The true cost to migrate?????

[Bibbs]

I do agree that people shouldn't confuse deferring a migration cost and paying for it from an Oz paypacket with eliminating that cost all together. Staying with friends or family doesn't mean you don't need to pay a bond on a home it just means that your cashflow is easier and you pay for it from local earnings not UK savings. Every cent you spend that you wouldn't spend if you stayed in the UK is a migration cost, even if it's months later. These "hidden" costs really torpedoed us as I'm just calling them out because you don't think about the costs of - for example - cancelling your Satellite TV contract as a migration cost but it is something you will possibly have to pay

 

But .. UK mobile = Aus mobile, Sky = Foxtel, UK insurance = Aus insurance. Food is food.

 

It's not like you'd not have these costs if you stayed in the UK.

 

If you are thinking of migrating, why would you sign up to a 12/24 month contract for anything? In the last year of living in the UK every bill I had slowly got swapped to a month-2-month bill so there were no fees.

Edited February 12, 2016 by Bibbs

[Croft]

Mobiles - $30/month on Optus. Includes 1GB a month.

Broadband (cable, unlimited) - $100 a month, includes Optus TV.

Flat for 2 weeks in Brisbane - paid by OH employe

Rental, 4 bedroom house in Brisbane - through employer $640 a fortnight

40ft ISO container - paid by OH employer

Business Class flights for family of three - paid by OH employer

Visa - refunded by OH employer

Medicals- refunded by OH employer

Transferring OH UK medical qualifications to Australia - $15K+

Retraining as a teacher - $7K + a years lost salary.

[AndrewMcD]

But .. UK mobile = Aus mobile, Sky = Foxtel, UK insurance = Aus insurance. Food is food.

 

It's not like you'd not have these costs if you stayed in the UK.

 

If you are thinking of migrating, why would you sign up to a 12/24 month contract for anything? In the last year of living in the UK every bill I had slowly got swapped to a month-2-month bill so there were no fees.

 

Yeah I agree that like for like living / running costs shouldn't get counted but I'm talking about one offs, cancellation or connection fees or whatever that you wouldn't have had otherwise.

 

I suppose there are two parts to it. First is that not everyone has 12 - 24 months prep and planning. I moved on a 457 visa and apart from this one job I had no plans or ideas of leaving the UK. It went from an initial enquiry in July to getting serious in Sept, job offer in Oct or Nov and flying out 3rd week of Jan, maybe 5 months from "this might happen" to getting off a plane doesn't leave much time to swap over contracts, especially as lots of mobile contracts are 24 months long now. As with most things in life you can go fast(er) or go cheap(er).

 

Second thing is as I said before - you can often minimise or delay costs but not eliminate them. I'm encouraging people to look at everything they will spend, end to end, as that is the true cost. It's like when people talk about how cheap a car is to buy or run but ignore depreciation - if you don't factor in everything you'll be in for a surprise!

[Croft]

Just to add, be very careful researching job opportunities. An acquaintance of ours is a midwife. When they first arrived they were in Drawin. She practically got grabbed off the street tehy were so desperate for her skillset. Two years later their employer moved them to Melbourne - she couldn't get a job anywhere.

[VERYSTORMY]

One of the big things to consider is living costs for when you arrive.

 

Just because an occupation is on one of the occupation lists, does not mean there is any actual shortage of people in that occupation. So, you need enough money to live on for an extended period of time. So, enough to pay rent, household bills, food, run a car and all the other costs associated with life. And you need this for a minimum of three months, but should plan for six.

 

Then, in today's climate, I would urge a emergency fund for potential return to your home country if it doesn't work out.

[Nemesis]

You don't need any of that early on. It was all sorted once settled. That money came out of the the first pay cheque. So it wasn't a 'migration' cost, but 'living' costs.

 

Why would I add the cost of extra furniture (from a 2 bed UK house to a 4 bed Aus house) or 2 expensive cars? Or insurance I didn't need or get?

 

I did pay friends, but only a few months after I'd moved out. And it was a few hundred dollars to cover bills.

 

If you are job hunting you would need mobiles/internet asap.

 

Also I'd argue on the contents insurance - get that asap too - you may not have many possessions but you don't want to lose the little you have got without insurance. Also a good idea to have it in place before any shipping turns up.

