Is there any irish thread???

[Guest MM79]

Hey everyone been on expatsforum for mths now and only jus found this site....our story so far vetassess granted 03/11..SS for SA granted 05/11...online visa lodged june 1st...pcc 06/11 and we done all our medicals yesturday:biggrin:...our 3 yr olds was sent straight away to the CO and ours will be sent in 4 workin days!!!....So its playing de waiting game again,de buyers for our house want to close de sale on sep 2nd so taking a huge risk if visas are not thru by then:frown:....

 

Hey there,

I was on expatsforum too, think i was chatting to you on it. We had our medicals on the 5th, they've all been finalised now. We are just waiting on the police clearances to come back from Australia. I think if its only the medical results your waiting on then you will defo have it way before then...When will you be heading out? You are going to SA?

Myra

[Guest murph33]

Finally booked flights, we are heading to Adelaide on the 6th October. Reality setting in, cant believe we are actually going!!...so much to organise. We are going to west lakes in Adelaide, any one have any suggestion as to a good primary school in that area, we have 6 and 8 year old girls going to school.

[Guest celticboy39]

Hey everyone my names Ruth and using my hubbys name here....we got our visas last friday de 12th and are over the moon..we only done our medicals on the 5th and cant believe how quick we got the visa!! My hubby done a SS 176 skilled migrant one...started the whole process in feb 2011 so whole process took 6mths.We close the sale of our house on sep2nd and hubby finishes work on oct 9th so hope to fly around oct 14th and we are heading to Adelaide...not picked an area yet as we will be staying wit my hubbys brother and his family till we get sorted...best of luck to you still waiting on visas and anyone heading to adelaide keep in touch plez :-)

[the coyne family]

Hi,

 

Just a word of advice regarding shipping company's. This is our story so far, The shipping company we used were not the cheapest but I found the sales lady very nice and professional (OR SO I THOUGHT) Our goods were wrapped up and taken out of our house mid may with the promise they would arrive at my door in oz by mid to late July. We were told in no uncertain terms 6 to 10 weeks door to door, its now been 13 weeks and counting.

Once I paid the fee we had no communication from the shipping company, nothing at all. I never received a receipt nor did I receive an insurance policy, thought I should as I paid over €500 for one. No one called to tell me when the container left,what ship it was on or when it would land.

As far as I was concerned my container was going to land in Brisbane as its much closer and thats what I was lead to believe, but when I rang them to see what was going on (4 weeks later) I was told it was in a container with lots of other shipments heading to Sydney and it was due to arrive on the 13th of july.

The 13th of July came and went and I heard nothing so I called the company dealing with it here in OZ and was told to wait until I revived an e mail telling me when the container will arrive in other words I was being told not to bother them. So ignoring that I called again and was told the container was delayed and would be in by the 20th of July. You guessed it, that came and went, again nothing so I was on the phone again and this time told the 27th of July, so on the 27th of July I received an e mail telling me I owed them $480 for a customs inspection fee, the shipping company in Ireland told me it would be $250 I made sure to ask about this charge on many different occasions as I didn't want to be hit with a big bill and was assured it wouldn't be much more in her words it will be aprox $250.

So at this stage i'm really p#/*&ed off and decide to e mail the company in Ireland and inform them how badly i'v been treated and to ask were my receipt is and why i'm being asked to pay nearly 50% more than I was quoted for the inspection fee. Sorry I ment to add the container hadn't even landed yet it didn't arrive till the 30th of July so needless to say I was wondering where or how they were getting this figure from.

They e mailed me back the next day saying they would look into it ASAP, two weeks passed and I heard nothing in the mean time my good's were due to be delivered on Wednesday the 3rd of august Brilliant I was delighted hubbie booked the day off work so as to be here when it arrived. Then late on the Monday before I revived a call telling me the van that was booked to take our good had mechanical trouble and couldn't do it.AHHHHHHH............:arghh:

So again I e mailed the company in Ireland and this time let rip I still haven't received a reply the customer service is just awful awful awful I'v never been treated so badly its appalling I definitely could not recommend them at all their just terrible a joke.

