Search the Community

Hi guys please help anyone. Right so me and my hubby wanted to go to Australia on a skilled sponsored visa as im qualified in being a hairdresser and beauty therapist and his father lives there hence the sponsor. But have been told now as i have not done the hairdressing for last 12 months this was not possible, then i said well massage therapist was on a list which i also do in work, and the agency said my nvq was not high enough for this he said i would need a diploma of some kind, so then it was back to the drawing board. What can i possibly do now it just seems an impossible task of us getting there, we have evan thought of doing a working holiday visa but im 30 in a couple of months so am i too late, my husband is 28. What other ways can we get there we are hoping to spent at least2 years there with possibility of citizanship. But it seems to be looking bleak, also my hubby said he has a friend who works in the mines and there could be a job available if we ever went there. My hubby is in the construction industry and his job is also not on the list. HELP!!!! What can i do next?? xx Denise:arghh:

Ballajura AFC is a football (soccer) club based at Kingfisher Reserve in Ballajura, (in Perths northern suburbs), where it has its own clubroom, full bar and catering facilities. Established 15 years ago the club has a strong set up with several hundred juniors (up to under 16 level), a masters team , ladies team and a Senior team who have just been promoted to Amateur Division 1 for 2009. Also in 2008, the Senior reserves won their League and the under 16 team were top 4 champions. The club is ambitious and is targeting further success and promotion to the Amateur Premier League. In order to support this objective and to take the club forward Ballajura is conducting an active player recruitment drive before the 2009 season starts in late March. The club is seeking to recruit experienced senior amateur or ex semi pro players for addition to the first team squad. Ballajura is an ambitious and forward thinking club. We have already recruited a number of new migrant players last season who helped in the clubs successful promotion to division 1 If you feel you fit the requirements and are interested in taking on this challenge please contact me to discuss. Bill Byrne Senior Coach - BAFC Tel: 0439 953 957 e-mail: bill.byrne@hotmail.com

DO YOU KNOW OF ANY BRITS WHO ARE CONSIDERING RETURNING TO THE UK? ITV1 are making a new documentary series about British Ex-Pats who are considering moving back to the UK. We’re keen to hear from Brits who have lived abroad for years without (or very rarely) visiting home, but who are now thinking about returning permanently to Britain. Perhaps you miss your family and friends, maybe schooling is a problem for your kids, or you simply yearn to step back into British culture. We'll help you explore the reality of coming home, and prepare you for deciding whether to stay abroad or return to your roots. If this sounds like you, or if you know anyone who might be interested, please contact Amy Robbins as soon as possible by email: amy.robbins@fevermedia.com Or call (+44) 020 7697 1425.