[Marisawright]

You don't need any of that early on. It was all sorted once settled. That money came out of the the first pay cheque. So it wasn't a 'migration' cost, but 'living' costs.

 

Why would I add the cost of extra furniture (from a 2 bed UK house to a 4 bed Aus house) or 2 expensive cars? Or insurance I didn't need or get?

 

I did pay friends, but only a few months after I'd moved out. And it was a few hundred dollars to cover bills.

 

So, if you can't find a job for three months, you simply won't get a mobile phone?

 

As you say, there are lots of things which are just replacing what you spent in the UK - food, phone bills, etc, and those will all be covered by your pay when you start earning. BUT there are lots of other costs that you wouldn't have paid IF you had stayed put in the UK - and the money for those has to come from somewhere. Good luck to you if you routinely have money left over from each pay check to pay all those extra costs - but you don't know the OP's earning capacity so it's not fair to blithely assume they'll be able to absorb them. They may be small individually but having moved from Oz to the UK recently, it was a shock to see how quickly they mounted up.

 

Andrew put it well:

 

"people shouldn't confuse deferring a migration cost and paying for it from an Oz paypacket with eliminating that cost all together. Staying with friends or family doesn't mean you don't need to pay a bond on a home it just means that your cashflow is easier and you pay for it from local earnings not UK savings. Every cent you spend that you wouldn't spend if you stayed in the UK is a migration cost, even if it's months later. These "hidden" costs really torpedoed us"

[GoldcoastMAD]

Far, far, far more than you expect. Even when you budget really carefully. We have been in Sydney for 3 weeks and I'm not sure we would have a lot of change of £50k when it's all added up. Now we haven't gone cheapest option and you could trim 10-20% off that figure pretty easily but everyones circumstances are different. Sample figures:

 

- Budget for at least one recon trip. This will be to assess houses, schools, etc. Even a budget hotel is going to be $100+ per night, plus food, car hire and of course flights. My wife went on her own for a few days but it was probably £3k when everything was added up

- Moving is going to cost £4-5k for a 20ft container. We have two kids and ended up spending in excess of £6k as we had overflow from a single container. Budget for insurance as well, which is a % of the value you are shipping

- Beware of hidden costs of leaving the UK! Our opportunity came up quickly so we had to cancel mobile phone contracts and buy ourselves out of them (almost £3k there alone, although we are now on SIM only contracts in Oz). While we made money on the car I had bought a brand new motorbike and the depreciation meant I lost almost £700 on it. We also worked out that the luggage we had wasn't going to be big enough so spent almost £300 getting new luggage

- We figured that we would only be moving half way round the world once so we all went business class which was horrifically expensive (but worth it!). Even without that for a family of four it was going to be ~£6k to fly out.

- Your first few days you are going to need to splash out a lot of money. Deposit plus 2 weeks rent in advance on a house, car hire, probably a hotel for a day or two. We put roughly $4k into getting a house between advance rent and deposit, about $400 in a hotel for the first day and maybe another $500 on a car

- You then need to establish a home. Oz houses (or at least Sydney) don't come with white goods so we had to but a washing machine, fridge, microwave as well as basics like kettle, iron, etc. We bought decent stuff, I can't remember the price but I doubt we had much change from $3-4k when all the electricals were included

- Add then you need all the disposable stuff until your own furniture catches up with you. Air beds, bean bags, crockery, pots and pans. Again we bought a mix of really good stuff (high end pans for example) and stuff we can throw (air beds, sleeping bags, towels). This is an estimate but $2.5k will cover it

- And then you need to make your house a home! Especially with young kids. A TV, broadband and mobile phones, BBQ, hammock and deck chairs. Again spend what you can afford - we got a cracking TV, a good hammock and cheap BBQ and other bits but still another $2k+

- You'll probably want to buy a car from a dealer when fresh in country and the absolute cheapest we found was $2.5k for a ratty old Holden station wagon. We spent $6.5k on a really good condition 2004 Ford. Add another $1,500 - 2k for reggo, insurance, etc

- Different states have different rules but in NSW kids in secondary schools whose parents are on a 457 visa pay $5k per child per year for state schools and 50% of this is in advance. That's another $5k immediatly for us. Add a whole set of top to toe uniforms, shoes, books, "voluntary"contributions and your looking at another $1500+. And in secondary school kids need a decent laptop, (Macbook Air, $1300 each; ouch)

 

That's off the top of my head and a lot of those figures you can ratchet up or down according to your own budget and needs and some won't apply to you. Be under no illusion though it is mind bendingly expensive. At this point though it was worth every penny and I'd spend the same again if I had to!