I still haven't received my good's I'm sick to death of it, its just a joke i'm calling every day only to be told sorry I have no one to take it to you, we're waiting on the company to get back to us, ever day i'm told i'll ring you back later and she never does I was told today it could be 2 more weeks I am getting nowhere its costing me a fortune. We are in an unfurnished rental and have been for over 6 weeks my children are sleeping on the floor my husband need's his tools for work I ended up having to go out and buy loads of stuff and the laundry situation is a joke. I just don't know what else I can do

Sorry I no I'm going on and on but really all i'm saying is be very careful about who you use as I said I can defiantly not recommend them, they lied about the charges the $250 is clearly printed on my quote and as far as the customer service goes, all they are interested in is the money soon as they have it your on your own.

If you look back at my posts you can see who they are or you can PM me and i'll tell you.

[DannyCoyles]

Sounds like a nightmare, nothing worse that waiting and getting no response. We used http://www.mcgimpseys.com/ we had no problems at all with them.

[Guest gill1362]

Who did u use Coyne family? Name and shame!

[Guest boots]

Oh guys, my heart goes out to ye....its an awful situation to be in.....yes as Danny says it is nightmare stuff...is there any way you could threaten legal action????? We should be over in Perth in January and after reading your post, there is not a chance in hell I would get that company to even quote me.

Good luck

Becks :hug:

[Guest celticboy39]

You have not said who you used...??? My brother-in-law used "careline" and had an awful expierence with them so we avoided them,we have booked a crowd called AMCremovals but have not handed any money over yet its costing us 5,250 euro for a 20ft container,so if its them plez tell before we go ahead!! They are booked for 31st aug and told us it would take between 6-8 weeks and we dont fly till mid october so hoping we wont be waiting too long in adelaide for it!

[Guest Jonny Andy]

Hi Guys,

We, that is the missus and I along with two kids boy 9 & wee girl 4 intend to move from Donegal to Perth in April 2012, got my skilled 176 visa on the 12 Aug 2011, Mechanical Fitter by trade. Wondering should we go to the bother of shipping a 20ft container for 5k or use the 5k to buy stuff.The container won't hold very much I think?. P.S. Any contacts for Mechanical Fitter 20yrs exp in both heavy mobile plant and fixed plant.

:confused:

[SineadFoley]

Guys how come shipping costing so much for 20ft? Thats half container no? Have a look at thread Irish perth 2011 i think cheaper quotes than 5000. Ive got quotes online with amc €3180 for 450CuFt and Careline for €2228 for 350CuFt and RAS for €3870 for 500 CuFt. Good few others on the tread got similar quotes. We are moving in May 2012 to perth myself husband and daughter 8, others moving sooner in Oct/Nov. Not sure which company the Coyne family used but have heard bad reports about Careline ~ bit funny considering their name eh!

[DannyCoyles]

Hi Guys,

We, that is the missus and I along with two kids boy 9 & wee girl 4 intend to move from Donegal to Perth in April 2012, got my skilled 176 visa on the 12 Aug 2011, Mechanical Fitter by trade. Wondering should we go to the bother of shipping a 20ft container for 5k or use the 5k to buy stuff.The container won't hold very much I think?. P.S. Any contacts for Mechanical Fitter 20yrs exp in both heavy mobile plant and fixed plant.

:confused:

 

It’s hard to know what to bring and something that everyone debates. We didn’t have furniture worth bringing so our decision was easy, we just took all the personal items, it fitted into about 10 of those 3ft tall boxes that all the shipping companies use. The only bulky item we took was a cot and that was only because a close friend gave it to us and we couldn’t part with it. Even books and DVD are worth bringing, they help with the settling in period. If you have kids they will love seeing their things again when they arrive.

Some things that we left and just had to bin as no-one wanted them (In 2007 before things went downhill, we now get asked all the time by family what we done with things as they can’t afford to buy new) even charity shops, like kitchen items and tools have cost us a fortune to replace and wouldn’t have cost much extra to bring. An extra box at £75 at the time.

In terms of furniture, if you have good stuff it will cost more than 5k to replace it. But it depends on the type of furniture you have and will that be suitable for the style of house you want here, hard to say I know. Our neighbours are from Newcastle (England) and there house was 103 years old. They moved their furniture into a brand new modern open plan house and it just didn’t work. We have Scottish friends that shipped modern furniture but they are building a really modern house and have to replace it all!

If you have an idea where you want to live and the style of house you would like just go through the property websites and see how they are furnished that will give you an idea. I would say if you are going to be in an area with older houses with more character than modern homes and have furniture that fits, bring it with you, it can be expensive to buy that sort of stuff here.

[the coyne family]

It seems I'm not the only one having trouble with this particular CAREless company.

