Ollie2212

How long would people budget/plan to stay in an AirBnb/Hotel while apartment hunting? We would aim to have some viewings arranged before leaving Tasmania and ideally make an application pretty asap from our arrival. We would also like to have a good chunk of money saved, for example 2 or 3 months rent upfront. While on that topic, is it likely to impact a rental application not having a job. In an ideal world we would like to find somewhere, have 2 or 3 months rent saved up, and spend a few weeks chilling out and exploring before finding jobs. As said they will be hospitality jobs and fairly easy to walk into…

Are you guys from Manchester originally? Hell of a difference over here isn’t it On a new note, I’ve just done some research into Perth. For some reason, in my mind I always considered it to be more of a quiet town haha. Seems to be a really cool busy city, plenty of hospitality jobs and restaurants, close to the beach and maybe milder temperatures than Brisbane. Also the rents seem a bit cheaper for city apartments. Anyone have any info on Perth?

Thanks for the replies everyone, seems the temperatures are a big talking point! Myself and my partner are both 25 and love the hot weather. We have no ties to anywhere so should it be an issue, we would simply relocate again… Having gone from Manchester to Tasmania, I’m certainly craving the “true” Australian sunshine Brisbane sounds like a winner to me…

Hi Cal, thanks for the info! Brisbane really does seem to have a nice balance of what I’m looking for without being too expensive. I’m originally from Manchester, so anywhere you live that’s relatively central is fine. Looking at a map of Brisbane, I have no idea where the “centre” would be. Fortitude valley, kangaroo point and south Brisbane all seem to triangle around the word “Brisbane” when looking at google maps, which implies that’s where you’d want to be looking right? Or is it a case of there being lots of “mini cities” within Brisbane? For example, Kangaroo point and St Lucia are over an hours walk from each other so I’d assume that one of those places is too far away from “the city centre” I hope that makes sense!

Thanks for the info guys! What do people feel about Brisbane? Seems to have a good nightlife, warm weather and close enough to take day trips to the gold coast? Also seeing some pretty nice modern apartments for around $600 in places like Woolloongabba, West End and South Brisbane, all which seem pretty close to the city centre therefore walkable to work?

Hi guys, I’m currently living in Hobart, TAS after moving from the UK with my partner. We came here as she has family here so it made it easier to settle in and stay somewhere during the initial process. We are now looking to the future and at some point in the next 12 or so months, we would like to relocate to the mainland. I am aware that we are looking for may not exist but would appreciate and knowledge people have to offer! Essentially what we are looking for, is Gold Coast vibes, but safer and less noisy. We want the warm weather, so potentially somewhere in Queensland. The idea of the ocean seems nice but we even somewhere like Sydney with its water ways is appealing (although far too expensive) We both work in hospitality and would ideally like a location that allows us to use public transportation or even better, is in walking distance to a bustling city centre with bars, restaurants and hotels. We will be renting, and ideally something around $550 a week would be ideal, although for the right place, we could certainly stretch to 650/700 tops. The property is quite important to us, and we have always tended to put a decent chunk of our income into nice, modern apartments or houses to rent. So to recap… we want to live in the city centre of Sydney, with the Gold Coast beaches and the Hobart prices! like I said, I’m aware this won’t be possible, but if someone could work with us and help to get some ideas going, it’d be really appreciated!

For anyone wandering (not sure if this post is even still active), today I was granted my Permanent Residency for Australia! We made the move here in May, and launched an application June. Just over 2 months later and it has all been approved! Any questions feel free to give me a shout!