Hi We have been here for appx 2.5 years now and thought I would pass on some of the good and bad experiences so far. General Info Before you set off.... Make sure you have a job to come to, low unemployment means not much to go after and a lot of competition, especially for part-time. Also to maintain your same standard of living you will need appx twice the salary you are earning in the UK - 95% of stuff is appx twice as expensive here - salaries are appx 1.5x here. If you are bringing your DAB radio make sure it is DAB+ otherwise it will not work. TV's - my friend works in TV broadcasting and says "won't work due to different number of lines that make up picture" - good enough for me, we did not bring ours and some reasonable bargains to be had on new here. (Several good electrical outlets - Harvey Norman, Bing Lee, J&B Hi-Fi - so plenty of competition) It will help to pack a multi-gang socket extension lead in your hand / hold luggage - remember all those gadgets (phones / ipods / laptops etc) with ac adaptor type power supplies, where are you going to plug them in when you arrive ??? find your nearest Bunnings and buy an bag of Aussie plugs for appx $3each Books are horrendously expensive, so yes heavy and take up room - but if you have space in your container - bring them. In fact make sure your container is full to bursting, because "we will buy that when we get over there" will hurt your wallet. Do not throw away you winter clothes - it does get "cold" here - it may only be 5C overnight in winter, but most of the houses are so poorly insulated it will feel much colder, likewise they do not retain heat so heating costs can mount up. No joke sometimes you put you jumper / jacket on to go in the house!! When you arrive Parking - roads are marked very well for where you can or cannot park, a 4P sign means free parking for 4 hours, but also 4P with "ticket" in small text - so be careful. You have to park facing the direction of traffic (1970's UK?) but I do not know how strictly this is enforced. In the city parking ranges from free (if you are lucky enough to find one) to $10 per hour and $15-30 all day at weekends - again worth weighing up public transport cost option. Sign up to "stardeals / groupon" on the web, excellent daily offers - just landed a diving course for half price. Been meaning to get open water certificate for years. The Entertainment Book" is a good buy (appx $65) you get a mass of vouchers for all sorts and easily pays for itself - any makes you get out there and try new stuff."It is available via schools and other organisations Good Weather (obviously) People - generally very friendly and helpful, but strangely lacking in manners - must be a city thing? (If someone lets you out at a junction, they are probably British) Facilities - when you start to find where things are - I am not a great shopper but there are some massive multi-level shopping centres (got lost several times) if you are. Plenty of gyms available and reasonable costs - like everything quite a variety and shop around. Also bartering is the norm so shake off that reserve and ask for a discount in almost anywhere - even small purchases - my wife just purchased an alarm clock which was priced at $24.90 and got it for $22. Food - The quality of the food when you eat out is better here generally than the UK but there are not the range of places to eat, a cafe will generally provide a very good meal (not the dried up leftovers you sometimes get in the UK) but there is not much difference between the "cafes" and "restaurants" - unless you spend big bucks. Service - The customer service is much better than UK when eating - genuinely please to serve and NO TIP expected (are you listening USA) so if you are more then happy you can leave a tip for that extra mile. Public Transport - The public transport system is excellent, efficient and reasonable price - use buses with a "ten-use" multi or single zoned ticket (cannot remember real name) and save more. You cannot often pay cash when in the city so better to have ticket to hand. Car Travel - Overtaking on the inside - brilliant! the UK should have adopted this years ago, no more "middle lane hoggers" (forget your years of lane discipline, quite often you will get over to the left only to find "lane ends in 200m sign" - very common on A/B roads) mostly automatic gearboxes of course - also good. Festivals - Again excellent (it's not called the city of festivals for nothing) something different in the city almost every weekend - and mostly free, you can find all day parking for $10 if you shop around. Bad House Prices - Purchase prices are bad enough but rental, as most of you will be doing at first are even worse. We had to raise our budget to over $650 PER WEEK to find anything half decent - it really is a sellers / landlord's market due to the shortage of housing Prices - OMG it is expensive here (I though I had done my research) If you are coming over make sure you are going to earm at least twice the amount you do in the UK. The only exceptions are, petrol, and BBQ's (that we have found so far) on average everything is double the price. I guess the UK economy and rubbish exchange rate / growing Australian economy has something to do with it but the urban myth of "well everything has to be shipped so far / we only have 20million population....." wears a bit thin when goods from China still cost twice as much than good old/bad Tescos would charge. Example - we were paying appx £35/month for broadband+phone - including all national calls and 10 international destination for 1 hour calls. We have just signed up for broadband+phone with some bundled calls (but expensive call rates) for $89/month (but obviously you can shop around & we didn't want to do 24mth commitment, which most of them are). Customer Service - Things like sorting out phones etc can be difficult because of being "department shoved" or people not returning calls - the warning of what is the difference between mobile phone salesmen and cowboys........very true. Since our original problems on broadband installation - I must say Optus customer service was pretty good. Real Estate Agents - As one of your main priorities when arriving is to sort out where you are going to live (and you will probably be renting first) then sorry but you will have to go through the horrible system here. You are treated like second class citizens by most agents and you have to compete for 90% of properties with many others, so when eventually you find a place you like - shop around again, huge variation - you may not get it and have to start over. Of course, the higher the rent, the less competition and agents start being more accommodating. It may sound obvious, but get a few properties you are interested in and do a drive by, you will not have time to waste on the day trying to decide which one's you are interested in. Roads - Car travel is pretty slow, we are from a village, but I used to travel extensively throughout the UK (but not so much in cities) the roereads are wide, but the combination of lower speed limits, lots of speed / red light cameras and so many sets of traffic lights - (American road grid system) mean do not expect to travel around quickly - in the UK you can work on an average of 50MPH, here it is probably 40KPH. Many major routes have toll charges, you can pay cash (but not always) but if you travel regularly then you have an "etag" - fix it to your windscreen and away you go. Luckily my company pays for mine as each toll point can cost $2-3 which can add up if you go through 3 on your way to work - also my sat nav (god-send of course) gives me the options and to be honest I have tried both toll and non-toll routes and there generally is not much difference in travelling time. Ugly Nothing really, but at first sight the dumping of stuff outside houses looks horrendous - you have 2 occasions per year (I guess it varies by area) to put unwanted stuff, furniture / diy projects etc out the front of your house. But when you get used to it, it is probably a better system than everyone making short trips to the tidy tip and it is a free for all - if you see something you like, just take it (some half decent stuff gets dumped - you could almost furnish a house!) It may be obvious, but the commuting is pretty bad, we only live 25kms from Sydney centre, but my wife has appx 1.25hours each way on the bus - and quite often does not get to sit down. General Stuff Thanks to some people who made our transition easier John Mason removals UK - a very professional service and we were kept up to date this end of our stuff arriving (by Wridgeways - Aussie counterparts) Lisa and Darren - you know who you are, thanks for inviting complete strangers into your home to offer some word of advise - Darren's "the first 3 months can be ****" very true !! (about 1 month for me) - stick with it and soon it becomes "normal" I hope this helps if you are unsure of what to expect, it might seem a daft comment but it is a BIG country so expect your general travelling to be longer Aussies will say "ah yeh, it's just down the road" = 100km.

