Guest StuMagill Posted December 10, 2011 Share Posted December 10, 2011 Hi everyone Im new to the forum, and joined because im seriously looking into moving to australia. Before i ask a tonne of question i apologise as I know they have probably been asked 100s of times before but trying to scroll through all the theads is a nightmare I am a complete newbe to all this and need all the help i can get, if any of u could help me with getting started that would be great. As the construction market is terrible in the UK, my girlfriend and I are wanting to move to australia in serach of work. I have a degree in Building surveying and my girlfriend has a degree in Architecture. What sort of visas should we be looking at and how long do they take to complete and be finalised? Obviously we will go where we find work, but is there any sites that allow u to apply for jobs in australia to start in maybe 6 months time to give u time to move, or is it better to move somewhere first then look for the jobs? Any advice on accomodation would be great, rental companies, advice on length of leases, typical rental prices for a one bed apartment? How much more expensive is the cost of living? just so i can gage what would be a decent salary Any other advice like setting up new bank accounts, phones etc would also be much appreciated. Sorry to be a pain because I know so little! Thanks Stuart Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 10, 2011 Share Posted December 10, 2011 The quickest route I think is the 176 state sponsored visa, 1 of you would be the main applicant and the other secondary, its roughly 8 months to a year and involves possibly taking an IELTS english test and getting your skills assessed, decide who the main applicant is by doing a points test on diac's site under the 176, You need to look at each states migration plan and see which skill is in demand still and also where you want to live most. Commonwealth bank do a london transfer account and sets up an account for you House prices are pretty high but sounds like you could design and build you own! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest31881 Posted December 10, 2011 Share Posted December 10, 2011 Hi everyone Im new to the forum, and joined because im seriously looking into moving to australia. Before i ask a tonne of question i apologise as I know they have probably been asked 100s of times before but trying to scroll through all the theads is a nightmare I am a complete newbe to all this and need all the help i can get, if any of u could help me with getting started that would be great. As the construction market is terrible in the UK, my girlfriend and I are wanting to move to australia in serach of work. I have a degree in Building surveying and my girlfriend has a degree in Architecture. What sort of visas should we be looking at and how long do they take to complete and be finalised? Obviously we will go where we find work, but is there any sites that allow u to apply for jobs in australia to start in maybe 6 months time to give u time to move, or is it better to move somewhere first then look for the jobs? Any advice on accomodation would be great, rental companies, advice on length of leases, typical rental prices for a one bed apartment? How much more expensive is the cost of living? just so i can gage what would be a decent salary Any other advice like setting up new bank accounts, phones etc would also be much appreciated. Sorry to be a pain because I know so little! Thanks Stuart First off I would suggest looking at on line visa assessment like the ones done by "Go Matilda" and "Visa Bureau" you can google those companies and do an on line assessment. They will normally contact you and tell you what your best option is for a visa. You can then decide if you are going to use an agent or go the DIY route. Salery is normally accpted that you need 2.2 times your Uk salery to live to the same standard of living, so if you earn £40000 your Australian salary would need to be $88,000. That is just a rough guide. Cost of living will depend where you end up living. Sydney is very expensive (In my opinion) So you will need to do your homework and decide what sort of place you wnt to live in. Remember that Australia is a huge country (Europe will easily fit in there and space to spare) so there should be somewhere that will suit you. Dont worry about accomodation untill your well into your visa application and you have some idea where you want to live and then you can get advice about housing. Good luck with your visa journey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lebourvellec Posted December 10, 2011 Share Posted December 10, 2011 How old are you and your girlfriend? If you are 30 or under, the best place that you can should start with would be a WHV, you can work for 1 employer for upto 6 months, you would be able to see a bit of Australia and find out which city you like etc, if you were working for an employer who is willing to sponsor you could get sponsored for 457 visa from your WHV. Alternitively you could apply for jobs here and try to get out to AUstralia on Employer Sponsored visa (most likely 457), or apply for GSM visa - 175 or 176SS (depending on number of points you have 175 visa may be best for you, as gives you the