Hi guys, So I am moving to Hobart, TAS in May, and will be there for up to year, followed by a move to Queensland. I am a Manchester City supporter having grown up in Manchester, and am trying to find information on supporters clubs or places to watch? Does anyone know if there is any kind of culture around the UK premier league in Australia? Specifically Manchester City? Are there late night places showing the games, or any supporter groups that I could watch games with, or am I destined to stream the games by myself at silly times at night

Yes we are aware it is likely to be no way near this amount of time, as you say, just what the guidelines state

So for anyone interested, we have committed to a very reputable migration agent. And this is our plan. Thought I’d share because it’s taken months of research and conflicting information out there. We will be paying a $3650 agency fee. Half will be made to them when they re-open in the new year. At that point, we will both sign form 956 with the department of home affairs. This will officially appoint our migration agent to our application, and allow them to submit paperwork on our behalf. We will spend the new couple months working with the agency to provide documents that they believe will be required, and to draft our final application while in the UK. We will be making an on shore partner visa application 820. Of course for this, we need to firstly be on shore. I will be initially going over on an “eVisitor” visa. This is essentially a 3 month tourist visa. As soon as we land, we will have to do a couple things in Australia such as having a JP in aus to certify and witness certain things. At that point, we pay the remainder of the agency costs, and they submit the application for us. As the application can take years to be approved, at the point my evisiter expires (3 months) I will be placed onto a BVA bridging visa which allows work/study until the partner visa is decided. We will be going over with over 20K and my partner will commit to being my sponsor, meaning she agrees to financially support me and provide housing if needed. hope this helps someone

I’m not “planning on”. If you read the post, “I have” already bought a one way ticket. We have also gone ahead with a migration agent to guide us. You don’t need to buy a return ticket I am going with intention to live the rest of my life there. I have £25,000 banked should there be any issues and I have to buy a return ticket.

We can’t start now because as said we’re doing an on shore application. You cannot start the application til landing in Australia. If we were doing an off shore application, we would have to wait for it to be approved before leaving the country, which is not an option

Yes that’s what I mean. I can’t find any information on how long it may take and what kind of information will be required. I’d really like to know if this is something we can just complete ourselves instead of spending so much money on a migration agent?

She doesn’t and we don’t intend to return. I am well aware of the benefits and in hindsight would have done this, but we don’t have the time, and have booked our flights already.

So myself and my partner are moving to Australia in May. To give context, she in an Australian citizen and I am a UK citizen. We have lived together 3+ years in the UK. We have had free consultations with a migration agency. They advised the best the best way to make the move, would be to apply for an on shore partner visa. To do this we must first be on shore obviously. So they advised to apply for an e-visitor (651) visiting visa. Then when I’m Australia, to submit the partner visa. I was told when the 3 month e-visitor expires, as long as we have begun our application for the partner visa, I will be put on to a bridging visa, likely to give full working rights etc. until the partner visa is approved. I currently have my 651 e visitor visa approved, and we have booked our one way flights to Australia for May. We also have the money to submit our partner visa application as soon as we land. My question is, is it worth paying the additional $3000- $4000 for a migration agency to assist, or is it reasonable that we could go ahead with the partner visa application ourselves? anyone who has been through this process there selves, I would appreciate some advice? thanks :)

Thanks for the reply! Honestly I hate Manchester. It’s dirty, grey, cold and full of dodgy people and drugs. I’ve lived here 9 years and well and truly had enough great for a weekend, horrible to live in. The rental market does seem difficult, the Gold Coast seems to offer the largest amount of properties on RealEstate.com but just not sure yet. Cairns also looks gorgeous but maybe too hot and a bit more isolated. thanks for the info, I’ll keep looking out of curiosity, in what way is obtaining a rental more difficult in Australia as opposed to the UK. If places are up for rent online, and you can afford the rent/deposit + have a guarantor and job, what is to stop you taking it on?

Hi guys, I and my partner are making the move to Australia next year. She is from Hobart so we will initially be moving in with her family there, but once my visa is sorted and working rights kick in, we would like to move to the mainland. We are both 25 and have worked in hospitality/retail our whole lives. While we are open to a change in career, we don't have experience or qualifications elsewhere, so this is something to bare in mind work-wise. We currently live in Manchester, and the main thing we are looking for in our new life is relatively simple. We want a chilled-out area, beaches, and good weather are a necessity. We'd like to spend our free time going to bars and restaurants, whilst also having the option to explore nature, be it mountains, forests, etc. We have been pretty set on the Gold Coast for a good while now, but I have also been looking into Cairns. It looks absolutely stunning, and as I said before, beautiful beaches, sunshine, and nature are so appealing. Obviously, when we make the initial move to the mainland, we will not be in a financial position to explore all of Australia, so we'd like to settle somewhere for a year or two. perhaps as we get towards our 30's, we would be open to moving somewhere more rural. Looking at the minimum wage, it seems we would earn around $900 a week each before tax. We currently spend over 50% of our income on rent and are happy to do so, as a nice modern living space is very important to us. We are pretty set on Queensland, as it seems to offer the good weather and nature aspect we are looking for, while also having busy cities with bars and restaurants. At the minute, it seems like the Gold Coast is the ideal place to start our new adventure, but I am open to hearing other people's thoughts. If anyone can make any recommendations on where would seem a good place for us to live, I'd love to hear the reasoning behind it. Thanks!

