Emigrating to Cairns

[chrissim93]

Hi guys, looking for some advice.

My partner (soon to be wife, 25 years old), son (currently 4 weeks old) and myself (27 years old) are looking to emigrate to Cairns in the next 2-3 years. My partner is an adult staff nurse with 3 years experience and 2 years experience in the emergency department. I am a newly qualified Paramedic with 5 years ambulance experience.

I'm aware that nursing is currently on the skills list, but does anybody have some advice with the best way to go about enquiring for a visa/emigrating.

I have family in Cairns, who are my aunty and cousins so not immediate. Although my aunty is director of nursing at Cairns hospital, would she be in a position to sponsor us to move over?

Any information/guidance would be greatly appreciated :)

Thanks in advance.

Chris  

[SWMOY04]

First off, Welcome!

Hope you have a rand time here, it can be a bit rough on occasion, but don't sweat the small stuff

I'll start with a massive disclaimer: I AM NOT AN EMIGRATION EXPERT, I think there's a few here really worth their weight in gold and if your situation is tricky, you are better off engaging them.

- I don't think your Aunty would personally have to sponsor... if the hospital/Trust has a job, and your fiance get a job, its th Trust thats sponsoring her, not your aunt.

- As for the type of visa to go for, I would reckon you wait for those who are more knowledgeable... I only know about permanent, skills-based residency visas as I moved here on one (PR189 or PR190)... lengthy and expensive upfront, but they have their benefits once you are in Aus)... they have nothing to do with sponsorship or jobs. Prove the job is on the list and you are qualified for it and attain the necessary score/points and then you apply... lengthy process, can be disheartening at times, but well worth it

[SWMOY04]

34 minutes ago, chrissim93 said:

"...partner (soon to be wife, 25 years old), son (currently 4 weeks old)..."

Congratulations on both mate!!! all the best

[Paul1Perth]

Perfect age and experience to emigrate mate. Cairns is nice and plenty to see and do around there. Bit too humid for my liking but loved it for a holiday. Port Douglas is not too far away and the rainforest is spectacular.

Cairns Hospital is pretty big, biggest in the area and there's a shortage of trained staff all over Aus, so if things aren't too hopeful in Cairns there's a lot more choices around.

Good luck.

[Blue Flu]

It's still a way off two or three years. Lots can happen over that time. But I've been in contact with real estate up in Cairns after viewing some desirable property in the Northern Beaches. Great price compared to prices in a similar location in Perth, but hard to compare as obviously very differerent in so many ways. I have lived in Cairns during the ninties and mostly enjoyed it . The hospital there does not have a high reputation though. Also best be aware of less desirable areas and social issues that persist. 

But when borders open, a nice international buzz, perhaps too many tourists at times but does give another demension to the city that I enjoyed. With lockdowns and the like, I couldn't get over there to view in person so missed out on the property that looked and sounded ideal. Certainlly would not purchase without sighting though. Not just the house, but neighbourhood and like. 

Good luck with your intended move to Cairns. It has quite a different vibe to elsewhere in Australia. Odd how Townsville 'down the road' is so different and less desirable IMO .  

[Gary H]

Spend the money get an agent, let the agent know you hope to offset the move costs (as its works related) against tax in coming years. As for visa you can look at skills list and also know that FNQ is part of a special zone classed as  remote living with appropriate visa's.We entered on a remote works visa years back, now citizens.

As for property secure an air bnb have a look around, suburbs vary vastly. If I lived back there I would be looking at Redlynch area.

Just left Cairns after 7 years, the summers got to us both in the end. Cairns sits in a bowl shape valley, as does the humidity. Moving now to cooler less humid climate.

[Marisawright]

On 22/07/2021 at 00:33, chrissim93 said:

My partner (soon to be wife, 25 years old), son (currently 4 weeks old) and myself (27 years old) are looking to emigrate to Cairns in the next 2-3 years. My partner is an adult staff nurse with 3 years experience and 2 years experience in the emergency department. I am a newly qualified Paramedic with 5 years ambulance experience.

I'm aware that nursing is currently on the skills list, but does anybody have some advice with the best way to go about enquiring for a visa/emigrating.

I have family in Cairns, who are my aunty and cousins so not immediate. Although my aunty is director of nursing at Cairns hospital, would she be in a position to sponsor us to move over?

Having family in Australia makes very little difference nowadays.  