I've recently come across a book written by a British nurse who emigrated to Australia. It explains the differences in nursing between Australia and the UK and there is a free introductory download. I think that is a long overdue publication which is written from an independent perspective. It looks like it will answer lots of questions people have about nursing in Australia and according to the website it will be due out in May.

Hi all I am a new member and have just stumbled across this site which is packed full of info so I am really happy. My name is Phil, I moved to WA living in Mullaloo in 1999 only to move back to Liverpool in 2003. I am now married with 4 kids, we are coming over... I have had enough with the UK, Liverpool isnt so good any more so its time to move. I have loads to sort out yet, its early days. I have to.... Renew australian passport Apply for citizenship by descent for my 4 kids get a visa for the wifey Sell everything in my house including cars etc Get rid of my dogs Succesfully get a new job over in WA. I plan on coming over next year on my own as my new job will require me to complete a few tests, should they be successful then ill probably remain and get the family out asap. Anyway just thought i'd say hi Thanks

Hi guys, my names Ashley. I'm a mental health nurse working here in Glasgow. I'm 24 been qualified and working for addictions and child protection for the past 2 and a bit years. I'm planning to move to Melbourne in a years time the now (Oct 2012) for good however i'm coming out to Melbourne for a holiday/visit in march 2012 for 3 weeks. My flights are all booked. Would anyone kindly meet up with me for some drinks and show me around the city. Will be travelling myself. Highly appreciated it. Thank you

Hi, We re in Sydney at the moment and have validated our visa to come back out to live in Canberra in Feb, my husband has just been offered a job and they want him to start a week on monday!!!!! We ve just spent a week in Canberra having a look around and we spent time in Yerrabi Ponds and our kids loved it, they re Max, 10 Anna 8 and Molly 7. We re looking to live in the north Gungahlin area, have no idea what to do first, I think I will travel back the the UK as planned to pack up our house and come in November before the flights are too expensive. If anyone has any advice on anything, schools, shipping etc etc that would be great!! The kids have had lots of time off school this year and if we come in November they probably won t start school till feb, I m wondering if it s best for them to stay in the UK to have a few months schooling or won t it matter.....they don t do home schooling very well so can t imagine with packing moving etc we ll have chance to do sums!! Also I need to work asap to help with finances and the thought of having child care to organise while they re not at school I think will be expensive and near impossible!! What do you think? Thanks, Sarah x

