent as soon as they could. A few years later I remember turning up to find me and maybe one or two other people, at what I would still describe as good properties. The main recommendation, would be to get your application in as quick as possible. The property I am in now, I did not think I would get and asked the agent and she said mine was the first one submitted.

Cool tons of work out there for both professions mainly Sydney and Melbourne but not really looked anywhere else. Do you have certs ie Prince2, ITIL, Scrum, Agile/Waterful etc. A lot of roles I see the certs would really help you stand out. Good luck with the move.

Hi Praveen, Can you expand on working in IT, as this covers loads of fields? Are you a dev, BA, SA, support, web dev/des, Web UX? Some more in demand than others. What is your skillset? Have you checked out the SOL or CSOL to see if they are listed? What city or cities are you considering? What type of visa are you or have you been looking at?

As a side note, does your girlfriend have the option to return to the UK, believe it is called the partner visa or does she already have full working rights. Others will know better, but if in the future you decided you wanted to return to the UK. The rules have changed and it would be another obstacle, which could mean you are apart for many months. As for the route, you do not mention what city you are both planning to move to. What is the job market like there. There is a crack down going on with 457 visas at the moment, not sure of when it will fully come into play. Also a 417 visa sometimes it is hard to find work in your field as you can only work a company for up to 6 months. If you intend to go down the 189 path when you get here have you done the skills assessment. Once all of that is done, you can apply for a bridging visa to allow you stay. Another option you may consider, as I know a friend of mine who met a British guy, she fell pregnant and they applied for a partner visa which in the end was successfully approved. Good luck with your move, you have a lot to consider and work out in a very short time. For the 189 visa you could kick of the skills assessment know to get the ball rolling.

Completely agree. The problem with Australia is they took so long to decide on mass immigration, look at when the US embraced it. Now they cannot cope and provide the infrastructure that is now required for the population growth. The housing market and other parts(land, business, etc) are all now on offer to foreign investors pushing the local market out, as they now cannot afford to live here. I look at auctions in my suburb, hardly any first time buyers, mainly local investors who are just looking to rent it out or foreign investors wanting to do the same or house there children here. With Brexit and Trump, people are starting to turn against the current way politics is run. Some, hopefully, interesting times ahead here.

OK agreed and makes sense now. I mentioned Indians, as from the map provided it had Indians has the main population which I found odd as it was not my experience living here. But as I think about it more, it could well be probably be true as have been observing the area more since this post. I would still think "white Australians" are the dominant race, with Asian(Chinese and Koreans), Indians, Italians, Eastern European following. One suburb to the left of me, I see a couple of Indian stores while two suburb's to the right of me is predominately Greek. Yes when I first came to Australia, 2002, I hardly seen anyBlack or Indian people, odd since I was coming from SE London where mass interracial culture already exists and you do not even think about it. And yes during my first visit I noticed the discrimination but this was reflected towards the Aboriginal's. Now I see it reflected towards Indians and Africans, and somewhat towards the Chinese especially I think because of the property market. I fully agree with you, the applications I support are deployed at tier 1 telcos, and are largely supported by Indian System Integrator's, some onshore some offshore. Some of the guys are really good but the majority fall short and have this blame the vendor attitude so not to take/accept responsibility. Sometimes I wonder if the Telco really cares about the support they are hiring or just about the bottom dollar! Reading one of the more local forums ie dominated by Australians and not expats, the 457 rort as they put it needs to be addressed. It is a shame as so many people are investing tons of money and effort in relocating on a dream of a better life only to find that the jobs they want have been offshored to there home country. For some it works it positive, for a large majority not so good

You done really well out of it. By chance did you take out PHI with Bupa on you arrival back to the UK or are you just using the NHS?

Agreed, it is great when you want to move to Australia but the job market here is now saturated with locals struggling to find work. The SOL does really need to be reviewed as Australia has not geared up for immigration, and the cracks are starting to show. The damage is already done, locals are pissed with it and they want it reviewed.

Sorry your post makes no sense. Most if not the majority of Indian workers I know come over doing IT related work. I work for a software vendor and deal with tons of these guys. Also see tons driving taxis for a living as they cannot find any work. The suburb I am in is heavily Asian dominated, and that is confirmed from the people I see walking around and frequenting the shops/restaurants. I could count the amount of Indians I see here, my suburb, on a daily basis on 2 hands, maybe 3 at a push. Actually will change that, as the majority in the suburb are all working at woolworths.

