189 skilled visa costs etc

[L30GME]

Hi guys,

We are looking to make the move to Australia in the near future, we are in no rush to make this happen but would like it to happen in the next few years. We have been doing research on how much the whole process could cost and read peoples suggestions of having at least 35k, I know it’s not going to be cheap but I would like to know if anyone would like to share their journey & how much was spent to get everything sorted to get out there. We will be a family of 4 from UK & husband will apply for 189 skilled visa (carpenter) our children under 5.

Some costs I have come across are:

189 skilled visa for a family of 4 - 4,310GBP & Full medicals for a family of 4 - 780GBP

I know there are additional cost such as skills assessment, white card, police checks, IELTS test, shipping (mostly only tools) - could anyone give any advice on costs for these or anything I may be forgetting.

Also can anyone recommend any agents or any recommendations at all which could help us.

 

Thanks in advance

[Jsmull87]

I'm not a carpenter but I your skill looking at £800 - £1000 for the assessment. It's in two stages. On the bright side it does give you the aussie qual meaning you can get straight into working unlike the licensed trades.

White card is £50 if you do it in the UK probably a lot cheaper if you wait. Police certificates are £45 each as long as you don;t go fast track. IELTS are £150 a pop and i would budget for at least two if you need max points. Look into PTE. Some find it easier.

Shipping £3000 - £5000 for a typical family home. Just tools £500. That's roughly what i got quote for electrician toolkit and power tools. 

Don't under estimate how long everything takes too. If you are set then i would start the process now. Its taken us 18 months from skills assessment to visa grant and we are taking another 6 months to plan the move.

Oh and the agent will likely charge you between 2-3k depending on how much work they have to do.

[L30GME]

2 minutes ago, Jsmull87 said:

I'm not a carpenter but I your skill looking at £800 - £1000 for the assessment. It's in two stages. On the bright side it does give you the aussie qual meaning you can get straight into working unlike the licensed trades.

White card is £50 if you do it in the UK probably a lot cheaper if you wait. Police certificates are £45 each as long as you don;t go fast track. IELTS are £150 a pop and i would budget for at least two if you need max points. Look into PTE. Some find it easier.

Shipping £3000 - £5000 for a typical family home. Just tools £500. That's roughly what i got quote for electrician toolkit and power tools. 

Don't under estimate how long everything takes too. If you are set then i would start the process now. Its taken us 18 months from skills assessment to visa grant and we are taking another 6 months to plan the move.

Oh and the agent will likely charge you between 2-3k depending on how much work they have to do.

Thanks for the info Jsmull87 it is all very useful! Congrats on your visa grant you must be so excited! 

Did you guys go through an agent for your move??  

[Jsmull87]

No i did it myself. If you're organised with it then it isn't as bad as you think. 

hopefully you don't have a dog. Dogs are expensive to take. Ours must be flying business class.

Have you looked into any of it yet?

There's flights, temp accommodation, car hire to add in afterwards as well. I would say plan for being without work for 3 months also although a carpenter should be in demand.

Edited February 18, 2019 by Jsmull87

[VERYSTORMY]

I would say 30 to 35k is reasonable. 

Some things you need to consider / add to the list.

Once visa is granted, you have 12 months to make first entry to Australia from the date of police or medical check. Whichever was earlier. Many people can't do the full move in this date, so have to make a visit. So, basically, a very expensive holiday. 

Flights for actual move

Temporary accommodation on arrival

Car hire on arrival

Car purchase

If you are only shipping tools, then you will need to buy everything. From big stuff to beds. We did this and do not underestimate how much it ends up costing. For us, it was a fair few thousand but that was back in 2008.

First months rent and bond

Then you need to budget for living, paying bills and all day to day living costs until you find work. We always recommend you have enough to last a minimum of three months and ideally six months. Do not assume that because an occupation is on the skills list that they are begging for them. So, you need to pay rent, household bills, food and everything else for months.