Hi all we are hoping to arr in Melb Sept/Oct time and then hunt for somewhere to live, within 30mins of the CBD! COming with a 4/5month old baby and will deffo be interested in meeting other new mums...so excited to have finally got the job offer and just hope things go ok with the visa...so hard to know whether to sell car/give up rent on house etc before visa is granted but we expect to be leaving very shortly after so will have to take the risk and start getting stuff sorted! Dreading flight and time difference with baby but will be worth few days/weeks of disruption I'm sure!

Hi, I am in the process of applying for a skilled visa as a glazier to come to W.A. and my migration consultant has informed me that because i dont have an a apprentiship in glazing and i only have 10 years experience and a NVQ that i have to take a australian qualification called a AQFIII run by the Australian skills assessors. This is no problem except it costs £1800. Does any one now about this or a way round it or another company that does it cheaper. Cheers Dave

My apprenticeship is coming to an end in the coming months, and recently going to Sydney/Melbourne on a 3 week holiday, I've got the bug to get back out there and make something of it. I've just turned 21, halfway through my 4th year Mechanical engineering apprenticeship working on all aspects of lift engineering/installation. I'm still undecided in what route to take, backpacking way (which I've kind of done) or the sponsor way, and settling down in the one place and finding my feet soon as. Advice? Im still yet to go through the migration and visa process, but once that's sorted in the new year, does anyone know what the lift industry is like down under? It's not just lift's I'd be interested in, I'd consider other engineering jobs. Any advice and information would be grateful, thanks. Jack.

hello again ppl broxi is back on poms in oz again after 2years me and my son are coming over to live next oct/nov and will b looking to rent a 3 bedroom house with pool if poss maybe in woodvale,clarkstone jundaloop,or anywere that is avalible can anyone help plz thank you

There seems to a lot of posts from folks that are coming back to UK or have recently come back, and to someone who is still going through the process it is quite unsettling. Are the high numbers of people returning due to the economic down turn or is that people really do build there expectations of Australia to unrealistic heights? It has really got me thinking am I doing the right thing? Emma

:wink::wink:Hi all, Am new on poms, just wanted to say hello to everyone. we are moving to central coast in january and am so excited, cant wait. any information on education, entertainment, health, i mean all aspect of life are welcome. and i would love to meet up with you. that is if u re in cc.:hug:

Got blood tests back for our dog today and he has tested positive for canine ehrlichiosis (erlich). It is known as Tick Fever in this coutry and is spread by sheep and is nothing to worry about however in Australlia they do not differentiate between UK sheep ticks and Brown Dog Ticks which are found in other coutries which are very harmful and can cause anemia and in the worse case death. It is usually found in dogs who travel through different countries. I believe it is in Europe and America. Our dog has never left the country but if he does not respond to antibiotics he will not be allowed into Australia as they will belive he has the Brown Dog Tick virus. It is only a 50% chance that he will respond to the antibiotics as he is not actually carrying the virus. The thing is he has never had a tick and he always has his flea and tick treatment on. Our agent tells us it is something they are seeing more of and it is starting to cause a bit of a problem as the Australian authorities will not differentiate between the two ticks. Luca is supposed to leave on the 31st October but now we don't know what will happen. I can't even contemplate going without him. My mum and dad will have him if he cant go but it breaks my heart to think about leaving him. He is 9 and he is my wee boy. Just have to hope and pray that the next blood test is ok.