Dazken, another thing to consider when taking out PHI make sure you read the small print and what is covered. Many stories I have read recently about people finding out a claim or health issue they have is not covered. Also review the extras part of the policy, and work out if it makes a positive addition and how much the gap fee would be(ie what you are out of pocket). If you can see a fair bit of dental work over the coming years, have glasses, visit the Chiro/massage/osteo a lot then may be it work's out to add it. Then again it could be worth a trip to Thailand for the major dental work, as dentists very expensive in this country. Regarding starting the family, not long after I moved here. The Chiropractor I was using at the time, she had not long had a baby. Cost using Medicare $0, cost using her PHI upto $8k. She was more than happy about the service and everything else required using Medicare. I see you are based in Melbourne, do you or have you considered Ambulance cover, as not covered by Medicare. And I only recently noted on my PHI only 1 callout per year is covered. Was a little shocked as this is the top cover, provided by my employer. So in your case of a heart attack and no PHI and NO Ambulance cover, you would be hit with a big bill for the Ambulance to take you to the hospital.

Agree with flag, check out the job market in the areas you are thinking off. For the roles you have mentioned you would probably find Melbourne or Sydney(and also Canberra especially with security clearance(once you have citizenship)) would offer more opportunities and better salaries especially for the 2 roles you have mentioned. Unless you get lucky or find a work from home role. Have a look at seek.com.au, indeed.com.au, glassdoor, linkedin to see how many roles you both could apply for, job market here is very competitive at the moment.

Ah OK, makes more sense now. I did think/thought coming on a 457 visa and if English was not your first language you would still have to sit and pass the IELTS test. Not looked this up just an assumption. Sorry being lazy

Oddly I see another type, the young Asian whose English is very poor. I can understand people that came many years back, whether Asian or European, who would have never had to complete the IELTS test, but wonder how these younger people managed to get PR/citizenship for Australia.

Looking at my suburb, the top group is Indians and I see no Indian restaurants or shops here. The area is mainly Asian restaurants, with the odd western fast food joint, aside from the obvious coffee shops. I do see Indian people walking around, but the majority would be Chinese(or Asian if you want to group together).

Interesting article. My first Chiropractor in Australia mentioned the having a baby costs and went with Medicare as if she went private it would have cost her in the region of $8K. Private healthcare fail. She had nothing bad to say about public healthcare or the waiting times. And another thing I notice not a lot of companies provide it, and the cost if you want a decent package is very high and highly discussed/disputed about whether worth it I know a number of friends over 40 that will not pay for it, as they cannot justify the costs for the benefits. The medicare surcharge verses purchasing PHI, puts you in a a difficult position. Does the surcharge outweigh the extra cost and possible or not possible benefits of PHI?

Ah ok was not aware of that.

Until recently, a 457 visa it was a requirement for the sponsoring company to provide healthcare. This has now been abolished Spend some time reviewing healthcare companies and policies as some can work out (very) expensive. Also make note of the extras part of the policies and you (and your family) may not need them. Healthcare in Australia is turning into a very Americanised system. Shame really as Medicare is up there with the NHS and sometimes even better but after a certain age it is pretty much a forced requirement, otherwise you have a medicare levy to pay. If you are transferring within your company, do they offer healthcare as part of the package. If so, this is great as any waiting periods are usually wiped.

You need to declare you conviction as when a police check is run it would/will more than likely show up, less than 10 years. After 10 years your record is wiped, as per my understanding, well was in my case. For immigration to Australia I am not 100% sure how it would impact the visa process. My DUI was over 20 years and did not have any impact on the visa process which was a little surprising considering I forgot to mention it during my 457 visa but brought it up for my PR visa as noted it in the application and remember about it and thought best to come clean. But to get a visa for Canada recently it had a major impact and delayed the visa by many months. I thought Australia was a hard country to get into, then found Canada even tougher! As I mentioned before, the immigration company processing your visa will ask for an additional payment to cover this. How you approach your manager is another matter, you could simple mention that you have a spent conviction but do not want to discuss in detail as you feel embarrassed about it and it was something you regret. Also you will need to complete a Statuary Declaration form explaining the incident and the remorse you have since the conviction. Then have this signed by a Justice of the Peace or the like.

subscribing to thread as would be interested to know myself. $4k, each, nice leaving present. Help cover some of the relocation costs

Good luck with finding anything in TAS, it is hard enough in AU for IT in certain fields. Your best bet if you want to work remote in TAS is find a multinational company and work for then locally in Australia then toy with the idea of remote working. Sydney and Melbourne are your best bets, and once you get citizenship Canberra for the government roles, but that would not allow you to work in TAS as would more than likely be office based. The IT job market is pretty swamped at the moment.