My advice would be, don't delay migration.  If you want to move, get the ball rolling now not later. 
I say that because currently, nursing is on the Priority list.  I am not sure if paramedic is too, it's worth checking.  That means, if you could persuade Cairns hospital to offer one of you a job, there's a good chance you'd get an employer-sponsored visa. 

However, before Covid, there was no shortage of nurses or paramedics in Australia and it was very hard to get a visa in those occupations.  So if you wait till the pandemic has settled down, and things go back to the way they were before Covid, you may find you'll struggle to get a visa at all. 

Either way, book a consultation now with a good agent like Go Matilda or Suncoast Migration and they'll know the latest situation.

 

[Paul1Perth]

On 23/07/2021 at 16:04, Blue Flu said:

It's still a way off two or three years. Lots can happen over that time. But I've been in contact with real estate up in Cairns after viewing some desirable property in the Northern Beaches. Great price compared to prices in a similar location in Perth, but hard to compare as obviously very differerent in so many ways. I have lived in Cairns during the ninties and mostly enjoyed it . The hospital there does not have a high reputation though. Also best be aware of less desirable areas and social issues that persist. 

But when borders open, a nice international buzz, perhaps too many tourists at times but does give another demension to the city that I enjoyed. With lockdowns and the like, I couldn't get over there to view in person so missed out on the property that looked and sounded ideal. Certainlly would not purchase without sighting though. Not just the house, but neighbourhood and like. 

Good luck with your intended move to Cairns. It has quite a different vibe to elsewhere in Australia. Odd how Townsville 'down the road' is so different and less desirable IMO .  

Funnily enough I like Townsville more than Cairns.

[safarichick]

On 23/07/2021 at 18:04, Blue Flu said:

It's still a way off two or three years. Lots can happen over that time. But I've been in contact with real estate up in Cairns after viewing some desirable property in the Northern Beaches. Great price compared to prices in a similar location in Perth, but hard to compare as obviously very differerent in so many ways. I have lived in Cairns during the ninties and mostly enjoyed it . The hospital there does not have a high reputation though. Also best be aware of less desirable areas and social issues that persist. 

But when borders open, a nice international buzz, perhaps too many tourists at times but does give another demension to the city that I enjoyed. With lockdowns and the like, I couldn't get over there to view in person so missed out on the property that looked and sounded ideal. Certainlly would not purchase without sighting though. Not just the house, but neighbourhood and like. 

Good luck with your intended move to Cairns. It has quite a different vibe to elsewhere in Australia. Odd how Townsville 'down the road' is so different and less desirable IMO .  

I've lived in Townsville for four years, humidity high but not as bad as Cairns.  I wouldn't say Townsville is less desirable, we are after all closer to the Whitsundays.  Same amount of crime here and Cairns plus Townsville University Hospital is a level 5/6 specialist hospital

[Paul1Perth]

4 hours ago, safarichick said:

I've lived in Townsville for four years, humidity high but not as bad as Cairns.  I wouldn't say Townsville is less desirable, we are after all closer to the Whitsundays.  Same amount of crime here and Cairns plus Townsville University Hospital is a level 5/6 specialist hospital

Magnetic Island is brilliant too. I was there with work over a long weekend, not working. Caught the first ferry, hired a motorbike, islands surprisingly big. Found a nice beach where lots of people were swimming, took the bike back around 5:00 and went to the pub near the ferry terminal. What a brilliant atmosphere. Thought I'd only stay for a couple of beers but some guys got on guitars, started chatting to some people, got a jug or 2 and ended up on the last ferry back. Think it was about 11:00pm.

[Blue Flu]

18 hours ago, safarichick said:

I've lived in Townsville for four years, humidity high but not as bad as Cairns.  I wouldn't say Townsville is less desirable, we are after all closer to the Whitsundays.  Same amount of crime here and Cairns plus Townsville University Hospital is a level 5/6 specialist hospital

Yes Cairns Base Hospital does set off some alarm bells, I must say. I never took to Townsville but was only there for a matter of days. Where as lived in Cairns for several months in the nineties. What was attractive I guess was reasonably new builds in the northern beaches going way below Perth prices (as an example) close to beach, Palm Cove, pool and nothing needing doing. Of course whether Cairns is an ideal longer term location is something else. My partner is very wary. The crime in many suburbs is of definite concern.  Drug crime especially bothers me after recent experience. All in all finding alternatives to reside in within Australia is proving very trying. But not so unlike UK in that area.