Then, in the first few months, you leach cash like a tap. There are just a thousand little things that add up. 

[Raul Senise]

6 hours ago, L30GME said:

Hi guys,

We are looking to make the move to Australia in the near future, we are in no rush to make this happen but would like it to happen in the next few years.

If you are serious about moving to Australia, you should not wait a few years.

The requirements to qualify for a visa continue to become more difficult as the demand for Australian visas continues to increase. The fact that you quality now, does not mean that you will qualify in the future.

In the last few years alone, the points requirement to qualify for a 189 visa has increased from 60. Currently you need at least 70 points to be invited, with some occupations as high as 80.

If you do apply now and are granted Permanent Residency, after making your first entry to validate the visa, you will have 5 years to make the permanent move.

[Marisawright]

Raul gives excellent advice (he should, it's his job!).     It's getting harder and harder every year to migrate to Australia.  Australia isn't a young country, desperate for workers, any more:  the unemployment rate is much the same as the UK.    For that reason, we're starting to get the same "migrants are stealing our jobs" nonsense in the media as the UK. Politicians are responding to that by cutting the number of visas, removing occupations from the list, increasing the points required, etc.  The longer you wait, the more risk that you'll find you're not even eligible. 

As VeryStormy explained, when you get the Visa, you don't have to migrate straight away.  You can go for a holiday, which will validate the visa, then you'll have a full five years to save up for the big move.

You'll need to save because it is an expensive business.  Apart from the fees and the air fares, you'll need to budget for:

• a month's holiday accommodation when you first arrive, to give you time to look for a home (check out airBnB to get an idea of rates)
• three to six months' living expenses (as a new migrant, it can take that long to get your first job)
• a car (more expensive than the UK - check carsales.com.au)
• shipping your belongings
• replacing whatever stuff you left behind

I agree that 30-35K is realistic.    

At first glance, it seems easy to save money by leaving most of your stuff behind.  However, you'll find that shipping small amounts is comparatively more expensive per square metre.   You'll probably find it more cost-effective to send a Movecube than sending a few boxes of tools  (sevenseasworldwide.com).  Bear in mind the  children (and you) will settle better if they've got a few of their treasured toys with them, and you'll have enough trouble squeezing all your clothes into your luggage allowance on the plane!

Also, don't underestimate how much it will cost - and how much time it will take! - to replace everything.  We build up our collection of kitchen equipment, linen etc gradually over the years and don't realise how expensive it is.  So I suggest going on a fake shopping expedition.  Most Australian shops have an online store now.  You can "buy" furniture at harveynorman.com.au, electricals and whitegoods at thegoodguys.com.au, kitchen utensils etc at petersofkensington.com.au, and so on.

[L30GME]

13 hours ago, VERYSTORMY said:

I would say 30 to 35k is reasonable. 

Some things you need to consider / add to the list.

Once visa is granted, you have 12 months to make first entry to Australia from the date of police or medical check. Whichever was earlier. Many people can't do the full move in this date, so have to make a visit. So, basically, a very expensive holiday. 

Flights for actual move

Temporary accommodation on arrival

Car hire on arrival

Car purchase

If you are only shipping tools, then you will need to buy everything. From big stuff to beds. We did this and do not underestimate how much it ends up costing. For us, it was a fair few thousand but that was back in 2008.

First months rent and bond

Then you need to budget for living, paying bills and all day to day living costs until you find work. We always recommend you have enough to last a minimum of three months and ideally six months. Do not assume that because an occupation is on the skills list that they are begging for them. So, you need to pay rent, household bills, food and everything else for months.

Then, in the first few months, you leach cash like a tap. There are just a thousand little things that add up. 

Thanks for the info, I’m aware of all the costs once we get there etc a lot of our money is in our house so we could have a bit depending on what we decide to do! 

My main reason for posting was the cost of the visa process (I should have made that clearer)