My husband spoke with them last night, we will see if things progress if not I think legal action could be on the cards.

As regards what to bring, I think it depends on what you have and how attached you are to it we shipped almost everything apart from my sofa fridge and dishwasher we had to leave them as we rented our house.

Furniture here is'nt as expensive as I thought, you can get a decent package starting from about $1300 depending on the quality your looking for, try Fantastic Furniture or Super Amart. http://www.superamart.com/home/product_list_DB.asp?CategoryID=8

White good's are more expensive. We rented a top load washing machine for the first few weeks it was great, I gave it back 3 weeks ago as I thought mine was on its way, so unless your washing machine is new or nearly new, don't bring it, mine is fairly new so we shipped it, my poor hands will be raw with all the hand washing by the time it gets here.

Also stick a few 4 way sockets, coat hangers and if you have young children plastic sheets into your luggage they come in really handy.

 

Maria.

[Guest Crosby Family]

Hi Guys,

We, that is the missus and I along with two kids boy 9 & wee girl 4 intend to move from Donegal to Perth in April 2012, got my skilled 176 visa on the 12 Aug 2011, Mechanical Fitter by trade. Wondering should we go to the bother of shipping a 20ft container for 5k or use the 5k to buy stuff.The container won't hold very much I think?. P.S. Any contacts for Mechanical Fitter 20yrs exp in both heavy mobile plant and fixed plant.

:confused:

Jonny Andy,

I got quotes from various companys if you like i can pm them to you, I did it for a few on Irish People Perth Bound Thread , Booked a container sharing a 20 ft 500 cubic feet with ace removals

Muriel

[Guest Jonny Andy]

It seems I'm not the only one having trouble with this particular CAREless company.

My husband spoke with them last night, we will see if things progress if not I think legal action could be on the cards.

As regards what to bring, I think it depends on what you have and how attached you are to it we shipped almost everything apart from my sofa fridge and dishwasher we had to leave them as we rented our house.

Furniture here is'nt as expensive as I thought, you can get a decent package starting from about $1300 depending on the quality your looking for, try Fantastic Furniture or Super Amart. http://www.superamart.com/home/product_list_DB.asp?CategoryID=8

White good's are more expensive. We rented a top load washing machine for the first few weeks it was great, I gave it back 3 weeks ago as I thought mine was on its way, so unless your washing machine is new or nearly new, don't bring it, mine is fairly new so we shipped it, my poor hands will be raw with all the hand washing by the time it gets here.

Also stick a few 4 way sockets, coat hangers and if you have young children plastic sheets into your luggage they come in really handy.

 

Maria.

Thanks Maria. That would be great, all this info makes for good planning!

[Guest Jonny Andy]

Thanks Muriel, good stuff. I think alot of people benifit from these threads.

[Guest celticboy39]

ok coyne family im reading between the lines and thinking you used careline which is the nightmare company my brother used,we are defo going for amcremovals which for a 20 ft container is costing us 5250 euro and others quoted us up as far as 6000 euro,some told us adelaides port taxes are very exspensive but sure i dont no how true that is,we have them booked for 2 weeks time 31st aug and are shipping it straight away so hopefully wen we arrive mid october we wont be waitin 2 long on it!!

[Vindee2011]

Hi everyone.

A newbie here, hoping to join ye. Myself and DH and 2 young boys hoping to make the big move to Perth. Only starting process at the moment. The whole visa applications (lodging & granting) seems to be getting quicker, am I right? We are hoping to get over in the new year of 2012, as kids start school term in February in Perth.

We rather, and like, the North suburbs of Perth, have friends in Butler and a cousin in the city, and Im sure alot others we would actually know over there. We like Joondalup, Currambine, Quinns etc.

 

Been trying to contact Liz O'Hagan, but read in different forums she might be off on maternity leave. Any other assessors recommended here? Would it be possible to do the process ourselves? Or would that be delaying it up?

[SineadFoley]

Hi Vindee2011,

Sorry cant help you regarding assessors on here, we used an agent, Visa first who assessed us for free and told us what visa we could apply for, although we used Visa first as our agent then afterwards to process visa, you dont have to you could just do it yourself if your confidant enough re the paper work etc. Our Visa process started in late March and we recieved our visa mid Aug. Not sure if the Visa offices are going to be as quick as I think there was a big push on to deal with those who applied pre July changes. We are also planning on going to North Perth also as we have family in Ellenbrook, are thinking of heading out in late May/June. You will get lots of tips on here if you decide to do application yourself so dont worry. What visa are you thinking of applying for? What is your occupation and do you have trade papers or will you need to do an assessment? Good luck and ask as many questions as you like most of us do be on this (PIO) more than facebook!