 

Forgot to say that visa fees and fees for the Migration Agent were taken care of by the company so no idea what they were but "not cheap" would be my guess

 

Sorry Andrew, but I've got to say that your story is like "how not to migrate" . You spent so much..your move seemed impulsive, but thanks for sharing...great story and it will help lots of people

Edited February 12, 2016 by GoldcoastMAD

[GoldcoastMAD]

I love the idea of the new migration cover. I wish this had been around when we made the move.

Migration Insurance cover

 

Migration to Australia made easy

 

Moving to Australia is a big step but one made easier by a new insurance product that will help skilled migrants overcome some of the common obstacles.

 

Migrating to Australia is a dream for many Brits, but the process can be long and testing for individuals and families alike. Although the benefits of life in Australia are obvious, the risks associated with moving to a new country can put off some hopefuls.

 

The thought of starting a new life in a country thousands of miles away from more familiar surroundings is enough to make them think twice. Furthermore, the costs involved in shipping, transporting and setting up a life in Australia can be extremely high which can limit who, in reality, is able to immigrate.

 

Questions constantly plague the migrant’s mind, such as; What will happen if a family member at home becomes ill? What will happen if I am involuntarily made redundant? How will I return home if I need to?

 

However, thousands of people each year do make the trip to Australia, and manage to secure a permanent visa. They know the pressure to go home may come one day, and the loss of a job or serious illness can very quickly change their circumstances.

 

Ex-Pats in Australia also appreciate that if they have to come back to their country of embarkation, the expense will be theirs and theirs alone. They know only too well about the costs they paid out to move to Australia, so the thought of doing it all again in a short space of time, with little funds, is a burden that they always carry with them.

 

This is also a significant issue for employers, who face losing their newly hired staff for issues that may be out of their control, making migrant hires a more complex and expensive process than is necessary. This is especially frustrating where talent has been brought in from another country to help develop services or products within Australia using skills that may not be easily available within the country.

 

Thankfully, there is a now an insurance product that can help alleviate some of that moving stress. Migration Cover offers the first comprehensive insurance product created specifically for skilled migrants. It provides a sense of security  for people immigrating, or those who have already immigrated, to Australia.

 

Migration Cover’s experience has shown that skilled migrants are most concerned about

:

 

1. Leaving family behind

2. Illness or death in the family, including the migrants themselves

3. Involuntary redundancy

4. Leaving property behind

 

The product reduces the anxiety of immigrating by covering the policyholder’s repatriation, employment advocacy and travel needs.

 

Migration Cover costs less than you think, with packages to suit all budgets, whether you are single or have a family. So migrants can now ‘Go with Confidence!’™

 

For more information and a free quote, visit

www.migrationcover.com

 

 

That's a referral link....bit cheeky?

[GoldcoastMAD]

I've so far spent £17,000 getting to OZ , that includes visas, a 2 week reccie for a family of four , one way tickets this august and shipping over two dogs. I estimate another £10,000 ($20,000) to get setup in oz with furniture, rental deposits and a cheap run around and I've booked an apartment for 4 weeks for the cost of $2,000. So about £27-30K in all to migrate.

 

And I've done it as cheap as possible!

Edited February 12, 2016 by GoldcoastMAD

[jodipodi]

3K on bliddy mobile phone contracts?!!! Jeeeeeeezzzzzzazzzz :elvis:

[Quinkla]

Sorry Andrew, but I've got to say that your story is like "how not to migrate" . You spent so much..your move seemed impulsive, but thanks for sharing...great story and it will help lots of people

Andrew's expenses look roughly in line with my experience. Obis some people are able to come and live on thin air, staying with friends or replies for no money, find all their furniture on hard rubbish piles and fly around on broomsticks, but for the rest of us, we find we need a car to get to sales to buy a car; we need a roof over our heads whilst we find a more permanent roof, and we have to eat food. Even the food - until you know a place, you can't know where the cheap food is, and when you cook a meal for yourself for the first few weeks, you have to buy every spice, every ingredient, every saucepan, every plate because the cupboards start out bare. Money just evaporates - and when you're fresh off the boat, sales people can and do take advantage.

