Sarah and family Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 Hello All We are a family of five Hubby, Myself, Daughter who's 6, Son who's almost 4 and a chihuahua! (Dog) We are currently at the thinking stages of emigration! We know very little about it, only what have researched and the information this wonderful site has provided us! Our next step is to look at completing visa's and from feedback from here, think we will try using an agent! Im not too sure if theres anywhere that kind of gives step by step if what to do, Perhaps an agent will also help with this. Hubby is also looking into jobs! I have put alot of research into areas, We are planning a trip to Aus this year to check out for ourself! but again this is also going to depend of husbands Job situation All very confusing to me. One main question we have is.. Roughly how much money do we need in total to emigrate? how much does the visa process cost? We have also have read mixed messages about needing a certain amount of savings, in orde to be accepted? We have a house to sell here in Uk and cars etc but it wont leave us with loads! due to recession and paying off car loans! Please if someone could provide any rough figures or any more information, We would be most greatful Thank you From Sarah and Family in sunny UK!! (I Wish!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rupert Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 I would take a guess that it might be 50:50 split between those using an agent and those not. It is confusing at first, but once you get your head around hte process it is not so confusing after all. The rough order for things would be: IELTS, skills assessment, EOI, visa application when invited, medicals / pcc when asked. If you focus on one thing at a time, it doesn't seem so bad. Unless you would like a state to sponsor your visa application, then are no monetary requirements associated with the visa process. However the move is expensive and you cannot live on fresh air so obviously you need savings to fund a move. There is a spectrum of how much people spend on their move. I started work the week I arrived, but we still must have spent GBP20k. Visa process GBP3k Removal GBP 5k Pet transport GBP3k Flights (bus class) GBP 3k Arrival accommodation AUD 7k (5 weeks in serviced apartment) Rental bond AUD 5k Reccies are nice enough, but if money is tight for you then I would forget about the look and see trip this year and save the money for the move instead. Do your research from the armchair, work will determine broadly where you will live and you can look around specific suburbs when you make your move. You won't get a feel for what it will be like living here from a reccie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lebourvellec Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 Add another £1500-2000 if using an agent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blossom Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 Wow rupert, your cost seem high. Especially the rental bond! I don't think ours was much more than $1k. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah and family Posted January 2, 2013 Author Share Posted January 2, 2013 Thanks so much Rupert.. you have been very helpful on my other post too! I am relieved about money as we should have enough from sale of house etc to cover that! so thats one relief! Your arrival accommodation was a huge chunk of money wasn't it, We were hoping to send hubby a month or two before to settle in his job and take arrival of house contents and we would live out of suitcase with the in laws for then! and hubby would find a house rental by the time we arrive... Thats our plan though not sure from any ones experience if this is a realistic plan! Can I ask.. did you use an agent? we would prefer not to but I have no Idea on the first steps.. I think we have quite a strong skilled visa case so hopefully shouldn't be a complicated visa, as I have reading previous post if your visa is not straight forward, and if your lacking on points then a agent can help with this.. Is there like a way you an check if your visa will be successful without actually applying and costing the 3k! Is there a web page of step by step of what to do? what would you advise I did first? I totally get that a reccie is money we should save on, but I really feel we should at least look at the area we will be moving our family to the other side of the world for.. I want to look at school etc, this all to be done once we have an idea on work with hubby! We need a family holiday anyway this year and may as well spend the money on visiting our new home town! we will need to look for cheap accommodation when there though.. I am unsure how long the visa process will take but I can't go until I have graduated anyway and thats not until Summer 2014 so we will probably go just after graduation! Thanks Sarah xox Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah and family Posted January 2, 2013 Author Share Posted January 2, 2013 Thanks so much Rupert.. you have been very helpful on my other post too! I am relieved about money as we should have enough from sale of house etc to cover that! so thats one relief! Your arrival accommodation was a huge chunk of money wasn't it, We were hoping to send hubby a month or two before to settle in his job and take arrival of house contents and we would live out of suitcase with the in laws for then! and hubby would find a house rental by the time we arrive... Thats our plan though not sure from any ones experience if this is a realistic plan! Can I ask.. did you use an agent? we would prefer not to but I have no Idea on the first steps.. I think we have quite a strong skilled visa case so hopefully shouldn't be a complicated visa, as I have reading previous post if your visa is not straight forward, and if your lacking on points then a agent can help with this.. Is there like a way you an check if your visa will be successful without actually applying and costing the 3k! Is there a web page of step by step of what to do? what would you advise I did first? I totally get that a reccie is money we should save on, but I really feel we should at least look at the area we will be moving our family to the other side of the world for.. I want to look at school etc, this all to be done once we have an idea on work with hubby! We need a family holiday anyway this year and may as well spend the money on visiting our new home town! we will need to look for cheap accommodation when there though.. I am unsure how long the visa process will take but I can't go until I have graduated anyway and thats not until Summer 2014 so we will probably