Does anyone know what time they'll turn up? Daft question I know but they were booked in a hurry on friday n I didnt think to ask what time they'd be here lol

I thought I saw one off Oxford St, in Darlinghurst but wasn't sure, then I definitely saw another one in New South Head Road, Double Bay. If you've never seen one in bloom before, you are in for a treat! It's as if they 'hide' themselves for about ten months of the year because you'd never notice them. Then, suddenly, they burst out with their glorious violet/blue colour as if to say, 'HERE WE ARE!' All around the harbour, and in other parts of the city you see these lovely patches of colour and they make a carpet on the roads too.

This years weather has been a right mixture a, here is the Met Office summary, some of the months do not have a summary but you can check out the mean weather here. http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/2011/ March March was very dry, with little rain except in the final two days. Most of the month was quiet and settled, with a large anticyclone giving a period of fine spring weather in the second half, when daytime temperatures were well above average but nights were still close to freezing in places. Thus for the month as a whole, maximum temperatures were 1.3 °C above average but minima were very close to average. This was the driest March over England for 50 years, and equal fifth driest in a series since 1910. A large swathe of central and eastern England received less than 20% of average, with a number of stations recording less than 5mm. Sunshine amounts were well in excess of average, with 132% recorded April. With high pressure influencing the weather for most of the month, it was much warmer, drier and sunnier than normal. The mean temperature was 4.0 °C above the 1971–2000 average and it was the warmest April in the series from 1910, being 0.6 °C warmer than April 2007 (now ranked second). In central England, it was the warmest April for over 350 years. The daily maximum temperatures in particular were well above normal, by as much as 6 °C in the south-east. Rainfall was below normal in all areas — exceptionally so over much of southern, central and eastern England where less than 10% of normal rainfall was recorded. It was the second successive very dry month in these areas. Many places in the eastern half of England recorded less than 1 mm of rain. Provisionally, it was the 6th driest April in the series from 1910 and in East Anglia only April 2007 was drier. Sunshine amounts were generally around 150% of normal, making it the sunniest April in the series from 1929. June The month began on a fine, warm note but the weather gradually became more unsettled, with showers and some longer spells of rain. These brought some welcome respite to the very dry conditions across parts of eastern England. Eastern areas enjoyed a brief spell of hot, sunny weather in the last week, before a thundery breakdown. The mean temperature for the month was slightly above the 1971-2000 average, especially towards the east. It was the coolest June since 2001. June was rather wet over much of central southern and south-east England, with over 150% of normal rainfall in places, but drier than normal over the north Midlands and parts of the north-west. Sunshine amounts were close to normal generally, but it was somewhat sunnier than normal in the Midlands and many eastern areas.

For those interested in catching up with the Queen during her tour of Australia next week here is her itinerary WEDNESDAY, October 19 Afternoon: The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh arrive in Canberra and will be given a ceremonial welcome at the airport. THURSDAY, October 20 Morning: The Queen will meet Governor-General Quentin Bryce. Afternoon: Visit to Floriade flower show. FRIDAY, October 21 Morning: The Queen will meet Prime Minister Julia Gillard and later with Leader of the Opposition Tony Abbott. Afternoon: Parliament House reception hosted by Prime Minister Julia Gillard. Prince Philip will attend a Duke of Edinburgh Award Reception. SATURDAY, October 22 Morning: Presentation of colours to the Royal Military College, Duntroon. Afternoon: The Duke of Edinburgh will attend a Commonwealth Study Conference reception. SUNDAY, October 23 Morning: Worship at St John's Church. Afternoon: Reception and lunch hosted by Governor-General Quentin Bryce. MONDAY, October 24 Morning: Flight to Brisbane. Board a river craft and travel up the Brisbane River to Southbank. Visit the Queensland Performing Arts Centre. Afternoon: Reception for emergency response personnel and community members affected by recent floods. Post-flood Rededication Ceremony of Rainforest and opening of Rain Bank. Lunch with the Governor of Queensland, Penelope Wensley, and other guests. Return flight to Canberra. TUESDAY, October 25 Morning: Australian War Memorial visit to view the Afghanistan Memorial. Meeting with Australian Defence Force Personnel at Orientation Hall. WEDNESDAY, October 26 Morning: Flight to Melbourne. Attend opening of the Royal Children's Hospital. Afternoon: Visit to the Ian Potter Centre, National Gallery of Victoria. Walk through Federation Square and journey on board a Melbourne Tram. Reception hosted by the Governor of Victoria, Alex Chernov, at Government House. Flight to Perth. THURSDAY, October 27 Morning: Visit Clontarf Aboriginal College and view sporting facilities. Afternoon: Garden Party at Government House. FRIDAY, October 28 Morning: Opening Ceremony of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM). Lunch for new Heads of Government at Government House. Evening: Banquet at the Pan Pacific Hotel. SATURDAY, October 29 Morning: Visit the Perth community barbecue event - "The Big Aussie BBQ". Midday: The Queen and Prince Philip depart Australia.