[Quinkla]

I love the idea of the new migration cover. I wish this had been around when we made the move.

Migration Insurance cover

It's a personal decision but having read the product disclosure statement, this looks like terrible value. They will only cover ra visit home if your close relative is diagnosed with cancer, heart disease or stroke, or has an accident (not an illness) that leads to a disability requiring lifelong personal care. Their redundancy cover basically gives you an interview with a careers counsellor and advice on a resume, and permanent repatriation will only be paid if you are made involuntarily redundant and fail to secure new work after a substantial period (usually 180 days) of trying. Plus there are huge exclusions.

[Bibbs]

Andrew put it well:

 

"people shouldn't confuse deferring a migration cost and paying for it from an Oz paypacket with eliminating that cost all together. Staying with friends or family doesn't mean you don't need to pay a bond on a home it just means that your cashflow is easier and you pay for it from local earnings not UK savings. Every cent you spend that you wouldn't spend if you stayed in the UK is a migration cost, even if it's months later. These "hidden" costs really torpedoed us"

 

But it's not true.

 

For every bond in Aus, you should have a return of a bond in the UK.

 

For or every mobile contract in Aus, is one you don't pay in the UK.

 

Even for the car purchase at the Aus end, you should have car sales at the UK end. I only added that due to the large difference between car costs.

 

I had a holiday to Bali, I wouldn't have done that if I was in the UK, should I add that too? What about my divorce? I recon that wouldn't have happened in the UK either? That's another cost then?

[benthomas010]

We are weeks away from moving. 2 Adults, 1 Child.

 

Cost so far:

 

Police Checks = £90

English Tests = £240

Health Checks = £650

Skills Verification = £100

Visa = £3200

Bank Fee's for Payment of Visa = £180

Shared Container (400 cuFT) = £2000 (including exp at Australia End).

1 Month Airbnb in Melbourne on Arrival = £1500

Flights = £1600

Transport to Airport £150

 

Total Expense to Date: £9700

 

I don't think we could have save money anywhere except maybe not shipping anything, but we figured it was better value to ship goods, than to sell and re-buy.

[Marisawright]

 

I had a holiday to Bali, I wouldn't have done that if I was in the UK, should I add that too? What about my divorce? I recon that wouldn't have happened in the UK either? That's another cost then?.

 

No of course not, because both those things weren't necessary to enable you to settle in Australia!

 

Of course you're going to replace one mobile contract/car/lease agreement in the UK with one in Australia BUT what about changeover costs? You probably wouldn't get a full pro rata refund on your insurance, car rego etc when you left - that's a cost. When you leave the country you often have to sell the car at the last minute (because you need it for the move) so it's likely to be for less than it's worth - then you have to buy your new Aussie car at full price. That's a cost. You might have break costs on your broadband or mobile phone contracts - that's a cost.

 

If you hadn't moved to Australia, would you have given away/sold off all your furniture, crockery, cutlery, toys, bedding etc etc and bought new, or would you have kept it for several more years? That's a cost. As Andrew said, it's easy to account for the big costs with a little research, but it's all those little costs that can torpedo you if you're emigrating on a tight budget so it's just plain irresponsible to dismiss them as if they just didn't exist.

[Wirephobia]

My personal view of the budget, based on 3 of us

 

In summary:

£21,000 to obtain visas, get us & our stuff to Aus

 

$5,500 One off costs in Aus + $7,500 for each 4 weeks without income

 

So assuming $2 to £1 FX rate, my expected costs are £35,000 if we have jobs within 8 weeks (which means 12 weeks without income as paid in arrears of course)...rising by £3,750 for each further 4 weeks it takes to secure jobs.

