ItchyFeet76 Posted November 6, 2015 Share Posted November 6, 2015 Hi all, We're currently saving up for our hopeful move next year but my head is spinning from what happens when! Assuming my husband can get a job with 457 sponsorship, when do the following things happen? (1) Putting house up for rent (before or after visa application)? (2) Visa application - and who does it, us or the company? (3) Deciding on house availability date - if we say a date and then the visa gets approved quickly, we'll be out of pocket as won't have our mortgage covered (unless the company are flexible and wait a few weeks?); conversely, if the visa gets delayed and the tenants are waiting to move in, is it acceptable to tell them to hang on a few weeks? (4) Does the company get an email to tell them the visa has gone through (and presumably we get the actual visa)? (5) When do we start selling everything and how long have people taken to sell the contents of their entire house? (we're only taking a large move cube or some tea cartons so will have lots to sell, but don't want to start now as we have to save up £10k for the move so aren't looking for jobs just yet, and if it doesn't work out then we'll have sold stuff for no reason!). Thanks, I-F :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itegoa Posted November 6, 2015 Share Posted November 6, 2015 Here's what we're doing/did do... 1) Put house on the market for sale 2) Give 2 months notice on the rental we currently have (yes, we have a house and a rental in the UK!) 3) Book flights 4) Book airbnb.com temporary accomodation in Oz 5) Engage with pet shippers 6) Organise MoveCube 7) Start selling things (sell big and/or expensive things that we're not taking with us) 8) Organise leaving party/gathering! 9) Find a long-term rental in Oz 10) Overnight stay at Manchester airport the day before we fly 11) Fly to Oz! Which ever order you do things is not going to be ideal. None of it is going to be a cake walk! There's some things you can do to minimise the cost a little, e.g. we had 2 months notice on our UK rental, so we booked the flights towards the end of this 2 months notice period so we could leave the rental and go to the airport. We tried to order things in such a way that we'd leave the "point of no return" until as late as possible. But I don't think that's possible. From the 1st step, you have to be 100% commited to the move. Just go for it, really. If you keep on trying to plan things to the Nth degree, you'll spend the rest of your life planning! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ItchyFeet76 Posted November 6, 2015 Author Share Posted November 6, 2015 Yeah I guess you're right, and that's partly why we've spent years trying to emigrate and never managing to actually leave! (Other reasons were not finding work or failing on points test, hence why 457)... Do you have PR then? That makes it so much easier to plan as you know you're actually going so can start selling stuff way in advance... We've not even had interviews for my husband yet as have to save up £10k first (don't want to get offered a job but not be able to afford to make the move!).... And we've no idea how long the whole process takes... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted November 6, 2015 Share Posted November 6, 2015 (edited) No matter what kind of visa it is, getting the visa ALWAYS has to come first! You certainly shouldn't be doing anything before the visa application has been submitted - and even then, it's a risk, unless the company has a lot of experience with 457 visas and is very confident of success. I know it's frustrating to sit waiting around, you feel like you want to DO something! However it's just not worth the risk. What you can do is start decluttering. Most people have lots of "stuff" that's accumulated over the years which they don't really need - and it'll do you good to get rid of it even if you're staying in the UK! By starting now you can sell it rather than just throw it away - it's amazing what people will buy at car boot sales or on eBay. Edited November 6, 2015 by Marisawright Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ItchyFeet76 Posted November 6, 2015 Author Share Posted November 6, 2015 Yes we're aware that no visa = no move, it's just if it takes a few weeks to get the visa and months to find a tenant then we'd want to concentrate our efforts on the house first, as that will be more time-consuming (cleaning, photos, realtor contracts etc) whereas I guess the visa is more paperwork...? Thanks, yes I'm decluttering as we speak! :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted November 6, 2015 Share Posted November 6, 2015 Yeah I guess you're right, and that's partly why we've spent years trying to emigrate and never managing to actually leave! (Other reasons were not finding work or failing on points test, hence why 457)... Another thought - you may be better to hang on to your house in the UK if you can afford it. Your oh will have no job security on a 457 and if he loses his job, or his contract is not renewed at the end of the contract, you will all have to return to the UK. It wouldn't be a good idea to buy a house in Australia on a 457, because you'd make a loss if you had to sell after only a few years (due to the high purchase costs in most states). Plus having the house in the UK would mean you had something to go back to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted November 6, 2015 Share Posted November 6, 2015 Yes we're aware that no visa = no move, it's just if it takes a few weeks to get the visa and months to find a tenant then we'd want to concentrate our efforts on the house first, as that will be more time-consuming (cleaning, photos, realtor contracts etc) whereas I guess the visa is more paperwork...? I think it usually takes more than a few weeks to get the visa, but I'm not familiar with how long the 457 takes. I'm a bit confused - have you moved out of your house already and rented it out, in anticipation of emigrating? So you're in a rented place yourself? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itegoa Posted November 6, 2015 Share Posted November 6, 2015 Yeah I guess you're right, and that's partly why we've spent years trying to emigrate and never managing to actually leave! (Other reasons were not finding work or failing on points test, hence why 457)... Do you have PR then? That makes it so much easier to plan as you know you're actually going so can start selling stuff way in advance... We've not even had interviews for my husband yet as have to save up £10k first (don't want to get offered a job but not be able to afford to make the move!).... And we've no idea how long the whole process takes... Yes we have PR It does make it easier. Come to think of it, we did get rid of whatever we could a while back. Just get rid of whatever you can, now. Then once you have the visa, go for it full steam ahead. You may or may not be able to do this, but I'm going ahead by myself to make sure the job is all good and apply for a rental over in Oz. I fly back for about 1.5 weeks, then we all (wife + 2 kids + 2 dogs) come back to Oz together. It's going to be a lot easier without kids and/or pets, trust me! During that time, the missus can deal with last minute things in the UK. Actually, the major thing she's doing is babysitting the dogs! LOL. It can take around 2 months to get them on their way. It's different for humans, we can just book a flight for a few days time and go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ItchyFeet76 Posted November 6, 2015 Author Share Posted November 6, 2015 No we own our house (with a mortgage) so will be renting it out - never done it before so that'll be fun! [emoji33] We also have a dog but she's a French Bulldog and I don't want to take her as I don't think she'll make it... So we need to find someone to look after her whilst we're away - I won't sell her as she's part of the family and we'll have her back once we return - so that's another hurdle, but nothing is insurmountable I hope [emoji6] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ItchyFeet76 Posted November 6, 2015 Author Share Posted November 6, 2015 Ps last time we tried to emigrate my husband was going to go out on his own but we can't afford for him to fly back for me and the kids and I'm my doing 10'500 miles on my own with 3 kids!! [emoji33] Plus we want a stopover enroute to break up the journey, and he'd miss out on that... And I don't think I'd manage to sort out the house, selling cars etc on my own... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted November 6, 2015 Share Posted November 6, 2015 No we own our house (with a mortgage) so will be renting it out - never done it before so that'll be fun! [emoji33] If that's the case then that makes life much easier. You will need to appoint an agent to manage the rental for you - impossible to DIY when you're not in the country, as I'm sure you've worked out. So although it would be nice to be collecting rent from the day you leave the country, in practice you may just have to fly out, leaving the agent to find the tenant for you. Once you've got the agent set up so you don't need to be there to vet or approve tenants or sign any paperwork. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woody Posted November 6, 2015 Share Posted November 6, 2015 457 visas can go through pretty quickly. I know two separate people who have had them granted in 4 & 5 weeks from nomination. One has then taken another couple of months to sort everything. The other it was granted last Wednesday, their belongings were collected on Tuesday and they flew this Wednesday. Guess it depends on what you agree with the employer too, how long they will wait from visa grant. Keep focused and you can do it. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ItchyFeet76 Posted November 6, 2015 Author Share Posted November 6, 2015 Thanks guys. We're determined to focus on the positives this time around (last time we were too focused on the negatives as didn't want to be disappointed or see it through rose-tinted glasses, so everything was 'assume worst-case scenario' and not letting ourselves get excited.... I like the idea of telling the employer we'll be out X weeks post visa-grant - seems much more practical. If we don't have a tenant before we leave then we'll need to save up a month's mortgage before we go...which will delay us even more and ideally we wanted to be out by July as we've heard they may change certain things about the immigration system in July and we're worried my husband's job (262112) might come off the CSOL (it came off the SOL last year, despite his job being in demand still!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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