No worries. I do not think so as from my own experience I am only dealing with the immigration company and unless anything major came up they do not have any communication with my manager/company even then no communication as I would have to resolve it. I spoke to my manager about it as the process was dragging on, and he was asking why, and required more paper work and additional costs(this part you cannot hide if your company is paying). The visa process for Canada appears to be a lot more complicated than Australia. Double check if they require a police check, as during my process I had my house burgled so lost a lot of the documentation/records and cannot actually remember of a police check was required. I know it was required for PR and citizenship. The only reason I can see that your company would know is if your manager was to disclose it and you chatted to him and filled him in. The extra expense you could cover it up as needing extra paperwork. Please remember if you are coming out on a 457 visa and they are not going to sponsor you for PR, you have upto 4 years potentially on a temp visa with returning back to the UK unless you decide to try for yourself for PR. If you come out do you have the same job to return to, if you decide not to apply for PR. Will they cover cover relocation costs to and from Australia?

Report it as you need to do a police check and it would more than likely come up and not reporting it would/could cause complications and worst case scenario no visa. If it was over 10 years ago then it would be a different matter as would not be on your record. And if you decide to want to apply for PR and citizenship, you would need to report it again. I had to explain to my manager about a conviction I had over 20 years ago for a visa for Canada, I forgot to report it for my 457 but remembered for my PR and citizenship, if you have a good relationship with your manager and the conviction was minor then just discuss it and let them know. Sometimes things happen. The visa process is complicated and no point lying as just will make it harder for you.

The Spain or Portugal thing may change in the near future due to Brexti. BUT then again who knows what will actually happen. You second point scares me as I am relocating to Canada, originally from the UK to AU.

Cazza and Pom Queen, sorry to hear about your health issues and so so young Really put's things into prospective as we get older! Cazza, if you have a family network and support back in the UK then personally I would consider it. The NHS is still a good option and from what I understand certain thing's have been ticked off the AU medicare boxes for cancer treatment. Not sure how if you have private health care and if you would be covered for treatment. Your partner is English, would he prefer to be in Australia in case the worst happens or be closer to his family? Think about what part of the UK you may consider moving back too and job opportunities. Can he still work or does he need to still have ongoing treatment. Does he have a job at the moment that is providing sick leave and at least an income and insurance, worst case scenario. Some other questions/scenarios: If you have private healthcare here, is it a global company. I know my friend when he first emigrated here was with Bupa in the UK and had medical conditions and transferred his policy Bupa UK to Bupa AU and had no wait times or conditions imposed. If the NHS is not sufficient and you need to take out private healthcare in the UK, would you be covered or penalised for the cancer. How far would you be from a hospital or doctor, if an emergency happened. My Dad is diabetic and his treatment is fully covered and gets disability allowance. He has a new car every 3 years as he is disabled. It appears to me he is better off not working due to the benefits he gets. Not sure what it is like in Australia. As to some of your questions: House: Do you have enough equity in it, can you afford to sell it, would renting it out cover the mortgage. Are you looking to buy when you move back to the UK. Can you afford to rent it out and buy in the UK. Would medical bills mean not being to get back on the housing market in the UK without selling up in AU?

Another couple of tips, pimp up your linkedin profile and include the URL on your CV and if you have a github and/or similar account include that so hiring people can see what projects or code you have been working on. Linkedin I notice now has a new feature to let recruiters know you are looking for work. Maybe enable that and see how it works for you. Depending on your skillset, if very in demand, some recruiters will be more open to contacting you even though you are based in the UK. Others will probably not even consider you, would be similar in the UK being based in Scotland applying for jobs in London. They all want you be available for an interview immediately but in reality it could take weeks before it gets organised. The IT job market in Brisbane is not the greatest at the moment, but as your a software dev which is pretty in demand in Melbourne and Sydney, it may be very different. Have you checked out seek, glassdoor to see what jobs are being posted for the type of roles you could apply for? Format wise of your CV is pretty much the same as you would have for the UK. Regarding the Oz phone number, I do know lots of people in India get prepaid sim cards so they appear to be based in Australia. Time zone is a little better for them though.