 

Detail

Skills based assessment (ACS) £250

IELTS Test £150

Visa fees 2 Adults, 1 child £3,085

Medical & X-rays x3 £750

UK Police clearance cert x3 £135

 

Agent fees (Could avoid if you DIY) £2,700

============================

Sub total to obtain visa £7,070

============================

 

 

Shipping 40' container, full wrap and pack, door to door plus insurance, fees at Aus end etc = £7,000 (Could reduce if you do the wrap/pack yourself)

 

Flights x 3 plus 3 nights hotel on arrival (Business class, so could reduce this a lot as noted in earlier replies) = £7,100

====================================

Sub total to get us & our stuff to Aus £14,100

====================================

 

(Above based on actuals, below based on research)

 

Stay in short term accommodation for 1 month in the UK after selling house and sending contents to Aus = £0 (Kind of......the costs net out vs costs of running our home, but we lose the benefit of reducing the outstanding mortgage, so you can debate whether to include that.)

 

Cost of living in Aus before securing jobs = approx $7,500 per 4 weeks inc rent, bills, extravagance etc (As others have said, depending on your job prospects, plan for 6 months, hope for 3 mths or less without jobs). Maybe this could be reduced, but I'm aiming to be realistic.

 

Rental bond $3,000

Driving licences x3 $500

 

Purchase of things you couldn't ship / needed before container arrived (Super tough lawn mower, mattresses, temp crockery/cutlery, something to sit on in an almost empty house) $2,000

 

Purchase of cars in Aus $0 (Kind of.....Limit the budget to the price of our cars sold in UK.....but does mean likely reduction in spec or accepting older car.)

Edited February 13, 2016 by Wirephobia

[Quinkla]

As Andrew said, it's easy to account for the big costs with a little research, but it's all those little costs that can torpedo you if you're emigrating on a tight budget so it's just plain irresponsible to dismiss them as if they just didn't exist.

Plus one. It's really not helpful to hear how inexpensively people have done it by getting favours off friends and rellies unless it is something that we could all replicate. In my own case, I cut costs of temporary accommodation because my fiancee set me up with a rental property to move into with furniture and food in the cupboard. It was nice, but not replicable, so I'd still advise people to factor in costs of a hotel for the first couple of nights and longer term temporary accommodation thereafter.

 

Incidentally, if you have stuff shipped, you don't be able to access it for eight weeks until it arrives. That means if you end up in rental property you may have to replicate stuff that you are having sent. Spending this 8 weeks in holiday accommodation might help offset some of those costs.

[AndrewMcD]

Sorry Andrew, but I've got to say that your story is like "how not to migrate" . You spent so much..your move seemed impulsive, but thanks for sharing...great story and it will help lots of people

 

I've so far spent £17,000 getting to OZ , that includes visas, a 2 week reccie for a family of four , one way tickets this august and shipping over two dogs. I estimate another £10,000 ($20,000) to get setup in oz with furniture, rental deposits and a cheap run around and I've booked an apartment for 4 weeks for the cost of $2,000. So about £27-30K in all to migrate.

 

And I've done it as cheap as possible!

 

Not sure how to square these off? Exclude contract cancellations and biz class flights and our expenses aren't that different!

 

And yep £2-3k to cancel phone contracts - most UK carriers put you on a 24 month contract when you get an iPhone handset and you have to buy it out when you cancel. Ours were all in the 8 - 18 months left range and at anything up to £40/month that's a lot of money. Flip side is that our contracts here are SIM only and cheap as chips

[GoldcoastMAD]

Not sure how to square these off? Exclude contract cancellations and biz class flights and our expenses aren't that different!

 

And yep £2-3k to cancel phone contracts - most UK carriers put you on a 24 month contract when you get an iPhone handset and you have to buy it out when you cancel. Ours were all in the 8 - 18 months left range and at anything up to £40/month that's a lot of money. Flip side is that our contracts here are SIM only and cheap as chips

 

your presuming were all stupid enough to enter contract's, when thinking about emigrating??...and yeah the normal person would take a biz class flight ( champagne anyone!) in that situation!...exclude all common sense I think you mean!...no offence intended. I recognise you didn't plan the move...hence why i though it was a great post, for those thinking of moving .

 

all in all, about £30K diff ( not much ) , I've planed everything, and went on a pre visit and have shipped dogs in my costs...you went on what could only be described as a bender and spent 50K!!

Edited February 14, 2016 by GoldcoastMAD

[Quinkla]

...and yeah the normal person would take a biz class flight ( champagne anyone!) in that situation!...exclude all common sense I think you mean!...