So looking at the working holiday visas, it states that to apply for your 2nd year, you must have carried out 3 months of specified work during your first year. When you then look at the 3rd year holiday, it states you must have previously carried out 6 months specified work. Does this mean you have to do another 6 months work during your second year, or does it include the initial 3 months you did in your first years. Sorry if that sounds complicated. From my understanding, if you do 3 months specified work during your first year, you can then apply to stay another year. If you do another 3 months specified work after that (6 in total) you can then apply for 3rd year?

So after doing a bit of research, the good news regarding my partners UK visa, is that firstly, it still has almost 2 years remaining. Secondly it’s an Ancestry visa which can be extended and reapplied for as many times as she’d like

Of course we will consult with a professional nearer the time. For now, I don’t think it hurts to ask some questions…this forum alone has raised a lot of thoughts that I can now take to a professional consultant, that can only be a good thing. Anyway, I am strongly leaning towards the Working holiday visa. Life is far too short, and I am far too young to be worrying so much about a big commitment like a partner visa. I want to go get there asap and have some fun. If it all goes well, I have the opportunity to apply for a Partner visa, if not, life goes on!

(does anyone happen to know, if she could just as easily apply to return to the UK on another working visa as she is now, if things didn’t work out in aus, or would she have to be a UK resident to return) I’ve realised very quickly how tricky this seems to be. It’s very clear that the first thing we need to do is try and sort her UK Citizenship. Now whether that works out or not, she can move back to Australia and work and live freely as a citizen. I on the other hand seen to have two options. Commit to a big cost in the form of a Partner visa (this would make it much easier to work/rent/stay long term etc.) but if I don’t enjoy it there, I’m moving back to the UK single and $8000 down. Or…move on a working visa, expect stay with her family and not be guaranteed work, but at least get to check out the country and see if I enjoy it. If not, I again move back to the UK single and alone, but not $8000 down. If I did like it there, I could then apply for the partner visa, and we could settle down properly. does this sound about right? again thank you for everyone’s advice so far. It’s very overwhelming trying to sift through conflicting information on Google.

The UK citizenship is certainly something that needs to be looked at and thank you for bringing it up. I still think when the time comes, I would rather go initially on a working visa and if need be stay with her family if working/renting would really be that difficult. Would it be an issue applying for partner visa while visiting on a holiday visa if we decided to stay long term?

Thank you for the information. That is certainly something to discus and have a think about. Another thing I’ve come across online but can’t find much information about…some people have said that when you apply for a working holiday visa, you must state that you don’t intend to stay indefinitely. If you were then to go on at a later date and apply for a partner visa; it may seem as if you were lying on your original application. Obviously this is not the case. I have absolutely no idea whether or not I would intend to stay, and I wouldn’t know how I felt about it without first going for a year on a working holiday. Do you think they would really look badly upon it if we ended up applying for a Partner visa, or is this something we could make clear when we first apply? thanks!

Thank you for the information! There is then the possibility of staying with her family upon arrival for a few months. Then if we decide we want to stay long term, apply for a partner visa and then it sounds like we will have an easier job of securing a rental?

I had a little look at what you said about a bridging visa. So would that mean I initially apply for the First year working visa, then if during that year we decide it’s where we want to stay long term, we apply for the Partner visa, followed by the bridging visa, which would allow me to stay and work until the partner visa is applied? Apologies for all the questions!