Is it just me or is this HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGE!! for a UK spider??

*** Initial Entry Date - Coming back to Australia after Initial Entry on 20-NOV-2010 *** Hi Friends, My family (Me, Wife & my Kid) was issued a Skilled Independent Migrant Visa (VE 175) on 22-JUNE-2010 and our initial entry date was 18-FEB-2011. It is a 5 Years Multiple Entry Permanent Resident visa valid till 22-JUNE-2015 where in we can live in Australia indefinately. I just needed to confirm something because I think it's making me crazy. Our initial entry date was 18-FEB-2011 & we were not prepared for a immediate permanent move to Australia due to family issues & financial problems. In order to keep our visa's active & to activate it, we planned for a week's vacation to Melbourne and we travelled to Australia on 20-NOV-2010 & returned back to India on 28-NOV-2010. Have we met the "Initial Entry Date" requirements? Now, I have decided to move to Australia in January 2012 as things are stable now. I just want to know whether I can go back to Australia on the same visa? It would be really great if someone can advice me on this. Regards, Imran

Alright...I'm officially freaking out! Shippers are coming tomorrow. We had a moving sale yesterday. EVERYTHING in our house sold! We opted to sell all the large furniture and to scale down to a smaller container (8ftX8ftX8ft). Today we are sorting, cleaning and prepping our personal item for the shippers. I'm having some anxiety over it.....honestly I'm having a LOT of anxiety. I'll be moving in with my parents with my kiddos now. Also have limited computer access (it's getting packed up next)

That will teach me to stay out late and sleep in late. 3pm news on WS FM 31 in the city 30 in the west. 4pm 24 in the city by still 30 in the west - That's odd? I can feel the wind outside my balcony here in Surry Hills. Top of 20 tomorrow with showers. Typical!

OMG the shippers are coming a week today and I'm getting totally stressed out as to wether we're gonna be ready, in between work and getting the house ready to let there seems to be no time left to sort anything out, then it's living with my mum till we fly to Perth on 12th November. lets hope I survive :wacko:

Melbournians should brace for wild wintry weather for the next few days, with Spring temporarily inhibernation this weekend as an Antarctic blast drops temperatures across south-eastern Australia. Weather Channel meteorologist Tom Saunders said Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide will face chilly conditions this weekend. Icy southerly winds will dump rain over South Australia, Victoria, Tasmania and southern New South Wales during the next few days. On Saturday, Sydney is due to reach a maximum 16 degrees, with 15 degrees for Adelaide and 14 for Melbourne. Mr Saunders said gale-force winds and rough seas were expected off the NSW and eastern Victorian coasts until late Saturday. He said skiers could be in for a late season treat with light snow expected from Friday to Sunday in the Alps. 'Snow is even possible on the higher New South Wales central ranges late Friday and Saturday morning and should fall above an elevation of about 800 metres in Victoria,' Mr Saunders said. The outback will also brace for colder conditions. The maximum temperature in Alice Springs is set to drop to 21 on Friday. )