A surprising number of us go business class. From memory, when I was looking to fly in 2010, I could have gone economy for about GBP600 - or business class for GBP2400. The latter option was with Air New Zealand, included flat beds, a 24 hour stop in Los Angeles to get refreshed, and 64kg of luggage plus 7kg of hand luggage plus a computer (I took my Apple iMac desktop in a special carry case). I arrived in Australia feeling fresh as a daisy. The extra cost was a drop in the bucket compared with other expenses I was racking up. I would do the same again.

[Bibbs]

No of course not, because both those things weren't necessary to enable you to settle in Australia!

 

Of course you're going to replace one mobile contract/car/lease agreement in the UK with one in Australia BUT what about changeover costs? You probably wouldn't get a full pro rata refund on your insurance, car rego etc when you left - that's a cost. When you leave the country you often have to sell the car at the last minute (because you need it for the move) so it's likely to be for less than it's worth - then you have to buy your new Aussie car at full price. That's a cost. You might have break costs on your broadband or mobile phone contracts - that's a cost.

 

If you hadn't moved to Australia, would you have given away/sold off all your furniture, crockery, cutlery, toys, bedding etc etc and bought new, or would you have kept it for several more years? That's a cost. As Andrew said, it's easy to account for the big costs with a little research, but it's all those little costs that can torpedo you if you're emigrating on a tight budget so it's just plain irresponsible to dismiss them as if they just didn't exist.

 

The refunds I got from any 12 month contracts, were greater than the costs in Aus. Car insurance as an example was 700 GBP x2, and in Aus was 300 AUD. So I made a 'profit'.

 

We packed our furniture that we wanted to keep, and binned/sold the stuff we didn't. We packed crockery/cutlery/bedding etc. We also bought new stuff which we would have done anyway.

 

Migration can be done very cheap, if you are willing.

 

It's also why I've not got any long-term contracts here, in case I decide next month that Canada or the US looks attractive. I don't understand why people would sign a 24 month deal for a mobile phone.

[GoldcoastMAD]

A surprising number of us go business class. From memory, when I was looking to fly in 2010, I could have gone economy for about GBP600 - or business class for GBP2400. The latter option was with Air New Zealand, included flat beds, a 24 hour stop in Los Angeles to get refreshed, and 64kg of luggage plus 7kg of hand luggage plus a computer (I took my Apple iMac desktop in a special carry case). I arrived in Australia feeling fresh as a daisy. The extra cost was a drop in the bucket compared with other expenses I was racking up. I would do the same again.

 

Nice if you can afford it , but most cannot .. It's a luxury!

[AndrewMcD]

your presuming were all stupid enough to enter contract's, when thinking about emigrating??...and yeah the normal person would take a biz class flight ( champagne anyone!) in that situation!...exclude all common sense I think you mean!...no offence intended. I recognise you didn't plan the move...hence why i though it was a great post, for those thinking of moving .

 

all in all, about £30K diff ( not much ) , I've planed everything, and went on a pre visit and have shipped dogs in my costs...you went on what could only be described as a bender and spent 50K!!

 

Again I didn't enter a contract when I was thinking of moving - not everyone plans migration months or years in advance. The opportunity to move came up and we took it and it all moved quickly. Inevitably when you move quickly you spend more. And My maths can be hazy but you said ~30kGBP "as cheap as possible" and I paid 45-50GBK with lots of premium spend. Avoid the biz class flights and the phone contracts and our spend isn't that far apart.

 

And what normal person wouldn't take a biz class flight if they have the choice?! Champagne anyone? Damn right, and as much of it as you can offer, we had a blissful 20 something hours in the air and I wouldn't change it.

 

I'm very lucky, I work in a job that pays well and allows me to choose luxury / convenience and speed over cost. That's why I said above the only real answer to "how much to emigrate" is "how much do you have"? The way that I moved was expensive but absolutely right for us and I wouldn't change anything substantial about it. Other people who mat have more time or less disposable income make different choices and find a route that works for them. Would I take a three stop flight with a second tier carrier to save a few hundred dollars? No way, but nor will I judge or criticize those that do. Migration (like almost everything) is either cheap or fast/easy but they are extremes - the easier you make it the more expensive it is and vice versa. Personally I went for easy and fast and so paid a bit more. But if you can afford it so why not?

Edited February 14, 2016 by AndrewMcD

[Quinkla]

Nice if you can afford it , but most cannot .. It's a luxury!

Emigration is a luxury.