France

[Guest Lourdes]

Anyone leaving Oz and looking to go back to Europe - we are selling a lovely detached farmhouse - only two hours from ferry port to south of england - very cheap to buy a house in France, lots of expats and lots of english speaking friendly french people. Just thought i'd mention it just in case..............

[Taz2008]

Just thought I would say Bonjour to you...:biggrin:

 

Good luck with selling your house! Is the market moving where you are? We are in Brittany and will soon be putting our house on the market too, just have to finish off the renovations first though!

 

What stage are you in the visa process? Have you had a nightmare getting the paperwork sorted? Its all a bit tricky with getting everything translated hey!

 

Best wishes

 

Tasha

[Guest Lourdes]

Hi Tasha, right at the beginning for us, just waiting for the TRA response. I am really surprised how many people are making the move from France. We've loved it here but time for a bit more sunshine and a change of scene. You look like you are well on the way..... where in Brittany are you?

[Taz2008]

Hi Tasha, right at the beginning for us, just waiting for the TRA response. I am really surprised how many people are making the move from France. We've loved it here but time for a bit more sunshine and a change of scene. You look like you are well on the way..... where in Brittany are you?

 

We feel the same, have loved it here for the last 8 years but its time to move on. Great place to bring up the children but now its a worry what they will do here when the grow up. We also want some heat as its far too cold here at times.

 

We are in the Cotes d'Armor region... what about you? What visa are you applying for? We are going for the 176 visa with QLD state sponsor.

 

Tasha:wubclub:

[Guest Lourdes]

Fingers crossed, once TRA has come back positive, we are going for the 121 ENS. Can't do anything more until we hear back though. Husband was lucky enough to be offered a job in Victoria. Nail biting times.

[Taz2008]

Wow, how great is that. We don't think it will be that easy to get a sponsor, but once we have the house finished and if we are no further forward then we might try that option.

 

Can I ask what trade you are?

 

Good luck with your TRA result. Do let us know how you get on with it.

 

Tasha

[Guest Rouge]

Bonsoir to you both, hope you don't mind me gatecrashing this posting, we too live in France, Brittany (Morbihan) & are thinking about making the move to Aus, Tasmania! We've been here 6.5 years, love our property etc but have the same worries as you Taz2008 with our son, plus I want to get back into work & not many opportunities for me either, time for a change!

 

As you 2 are both further along than we are I was wandering if I could pick you brains? My OH is a Carpenter, unqualified but been in the job forever!! I understand that he has to do the TRA assessment which looks quite costly, where did you guys get yours done & which company did you use, also did you have to go back to the UK to do it? Also could you give me an idea on overall costs for the Visa, we'll probably use an agent? We aren't going to start the process until we've had our reccie, just in case Aus / Tas isn't for us - I think it will be (praying it will be:angel_happy_face_ha!) Also have our house to finish whilst visa going through!

 

Any pointers / info greatly appreciated!:smile:

[Guest Lourdes]

I am by no means an expert but to my knowledge it your husband is on the TRA list, you have to follow all the instructions on their website and guidance notes and post it over to Australia. It cost us 300 dollars for the assessment (i think about 184 euros) plus about 35 euros per A4 sheet of paper that had to be a certified translation of french registration papers (KBIS), factures for equipment purchased and other info, in all i think we supplied about ten certified translations, plus references and proof of who we are. We haven't had a reply yet so can't say that we did it right! Hopefully will know this week. We didn't use an agent as we hoped we could do it ourselves - don't know how much an agent would cost. Getting certified copies of passports etc was really easy as the local mayor stamped and verified everything for us. Visa wise, don't know exactly but roughly i think the visa we are going for is about 2000 dollars, plus medicals, xrays and police checks - i do know that the police checks in France are free but we also have to get some from the UK which are 35 GPB per adult. Don't know the exact price of medicals yet as we are waiting to hear back from the TRA first, i know there are some places on the panel list in Paris and Toulouse. Hope that helps a bit.

Where abouts are you in Morbihan? We may even know you as its such a small world in Brittany.

[Taz2008]

I am no expert either, but from what I understand, as your trade is Carpenter, you need to get it assessed by Vetassess and not the TRA like my hubby did as a plasterer.

 

Recently there have been some changes to the Vetassess but I am not sure what as we did not have to be assessed by them we are not sure of their procedures.

 

I have posted a link to the website of an agent who posts regularly on PiO and seems very good with providing information; www.gomatilda.com They have a news page and highlight any recent changes to the immigration process. I know that there have been some recent changes to the vetassess, such as; Go Matilda - Your Gateway to Australia - News

 

Also check out the vetassess website; Applying for a trade occupation - VETASSESS

 

You also need to check out the DIAC website to make sure you are eligible to apply for a visa; Department of Immigration & Citizenship

 

With the recent changes to the Vetasses you might need to have a qualification in Carpentry. I notice you said your OH does not have any qualifications. There is a way that you can get his work assessed and then he will be issued with an AQF III Australian qualification. My hubby did this with his plastering, as even though he had a qualification he did not have enough college hours to get through the pathway needed, so we had a company come to France and asses his work and issue him with this qualification and we passed the TRA through a different pathway. Let me know if you decide to go this route and I will give you the details of the company who came and issued him with the AQF III.

