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I'll start at the beginning but it could be a long one! I lived in Melbourne from aged 2 until my parents divorced when i was 13. My mum and i returned to Oldham in the UK. I am now married with 2 girls aged 16 and 11. I have always wanted to return to Australia, but having kids and buying houses there always seems to be something else to pay for. In 2005 my dad (who is still in Melbourne) offered to pay for us to come over for a month in the August. This would give me time to show my family around and decide what we wanted to do. It was the wettest and coldest august with snow and everything but we all loved the way of life. That was the start of our application. We returned and looked into how we could get there and discovered that because my parents had not got me citizenship when i was a child we could apply for a 47SV Former Resident Visa subclass 151. This involved us gathering evidence of my relationship with dad and other family and friends to show i still had close ties to Australia. It also said that i had to have returned and visited which i hadn't. We then discovered that my husbands naughty past was also in the spotlight. When he was a kid he got into a lot of trouble and went to Youth Offenders more than twice. We also found out that we should have declared this on our arrival card in 2005. We thought his convictions were spent. The good thing was he had not murdered anyone and that it was nearly 20 years ago. Back when the kids were younger i phoned agents in Australia - NONE of which frequent this forum - and was told that we did not stand a chance of getting in. Well, i don't know if i was just determined or just out to prove them wrong but in August 2008 we decided we had enough evidence to apply. I had letters from my old schools, photos of friends and family going back to me being 4 years old. I had phone bills from 2002. I jumped through every hoop or it felt like it anyway. We got references from higher standing people in our community regarding my husbands convictions and he did a 4 page letter explaining what went on. It took me 3 weeks to compile the application and it was not for the weak hearted. To be honest i could not have done this without the forums. I had decided not to use an agent for a few reasons, mainly that all those years ago noone had any faith in us. But when compiling the application i really did doubt this decision. I didn't have anyone to say i was doing the right thing or that everything would be alright. This was our one chance and i didn't want to blow it. I sent the application on the 10th of August by DHL and tracked it all the way to Canberra. 3 weeks later we didn't have an aknowledgement letter and i began to panic. I phoned Canberra and discovered that i had sent the wrong currency in my cheque!!! OMG could you believe it? The guy from immigration - D, was fantastic. He emailed me and told me he would keep hold of the application until i returned the cheque in $$$. DHL saved the day again and i tracked it all the way to D. I phoned him as arranged when it arrived and he took it to the correct section in residency. We had front loaded the policechecks and medicals as this was the advice on the visa application so the waiting began. Just off to the beach so will continue later :wink:

:spinny:Hi all just joined today and just starting the process. o/h electrician and need advice on the vetassess, is it as I have been led to believe a long drawn out process and does it need lots and lots of info? o/h works in Norway 4 weeks out there 1 week at home uk does it need lots of technical explanations of what he does if so I could be sat hear this time next year anyway just wanted to say hi to everyone:biglaugh::twitcy::arghh:

Hello all! Just wanted to share the news that I have just this minute been granted my defacto subclass 309 visa! Am absolutely thrilled!!! Me and aussie partner will be heading back to Melbourne in the next few weeks to start a new life:jiggy: I just wanted to offer some reassurance to those of you about to apply and offer to answer any questions for people. We lodged our application last Friday 12th September, the C/O replied on Sunday 14th, I had a telephone interview today (Tuesday 16th September) and have just had the email confirming that it has been granted. Now it is just a matter of sending in my passport to get it stamped. Our story is that we met in Thailand in Jan 07. Nick then moved over to the UK in March 07 on his working holiday visa. We have lived together ever since. With the UK working holiday visa aussies can only work for 12 months out of 24 months so for the past 6 months we have actually been living with my parents. I thought it would be helpful for some of you if I listed what we put into our application (as ours was obviously very speedy!!). 1) Both our forms 2) certifed copies of our birth certificates and passport id page (by a local solicitor) 3) our statements of our relationship (just on ordinary paper, typed and not certified just signed by us detailing the ENTIRE of our relationship, when we met, how, domestic duties, holidays I mean EVERYTHING, they were both 6-8 pages long) 4) copies of Nick (my sponsor) 's employment history, letters from employers, old payslips, P60's (as he has been working in the UK) 5) Bank statements ( we DID NOT have a joint account but we highlighted all transactions between one anothers account for bills, holidays, groceries, etc etc 6) Copies of rent leases (the first lease was in my name only but I included the brochure for the flat clearly showing how tiny it was and that it was only us living there - they are mostly concerned that you have ONLY LIVED WITH EACH OTHER and not in a share house) (the second lease had both our names on). We divided this sections into the different addresses we had lived at and included all the utilities that we could. We even called our gas and electricity company for any copies that were missing. We had council tax in a joint name for one flat and joint gas and electric. 7) Copies of all holiday itineraries, confirmations from expedia, flight receipts etc 8) Stat Decs (Australian Form 888 from Nick's family and friends, about 12 in total, with copies of their passports also attached, all certified and sent to UK) 9) Pictures from almost every occassion that we had mentioned in our statememt - not originals, just taken placed on a separate piece of A4 for each occassion, not certified either) 10) I had already applied for my police certificate which arrived in 5 days so this was included in the app when lodging 11) I had already gone for my meds with a great doctor in London (Dr. Kowtowski who had sent the results to Australia House in London before we lodged, they just get tallied up when you do lodge) 12) Extra info, email exchanges whilst we were apart in the beginning, copies of our CV's and a statement from Nick saying how as my sponsor he would support me. SO!!! That is everything!!! Like I said we lodged our application last Friday 12th September, the C/O replied on Sunday 14th, I had a telephone interview today (Tuesday 16th September) and have just had the email confirming that it has been granted - SO it just goes to show if you have enough evidence and compile it properly it is much appreciated by the Oz embassy!!! I have STRESSED out so much over this so I would like to offer any words of advice to those of you who want to know how to collate it and present it etc. Much love and excitement!!!! Claire xx:jiggy:

Hi folks, I received an email from immigration SA today (2 Nov 2010) informing my SS application was approved. My ANZSCO is 261313 Software Engineer. I just lodged my 176 online visa application with DIAC. Will upload all the documents tomorrow. My timeline: 11-May-2010 ACS applied 20-May-2010 IELTS L7R7W6S6.5 25-Aug-2010 ACS approved (261313) 11-Sep-2010 IELTS L7R7.5W6.5S6 27-Sep-2010 SA SS applied 02-Nov-2010 SA SS granted:jiggy: 02-Nov-2010 176 lodged xx-xxx-2011 176 granted

Hi, I've been avidly watching the Wanted Down Under series this week. Just want to know if anybody else thinks the same as me tho - the family on Wednesday programme were looking at WA, now they said at the beginning of the property search they had £180k to bring over and would like to buy without a mortgage, lets see what you get for your money. In the voiceover, Nadia whatsername says you can get 4bed family house in Rockingham area for around £200k. Now my ears prick up, coz we fancy that area, sounds a decent price, looking forward to this! WHY oh WHY then, do they show them houses (lovely as they were) for nothing under £260k????? Is it to make the programme look good, fancy newly renovated or new build houses, but what about us that live in the real world and want affordability??!!:arghh: Sorry about me ranting, its just i would really like to see what the average joe bloggs could really afford! By the way, im from yorkshire, got a pretty low mortgage here and we are (apparently) notorious for being tight with money here, so maybe that explains why im so peeved!! lol. :biglaugh:

We sent off our massive bundle of paperwork today for our 309/100 visa :jiggy: It went Special Delivery so it will be landing on the desks of Australia House sometime tomorrow!!! SO excited!!! Fingers crossed it doesn't sit there too long! :biglaugh:

Hi all we are new to this forum, my husband is doing his electrical test today in London. Really hope he passes as will be so disappointed if doesnt but i have faith. :biggrin: We are then nearly ready to put in for our visa, we are using an agent who so far has been great. Hopefully we are moving to Perth in the near future, we are aware how long the process can take which is a bit of a downer but that we cant change. Does anyone know any reason they may refuse your visa as want to get it right first time? My husband has family in Perth which is one of the reasons we decided to go there, we have two boys aged 3 and 10. We are saving like mad to hopefully go over in Jan 2012 if not sooner, look at areas meet family members and hopefully make friends on here so we kind of know people to meet up with when we visit. Anyway fingers crossed for today on passing hubbys test. :wink:

Hi all, Just came across this forum, looks great! I sent our visa application yesterday and it arrived today at 09:09 and my credit card has already been charged the cost of the visa! Is this normal, did this happen to you? I would be greatful of any response, :spinny:

anyone else going to be glued to the telly for the next two days? sooooooooooo wish i could be there!!