go just after graduation! Thanks Sarah xox Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rupert Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 (edited) Wow rupert, your cost seem high. Especially the rental bond! I don't think ours was much more than $1k. Do they? I thought visa, pet, container were fairly standard. I live in Sydney so a month rent for the bond is about AUD 5k. We chose a Sydney CBD serviced apartment for our temporary accommodation, it was about $200 a night for five weeks, certainly there are cheaper options though. And certainly we didn't need to fly business class either, again this was our choice. As I mentioned there is a whole spectrum of start up costs, I was merely presenting mine. Edited January 2, 2013 by Rupert Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rupert Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 Can I ask.. did you use an agent? we would prefer not to but I have no Idea on the first steps.. I think we have quite a strong skilled visa case so hopefully shouldn't be a complicated visa, as I have reading previous post if your visa is not straight forward, and if your lacking on points then a agent can help with this.. Is there like a way you an check if your visa will be successful without actually applying and costing the 3k!Is there a web page of step by step of what to do? what would you advise I did first? I started out using an agent, however fired them after skills assessment and took it myself from there. I wish I had done it myself from the start, it was less stressful once I was in control. I don't know of any step by step guides, but I have mentioned the broad steps: IELTS, skills assessment, EOI, visa application. Focus on one at a time and really it is not so bad. Before you start with any of the above steps there are some basic checks you can carry out; check your occupation is on the list, take a points test and see what is required for the skills assessment for your chosen occupation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joebloggs Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 Wow rupert, your cost seem high. Especially the rental bond! I don't think ours was much more than $1k. Bond is usually 4 weeks rent, Rupert is on the Northern beaches and if you assume the rent is $1250 pw then $5K is believable even a house at $500 pw is $2K bond. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rupert Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 Bond is usually 4 weeks rent, Rupert is on the Northern beaches and if you assume the rent is $1250 pw then $5K is believable even a house at $500 pw is $2K bond. Exactly. :biggrin: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaffanZimbo Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 Thanks so much Rupert.. you have been very helpful on my other post too! I am relieved about money as we should have enough from sale of house etc to cover that! so thats one relief! Your arrival accommodation was a huge chunk of money wasn't it, We were hoping to send hubby a month or two before to settle in his job and take arrival of house contents and we would live out of suitcase with the in laws for then! and hubby would find a house rental by the time we arrive... Thats our plan though not sure from any ones experience if this is a realistic plan! Can I ask.. did you use an agent? we would prefer not to but I have no Idea on the first steps.. I think we have quite a strong skilled visa case so hopefully shouldn't be a complicated visa, as I have reading previous post if your visa is not straight forward, and if your lacking on points then a agent can help with this.. Is there like a way you an check if your visa will be successful without actually applying and costing the 3k! Is there a web page of step by step of what to do? what would you advise I did first? I totally get that a reccie is money we should save on, but I really feel we should at least look at the area we will be moving our family to the other side of the world for.. I want to look at school etc, this all to be done once we have an idea on work with hubby! We need a family holiday anyway this year and may as well spend the money on visiting our new home town! we will need to look for cheap accommodation when there though.. I am unsure how long the visa process will take but I can't go until I have graduated anyway and thats not until Summer 2014 so we will probably go just after graduation! Thanks Sarah xox If your skills are on the in demand list and you have the time I would recommend you do the paperwork yourselves. We used an agent but only because (a) OH is self-employed and we needed to get through the dreaded TRA process and (b) we both work full time and have 2 small girls and © we wanted to get in ahead of the SkillSelect introduction on 1st July. In hindsight if I could do it over and didn't have to work to a deadline, I would use the agent for the TRA (Skills Assessment) only and do the rest ourselves as only the TRA part was difficult the rest was an absolute walk in the park to be honest. The DIAC website seemed very comprehensive and I would think that if you have any initial questions, many registered migration agents offer a free first consultation/assessment to see if you qualify for a skilled visa. Once you've have a quick chat with an agent you may find using the web and help from the PIO forum members you could very well do all the paperwork yourself!:biggrin: We are now looking forward to our validation trip in March/April during which we are going to work out how much money we need for the big move. We are working on the following estimates: Container 40" (including car) £7k Airfares x 4 £3.5k Set up costs once in Perth = £10k Rent Bond $600 x 4 = $2.4k (£1.7k) - hope to stay with friends for the first week or 2 until we can find a rental Rent for 2 months = $4.8k (£3.4k) Food, Fuel, Utilities, School uniforms x 2 months $5k (£3.6k) - hope to borrow a car until our container arrives... Container costs once in Perth/ Car duty / miscellaneous costs $1.8k (£1.3k) We hope to keep our costs down as like you if possible OH will go ahead and stay with friends (who are kindly loaning us a car for our reccie in March!), find a job and then the girls and I will follow once he has a job. We are also hoping OH can find a rental in the school area we prefer but the rentals in these areas are about 30% higher than surrounding areas.... We have been using the following website to look at good schools and it has proved very helpful. We were initially fixated on living NOR but are gradually warming towards SOR..... http://www.myschool.edu.au/SchoolSearch.aspx Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jlew Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 We did a reccie trip last year - expensive but for us was worth it. We then started the process of visa late ish last year. Ielts first and now working on the skills assesment for my wife which is going to take until September at least as she needs to sit an exam. Will give us some time to save for the visa fees! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lottemarine Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 (edited) An agent will cost you around 1500 pounds, which is a total waste of money. They are basically the middleman between applicants and your assigned Australian government officer who will assess your application and offer you advice anyway. You'll have to do all the legwork anyway eg. providing documents (birth certificates, certified passport copies, employment references (demand list http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/_pdf/updated-sol.pdf'>http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/_pdf/updated-sol.pdf ), police checks, marriage certs etc). Its actually a very straightforward process, it just takes a bit of reading and organisation, look at http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/ and apply online. After submitting our application, it took about 9 months to hear back from the migration office in Canberra and then we were granted residency through a skilled migrate visa. As far as the points system goes, theres also a checklist on the australia embassy website; http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/general-skilled-migration/pdf/points-test.pdf . You have to obtain the threshold, otherwise there's no point applying. Good luck Edited January 3, 2013 by lottemarine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah and family Posted January 3, 2013 Author Share Posted January 3, 2013 Ok.. Thank you for this info.. So I have looked on the IMMI points list and from what I can work out we would have about 85 points which s enough.. It says about an English test.. Does anyone know where we do this? The website isn't really clear on which steps to take next.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lebourvellec Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 Ok.. Thank you for this info.. So I have looked on the IMMI points list and from what I can work out we would have about 85 points which s enough.. It says about an English test.. Does anyone know where we do this? The website isn't really clear on which steps to take next.. If you have 85 points, you will have claimed 20 points for English ability which you will only get if you do the IELTS test and achieve 8's in each section. A holder of a UK passport is no points, but will pass the basic english requirement for competent english. Speaking to an agent if you are or not going to use one will be the best place to start, they will be able to assess your case better to say if you are eligible and see if there may be any problems with your application as in Medical or character issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah and family Posted January 3, 2013 Author Share Posted January 3, 2013 ah ok Thanks..I did understand would need to take English test but not sure how to, Think will speak to agent. I did fill in an initial enquiry with one but not heard back yet.. Thanks again Sarah Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lebourvellec Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 ah ok Thanks..I did understand would need to take English test but not sure how to, Think will speak to agent. I did fill in an initial enquiry with one but not heard back yet.. Thanks again Sarah Without the 20 points from the English test you would have 65 points, so a chance that you will not need the IELTS, as with 65 points there is a good chance you will be invited, unless you want it to boost your points, and if you have calculated the other points correctly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jennyweaver Posted January 15, 2013 Share Posted January 15, 2013 Hi Sarah and Family we decided not to go with an agent because it is money needed elsewhere and the 3 agents I rang initially were quite pushy about getting it all going RIGHT NOW. We had just started looking at moving (Oct 2012) and wanted some advice. Many MANY friends of mine have done it themselves and reading and rereading the Aus Immigration site consolidates the info in your head and you will find your feet. The agents were very anxious to stress to me that the Aus Immigration quotas and rules change all the time and, as long as you are aware of that(the next anticipated update on numbers required on the Special Skills list is around June) you will relax and go at a pace that suits you. The country won't suddenly go from needing 1million nurses or HR managers to needing nil. There may be a few extra hoops to jump through after each June/July when new changes come but one step at a time will keep you sane and feeling in charge. Every day there will be more anxiety about something but at the same time peace over reaching another milestone elsewhere. The Aus Immigration site has a fab visa select tab that you fill out. The end result shows which visa youare eligible for and what you are required to do for each. see http://www.immi.gov.au/ We have also decided not to do a reccie trip. I would go locally, or enjoying the European access before you travel so far away to live. People who go on working holiday visa don't go for a 'look, see, decide' trip fisrt and if you have invested all the time and energy to going, once you get there you can sort out schools very quickly. This coming from someone who's never been to Oz, either, and doing research online a LOT..Oh well. About 5 couples I know, with or without kids, have gone over only the one time, rented a holiday apartment for 2 weeks and sorted long term rental properties, schools, kindergarten et all within that short period. I am in the same boat as yourself and scouring all sites for info so I wish you luck. I just hope you know where you want to go to as that has been a tuffie for us take care Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jennyweaver Posted January 15, 2013 Share Posted January 15, 2013 p.s. if you haven't already seen this site: http://www.ielts.org/ for all advice on english test and centres to do it. I got a book from internet which allayed my fears a little and then i did a bit of work (one week of reading it all only) online. I got 8.5 overall which is easier than you think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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