 

Many agents will give you a brief overview as to whether you are able to get a visa or not and I would advise you contact them to point you in the right direction, as it is very complicated when you first start out with the process. You can then decide if you need an agent or not. We have used one as we felt it would ease the process and ensure that we had done everything right to enable us to get a visa easily.

 

So far we have paid out £6000 on this visa process. That was to get the AQF III, pay for the TRA and also for our agent. Its a lot of money! Hopefully will be worthwhile in the end! )

 

Hope this helps a little.

 

Tasha:wubclub:

[Taz2008]

Hopefully will know this week.

 

Good luck with your TRA results... let me know how you get on! I have my fingers crossed for you. x

[Guest Rouge]

Thanks for the info guys, I think we'd be going down the 175 route, I had a look on the links you supplied & looks like we're eligible for a Visa :smile:, plus should be fine on points but it looks like the OH will have to gain the AQF III qualification & that as we're based in France not the UK go via the TRA not Vetassess, although I noticed Plasterer would be the same so maybe I've got it wrong!? Could you pass on the details of the company you used Tasha for the AQF III test please? Think we will use an agent but the costs are scary :eek:!

 

We're about 40 mins North of Lorient, don't think I know anyone from the Charente? Good luck with your TRA results!

[Taz2008]

Rouge

 

Here is another useful link for you; Carpenter 4411-13 - Australian Skills Recognition Information

 

I had a quick look and am not sure if you would be assessed by the TRA or by Vetasses. I would ask an agent to advise you on this.

 

The company we used to gain the AQF III was ACTS UK and they came over to us in France, so am sure they would not mind coming over to see you. If your OH is confident in his job he will not need to worry about getting the Qualification, they come over and view work he has done and will want to see lots of references.

 

The contact details are: Peter Hodges, Mobile: +44 (0) 7975681641

- Email; peter.hodges@tradetrain.com.au

 

ACTS UK | Welcome to Trade Train

 

They are a great bunch of guys at ACTs and really helpful. In fact if you are confused about the TRA or Vetasses route they may even be able to advise you! If you do contact them, would you kindly say hello from us (Gary and Natasha, the Plasterer in France!) they will remember us I am sure!

 

Good luck with it and if you need any other help then let us know.

 

Tasha :wubclub:

[Guest CHARLIE1212]

hi there a friend has sent me this link ,we have an agent dealing with our process but things have changed in the last week carpenters have now been taken off the list ,my husband was due to do vetasses ,on an independant visa..so we either have to wait and hope things change or try to get a job and get sponsered ...we live in malguenac near pontivy 56 and also we still need to sell our house..its a nightmare as we are in limbo !!!!

[Taz2008]

hi there a friend has sent me this link ,we have an agent dealing with our process but things have changed in the last week carpenters have now been taken off the list ,my husband was due to do vetasses ,on an independant visa..so we either have to wait and hope things change or try to get a job and get sponsered ...we live in malguenac near pontivy 56 and also we still need to sell our house..its a nightmare as we are in limbo !!!!

 

Hi Charlie

 

Welcome to the PiO forum, its nice to see another person who is currently in France going through the same process.

 

What state was you applying to? Who's list have you been taken off??? Do you mean the removal of the MODL? It is possible you might be on the new SOL list but you wont know that until they introduce it. I think that comes out in April and then will be used from the new immigration year 1/7/10.

 

We feel in limbo too, its not nice at all. We seem to have been waiting ages now and seen many changes to this process. Mainly bad changes too.

 

I hope things start looking up for you soon.

 

Tasha

[Guest CHARLIE1212]

we are looking at wa perth ..we just had a call from our agent to say 15 points had come off the points as carpenters were taken off our list?? yes its modl ..so we are sitting tight and waiting for them to advise us next step ...have you anydefinate dates to go yet ..have you sold in brittany ???

thanks for the contact x

[Guest trike pilot tom]

hi hope you don,t mind me gate crashing this posting as well. Im just starting the paper work for the move etc. Im in the mayenne north France. Any tips are welcome.

Thanks Tom.

[Taz2008]

we are looking at wa perth ..we just had a call from our agent to say 15 points had come off the points as carpenters were taken off our list?? yes its modl ..so we are sitting tight and waiting for them to advise us next step ...have you anydefinate dates to go yet ..have you sold in brittany ???

thanks for the contact x

 

No, we dont have a visa yet, still waiting and could now be waiting until 2012 before they even look at our visa application now. We were on a critical list and then taken off it, we then gained state sponsor to give us priority again but since getting that they changed the processing priorities again... hence now not having our application looked at until 2012!

 

The government made more changes on 8th Feb which meant they were going to scrap the MODL and there are lots of people in your position now.

 

It probably is worth waiting a few months to see what happens with the new SOL which is coming out in April, although your trade is on the WA state list at the moment and you could possibly bump your points up by going this route. You only need 100 points to get the 176 visa which is the same as the 175 only difference is that you have to stay in the state you applied for for 2 years which is not a problem for you if you want to be in Perth anyway!