Well finally got around to meds today. We travelled down to Manchester, med centre was great. Turned up an hour early but they still put us straight in for x-rays then in with Dr smith, great guy who put the kids at ease. All went very well, now just waiting on postman to deliver police checks, hopefully very shortly. Then we might be able to let ourselfs get excited, after so many twists and turns over nearly 4years finally we are nearly there!!!!........:biggrin:

We dropped Oakley off at the pet transport place today... he flies to Heathrow on Friday and then leaves for Sydney on Sunday... The house is so quiet without him here. :cry:

Business Skills Visa Lodged 7th June - Granted today!!!! Get in! One way flights booked to Perth for December 20th Cant believe how ecstatic we are this morning, our agent (who we could not have done without) rang us at 5am this morning UK time to tell us and she was as excited as us, think she forgot about the 8 hours time difference though! We have booked Mindarie Marina hotel for the first month then will be looking for a longer term rental in Duncraig. Our new adventure begins...... Glenn 46, Ann-Marie 39, Jacob 17 and Alfie 10 preparing to leave sunny Sheffield :biggrin:

Hey all Well we completed our meds today, all fine so far and the doctor gave me a few stats which I thought id share...she said only one in 1000 people in this country are turned away from oz on medical grounds. So I hope that's something positive for those of you who had pre existing medical conditions and are worried. The medical itself was ok.... Lovely staff, quick urine sample, height, eye test, weight check, 10 mins with the doctor who checked my chest, blood pressure, eyes, back and stomach (kind of prodding feeling for things), mouth. Then off for chest x ray and blood test and that was it. All very pleasant really fingers crossed now x

well after 2.5 years with all the UPS and downs, we have our visa!

Only joking, I am home !!! Whilst the past 5 years hasnt been all sweetness and roses, i guess we are proof that a pretty good life can be had for some. It takes alot of hard work to get settled here and im lucky to have a very supportive hubby who helped me on my wobbly days(which thankfully are few and far between now). Missing family, friends and every form of familiararity can really play with your mind during those first few years and not having a bestie to be able to turn too when you need a good moan can be tuff, but remember Rome wasnt built in a day and nor will your new lives be,, hang in there if your struggling,dont ut too much pressure on yourselves to make everything as it used to be,,try to focus on the future and not dwell on the past, get out there , chat and mix with the locals , ive found 99% to be a helpful friendly lot who will help you out if you ask. Queensland is a stunning state with so many places to see, i think it will take a lifetime to get around all the spectatcular sites ,lol, exploring is a great way to spend your weekends be it coastal or bush you will always see/find something new.. As for the weather, we climatised quicker than we thought , it took months rather than years, in simpleman terms,lol, - December and January get blooming hot, July is blooming freezing!!!For any potential migrants bring them winter jumpers you will need them of a morning and evening!lol My kids are now 13 and 8, so they were quite young when we came. I wish i hadnt worried as much about moving them across the world as they have slotted in well and have made many friends. Well not much more to add other than a massive Thank you to Australia for allowing myself and my family to call this beautiful country home! Cal x

Not a happy bunny today....... VIC have recently updated their SOL and added ICT vacancies back on, so my OH applied for his ACS skills assessment and passed. We then applied for VIC SS 3 weeks ago and it was going so well..... until this morning! We have been rejected on the grounds that his skillset doesn't match exactly what they are looking for at the moment. Very frustrating, however, a 175 visa was our original plan, so back to that it is. We will only go and live in Melbourne as a lot of my family live there, so cannot apply for another state. I've tried looking for timeline threads for 175 visas and can't seem to find any up to date ones. Does anyone have any of their own recent 175 timelines to share or/and does anyone know roughly how long they are taking? I know the DIAC website says 18 months, but everything seems to be so much quicker at the moment - having said that, 12 months would be absolutely fine for us. If we had been going down the 176 route, I know most of those are coming through within 3-4 months at the minute, so it would have come upon us v quick! Positive, positive, positive...... Anyway - feeling a tad better now I have written this down! I like to share positive stories, but I also appreciate we are all going to get some setbacks along the way - it is not set to be plain sailing otherwise everyone would go! Thanks for reading