Sinead

[Guest Hano]

Hi everyone.

A newbie here, hoping to join ye. Myself and DH and 2 young boys hoping to make the big move to Perth. Only starting process at the moment. The whole visa applications (lodging & granting) seems to be getting quicker, am I right? We are hoping to get over in the new year of 2012, as kids start school term in February in Perth.

We rather, and like, the North suburbs of Perth, have friends in Butler and a cousin in the city, and Im sure alot others we would actually know over there. We like Joondalup, Currambine, Quinns etc.

 

Been trying to contact Liz O'Hagan, but read in different forums she might be off on maternity leave. Any other assessors recommended here? Would it be possible to do the process ourselves? Or would that be delaying it up?

 

Hi there vindee, myself, partner & 15 month old boy are also hoping to be heading Perth direction in the new year. We're just starting the whole process also. I'm a nurse so just getting bits together at mo to get skills assessed, I've ielts exam next Sat :'( It seems to be taking 4 to 6 months for most people, which isn't bad eh. We're using agents, I think its probably achievable to do it on your own but we want to get out there sooner rather than later so would b afraid of making a mistake and delaying the whole process!! Liz ohagan is on mat leave alrite. We're using visa first, based in kilkenny but think they hav office in Dublin also. Phone no is 0567770227. Best of luck.

Karen x

P.S there's a thread under western Australia titled Irish people Perth bound, all very helpful on it, gotten some great advice from the gang on it. Hth :jiggy:

[Vindee2011]

Thanks Sinead & Karen,

Vista First was another we were looking at alright. Thanks Karen for that number, will give them a buzz.

 

Would you recommend them / would you say they are worth the money?

Yes, we'd also like a quick application process and dont mind using the advisor to ensure a speedy timeframe. We've only found a couple of these assossors though; are there any directory listing of them in Ireland that we could choose from do you know?

 

You are doing an ielts exam - whats that? so much to learn about how to get there.

 

I dont suppose any one has a list of steps to take, what to do, in what order and what documents that are needed? We would settle for the 457 visa by DH and family travel on that, (cause its seems quick) but hear that the full 176 visa can be got in short time frame (3 mths?).

 

Thanks for the help, its much appreciated. :confused:

[Guest gill1362]

Hi Vindee - IELTS is an English language exam you have to sit and from the samples I've seen it doesn't look like a walk in the park! We are using Liz O Hagan for our visa - she may be on mat leave but she's obviously left the office in capable hands as we find them brilliant - they will tell u straight off if they think you have a realistic chance of being successful in your visa application and they are great at hounding u for paperwork!They will let u know what u need paperwork wise. From what I know u have more entitlements on the 176 such as child benefit and from what I see the 176 visas are being processed in as quick as 6 months at the minute

[SineadFoley]

Hi Vindee,

 

I would recomend visa first alright we applied for 176 in late March which is state sponsored PR visa, my husband needed to do a vetassess assessment and we also had to lodge prior to the July 2011 points change. Longest part of the process was waiting for results from vetassess bout 3 wks. Other than that gave us a itemised list of all documents we needed and applications when we paid for the visa pack cant remember now but think was €50. We just filled in application got the documents they requested and they done the rest. Police checks took a few days and meds about 10 days.

I also agree with Gill think you should look into 176 think it may be a better option, as not tied to so much like place of work, areas to live etc

[Guest Crosby Family]

Thanks Muriel, good stuff. I think alot of people benifit from these threads.

Just pm you the quotes for the containers, sorry it took me so long was in Dublin for our wedding annivasary for the weekend and our last IL Divo concert in Ireland, only catching up now.

Muriel

[Guest celticboy39]

Hi my names Ruth and me and hubby and 2 kids jus got our 176 visa and move out of house in a week and a half and hubby finishes work oct 9th so will be flying to Adelaide oct 13th,stopping in hong-kong for 4 days en-route....plez keep in touch and we can all meet up in oz!!

[Guest celticboy39]

Hi vindee we used Liz for inital consultation and she is brilliant jus very very hard to get,but only spoke to her last week wen we got our visa so keep trying she is one of the few agents who is actually registered in oz too,she is australian herself!