 

Your agent should have advised you on this route, although I must warn you its a very slow route as the waiting list for getting state sponsor is about 6 months at the moment! They are also going to produce a new State Plan list and if you are on this list then you could be prioritised quicker, but this list is not going to be published probably for another few months yet!

 

Personally, I would speak to your agent about the 176 State Sponsor route and see if you are eligible for it! At least the process will be started!

 

There are many threads on PiO which will help you understand the processing of visas and timescales. I must warn you though, it can become very addictive!:laugh:

 

Also you should read about the recent changes on; http://www.pomsinoz.com/forum/migration-issues/78393-changes-modl-8-feb-2010-a.html

 

Hope this helps a little.

 

Is it snowing there today? We have had loads of snow today. The roads are really dangerous!

 

Take Care

Tasha x

[Taz2008]

hi hope you don,t mind me gate crashing this posting as well. Im just starting the paper work for the move etc. Im in the mayenne north France. Any tips are welcome.

Thanks Tom.

 

Hi Tom

 

You are more than welcome to gate crash... not sure I can tell you anymore than I have just posted...

 

What trade are you in?

 

Looks like a lot of us are trying to get out of France now! We are just so fed up with all the paperwork & cotisation charges here. What about you???

 

Tasha:wubclub:

[Guest Rouge]

Hi Charlie1212, you aren't far from us, less than an hour I believe! I just read this news on another forum, it doesn't look good! This will effect us too as we won't have enough points either, on an independent visa :arghh:!

 

On another note re Vetasses / TRAquery I had earlier on, I contacted an agent to ask them about this & they told me that as we are French resident we have to go via the TRA, as the DIAC may not accept a Vetassess assessment (due to our residency in France not the UK) & would insist on getting a TRA assessment, so in our case my OH has to gain qualifications - the AQF III, as this is a TRA requirement (Hope that makes sense!). But this is now irrelevant if we don't have enough points!!!!

 

Lets all keep our fingers crossed:angel_happy_face_ha!!!

[Guest trike pilot tom]

Hi im a Carpenter / Joiner. I dident know about Carpentry being taken off the list! Thats not good news.

[Guest trike pilot tom]

PS and yea the paper work and all the charges in France have made me start the move to Aus.

Tom.

[Guest CHARLIE1212]

us to been here 6 years ,cotisations etc are a big problem ..never be rich in france ...great for kids but enough now ...just gutted aas want to get moving asap but these changes are causing big problems !!!

[Taz2008]

Hi Charlie1212, you aren't far from us, less than an hour I believe! I just read this news on another forum, it doesn't look good! This will effect us too as we won't have enough points either, on an independent visa :arghh:!

 

On another note re Vetasses / TRAquery I had earlier on, I contacted an agent to ask them about this & they told me that as we are French resident we have to go via the TRA, as the DIAC may not accept a Vetassess assessment (due to our residency in France not the UK) & would insist on getting a TRA assessment, so in our case my OH has to gain qualifications - the AQF III, as this is a TRA requirement (Hope that makes sense!). But this is now irrelevant if we don't have enough points!!!!

 

Lets all keep our fingers crossed:angel_happy_face_ha!!!

 

Are you sure you dont have enough points???

 

If you go State Sponsor route on the 176 visa you only need 100 points, and the SS gives you 10 points too, if I remember rightly!

 

Also if you are still too low on the points you can take the IELTS test (English test) as this will also bump up your points.

 

Why don't you try ringing Peter Hodges from ACTS UK at the number I gave above, he may also be able to confirm to you if you need the TRA or the Vetassess.

 

I hope you are able to move on and not stuck at this stage with the new changes that have come out!

 

Tasha

[Guest Rouge]

Hi Tom, yes all MODL's have been cancelled but Carpenter is still on the SOL for the moment & hopefully it'll still be on there in April (fingers crossed).

 

Just totted up our points again after your post Tasha & we would be in the Pool Mark for an Independent (100 points) as you need 120 for a Pass Mark - but we would pass as a 176 Skilled Sponsered (pass= 100, pool= 80), however I think we would have to have a job offer in Taz to get the 176.

 

We've not started the paperwork as yet, just still researching as the OH wants to wait until we've been to Aus to see if we like it (September time!) before starting the paperwork & paying out lots of money - I want to start now as am worried if we leave it we'll miss the boat!! I think we are all in the same boat living & working in France with the charges! We're sick to death of them!!!

 

We've got snow too!

[Taz2008]

us to been here 6 years ,cotisations etc are a big problem ..never be rich in france ...great for kids but enough now ...just gutted aas want to get moving asap but these changes are causing big problems !!!

 

We have been here 8 years now and it has been fantastic bringing the kids up here, I would not have changed it and would still have made the move over here. I just worry that now the kids are getting older there is not much for them to do here and when they are old enough they would probably end up moving to the UK as there is more happening there!

 

I would much rather we all make the move now to the warmth and where there is more happening... I have started to feel older than my time here... and now I want to liven my life up a little:wub:

 

Tasha