It's supposed to be cooler near the city where I live but I'm sure someone said it was 37 here at 6pm. I just had to curtail my evening walk up to Crown St. This is a time when it is Heaven if you have air conditioning, Hell if you don't!

Well we thought things were going to well!!!:mad: We have our PR visa and flights are booked but today I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis following two attacks within 2 months, but to be honest it is likely that I've had it for a few years. I'm still trying to get my head around this and how this is going to affect our visa. Have anyone else been through a similar situation? Thanks Est :eek:

Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god......... May need to buy new freezer.

:jiggy::jiggy::jiggy::jiggy::jiggy::jiggy: I think the above expressions say it all. I couldn't believe what i was seeing and then a deep sigh of relief. waited for 17 months and totally worth it. I checked my status just an hour ago and it was the same old. never knew that a great news is waiting for me in the office while i was having lunch. :biggrin: Now that's what we call real Eid celebrations. :wink:. I thank you all my frnds for your tremendous support and encouragement and wish you all the best with your applications.

'We docked at Fremantle (sic) at 7am. When I got off the boat I walked up to the station with 2 guys - 1 Pom & 1 Kiwi. My case weighed a ton & I regretted packing so much stuff. We took the train to Perth & then a taxi to the YMCA - cost us $14 for a nite - 3 in the room. My first impressions of Perth are really good. I like it and I want to stay. I went for a drink in the evening - the first pub I was really scared of being called a "Pommie Bastard" by some drunk but it never happened and I relaxed after a bit.' It's not exactly Samuel Pepys, I know but I suppose I can take a few moments to reflect on what has happened to me! It's pointless to speculate on what 'MIGHT' have happened but I was the last person in the UK to have gone off on his own to the other side of the world! I probably should have stayed in my village and carried on with my cushy little job with Hants County Council where I would have chalked up 36 years service now. Struggling for work at 57 it makes sense now! Still, I suppose if I had not 'blazed the trail', my brother would not have followed me, and now he's got two lovely grown up 'little Vegemites!' and I am no longer a 'Stranger in a Strange Land!

.......it's a vital part of 'becoming' an Aussie!

YIPPEEEEEEEEE I got a letter in the post today granting me my second stage partner permant residence (801) Eligable date was 3rd sept. I got a letter from them at the end of June asking for a stat dec from my partner & I, a police clearance for me & a completed form 80. I sent it all in a couple of days later to Melbourne and received an acknowlagement card about 10 days later. Then heard NOTHING......until today granting me perm res. Thought I'd post this so those still waiting get can an idea of current timelines. Zoe

Hey Guys, I hope you're all well and thanks in advance for taking the time to read this thread. My problem: I'm in Melbourne at the moment on a tourist visa with the "no work" restriction. I really love it here and would love the option to work and stick around for a few years. I'm quite an honest person and would only do things in the correct manor. History: In 2005 I was issued a WHV but as far as I can tell (it's been a long time) I didn't complete enough regional work to get a second WHV. Is there any exceptions made on this (probably not!) My occupation: Well I'm a trained Sound Engineer to Diploma level and have been working in that business on and off for the last 15 years. I've been self employed and running a successful audio production and DJ service for the last 7 years. I have invoices and contracts for most of my previous work as proof. The issue: I'm quickly running out of money and really this is that last throw of the dice for me. My budget for visa application (whichever visa is available to me) is about 2000-3000$ Any suggestions how I should proceed further? Which visa do you think would be most suited to me? Many thanks Tony.:huh:

Dear lord it was a mad house! We had a great time regardless. Took the kiddos to the playground at Darling Quarter. They loved it. Some how we timed getting to the ferrys so we had no waits. I hadn't had a drop to drink since getting here but after today I went straight to get a sixer of New when we got home. Needed to unwind.