flexibility to work anywhere in Australia, but it does take alot longer to process, 176SS visa is sponsored by the state that you agree to live and work in for 2 years, this is processed alot faster but it does not have the flexibility of the 175). You need to pass the points test for GSM visas - http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/general-skilled-migration/pdf/points-fact.pdf If you go down the GSM route you will probably have to do the IELTS test. But as it has been sugessted speaking to RMA - that can go through your options for you, regarding visas - points, work experiance. As for bank accounts, they can be easily set up once your get to Australia - you can shop around for the best deal (banks not free in AUs - some charge for withdrawels, account keeping fees etc). Mobiles - easy to get pay as you go deal to start, you can get some good deals (vodafone for example - top up $29 get $150 worth of credit). As got the other things dont worry until you get your visas sorted, but generally wages are quite good in Australia, but cost of living is more than UK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Claire101 Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 Hi Stuart We were in the same boat - my husband is a Building Services Engineer and was made redundant last year so has had to go self-employed and pick up contract work ever since yet his skills are massively in demand in Oz! We have just lodged our application for the general skilled migration 175 visa after getting his skills assessed by Engineers Australia and sitting the IELTS test (to get extra points for superior English language ability!). We chose the 175 visa because it gives you permanent residency and you can live and work anywhere in Oz, as already mentioned it takes a bit longer to process than the state sponsored 176 but you do get the added flexibility. The first step is to read the immigration website, and re-read until it starts making sense!! Once you get your head around the visa types etc. then the threads on here will make more sense too! Be warned though, it's not a cheap process... our visa has cost around £3k so far and we've still got medicals and police checks to go. My understanding is that you will struggle to get a job without being out there unless it's a job that comes with a sponsored visa and relocation package, but you check out salaries on www.seek.au and follow the 2.2AUD to £1 rule. Hope that helps! Claire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest StuMagill Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 Sorrys guys, my girlfriend and I are both 23 so hopefully age shouldnt be a problem. the 176 or 175 visa is what most people are telling me, how do you go about applying for this without using an agency? can u download them from the australian site? and again, the points system and IELTS tests, do you take them sepaeratly or are they part of the visa process? if you take them separatly how do u go about doing this? claire, did your visas cost 3k each or between you two? what is the official immigration site? theres so many thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lebourvellec Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 Sorrys guys, my girlfriend and I are both 23 so hopefully age shouldnt be a problem. the 176 or 175 visa is what most people are telling me, how do you go about applying for this without using an agency? can u download them from the australian site? and again, the points system and IELTS tests, do you take them sepaeratly or are they part of the visa process? if you take them separatly how do u go about doing this? claire, did your visas cost 3k each or between you two? what is the official immigration site? theres so many thanks If you are both only 23, and havent been to Australia before - a WHV would be you best place to start - its cheap and quick to get, once in Australia and you have work, if company is willing you could get employer sponsored visa, or (if you are willing to do 3 months specified work in regional area you can get a 2nd WHV). http://www.immi.gov.au/visitors/working-holiday/417/ You get max points for age at 25, also the amount of years work experience is also assessed, you need minimum of 12 months in 24 months before applying, and if partner occupation is assessed for the 5 points for partner skills (if both occupations ar on same SOL), they need 2 years of work experiance. Also with you and your partner are on same visa application - you will need to prove that you have been in a defacto relationship for 12 months before applying, this can mean showing evidence E.g. of living together, if not living together reason why not, statements from friends and family members, joint bank accounts, bills, car insurance in same names,,photos, travel docs from holidays together , Wills, each other as the benificiary. Official DIAC site is immi.gov.au Before you start it would be wise to speak to a Migration Agent to run through your options, many give inital assessment free. Also after 1 Jul 2012, Skillselect - (Expression of Interest and invitation to apply for 175 & 176 visas), first invitations not until Jan 2013. Be aware that many of these skills assessments can take months (ours took 4 months) to get, and if you dont get application in before 30 Jun2012 - after that you are in competition with everyone with same occupation as you and only higest points will be invited. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest StuMagill Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 what would happen if i got the working visa and wanted to a) work with the same employer for over 6 months and b) would like to stay in australia for more than 12 months? thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lebourvellec Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 what would happen if i got the working visa and wanted to a) work with the same employer for over 6 months and b) would like to stay in australia for more than 12 months? thanks a) get employer to sponsor you for 457 b) get employer to sponsor you for 457 or PR (after 2 years working on 457, employer can sponsor for PR), or do the 3 months regional work, or apply for GSM visa. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Claire101 Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 Hi Stuart One of you becomes the main visa applicant (whoever has the most points usually) and the other is included on that visa so the cost is for one visa for the two of you. Before you can apply for a 175 or 176 you need to have your skills assessed by the relevant authority, Engineers Australia in our case, and they will also dictate whether or not you need to sit the IELTS. We weren't required to do the IELTS but we needed to boost our points so sat it anyway. By the way, our skills assessment only took a week! Once you've done that and checked that you have at least 65 points, then you can apply on-line - we did our application ourselves, without a migration agent, as our circumstances were straight forward (married couple, no dependents etc.). I found Booklet 6 (downloadable from www.immi.gov.au) really helpful, you can assess the number of points you have and check that you've got all the necessary paperwork in place before you lodge your application. Like I said, you have to do the reading, there's no other way to get your head around it all unfortunately! Feel free to ask any other questions you have though. Cheers, Claire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest StuMagill Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 Thanks everyone so the $7000 aus dollars for a 175 or 176 visa would be for the both of us? where and how do u start the skill assessments and IELTS tests? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Claire101 Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 For your skills assessment have a look here: http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/general-skilled-migration/more-information-gsm.htm Once you've ascertained the assessing authority then visit their website for more information and fees. The IELTS website will give you details of your nearest college then you book the test through the college, just be sure to check whether you need to do the General or Academic test! Assuming you're both UK passport holders then you only pay the first instalment of the visa fee, the second payment is for non-english speaker only so from memory the cost is 2,960AUD but you also have to pay for your skills assessment, IELTS, getting document certified etc. so it ends up around the £3k mark all in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lebourvellec Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 By the way, our skills assessment only took a week! . Engineers Australia can be fast IF you degree is under Washington Accord, unfortunatly my OH degree was not Engineers Australia say it will take 16 weeks for assessment and they took the whole 16 weeks!! A Building Surveyor (Building Inspector - 312113 or Building Associate - 312112, as per RICS) - needs to be assessed by Vetassess which will take at least 12-16 weeks, as this occupation is on SOL 2, you will require state sponsorship to proceed for 176SS visa. http://www.rics.org/site/scripts/documents_info.aspx?categoryID=808&documentID=925&pageNumber=1 Architect on SOL 1, assessing authority AACA - state it takes 15 weeks for skills assessment. Since both occupations on different SOL - you will not be able to claim partner points. Contact an Agent for a full assessment of your case before you proceed, we spoke to an agent before we started process, who said that we had a straight forward case therefore we did it alone. I had been to Australia on WHV and was sponsored for 457, therefore going for PR visa was only option for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ar. Sehmi Posted April 4, 2020 Share Posted April 4, 2020 On 11/12/2011 at 04:44, lebourvellec said: How old are you and your girlfriend? If you are 30 or under, the best place that you can should start with would be a WHV, you can work for 1 employer for upto 6 months, you would be able to see a bit of Australia and find out which city you like etc, if you were working for an employer who is willing to sponsor you could get sponsored for 457 visa from your WHV. Alternitively you could apply for jobs here and try to get out to AUstralia on Employer Sponsored visa (most likely 457), or apply for GSM visa - 175 or 176SS (depending on number of points you have 175 visa may be best for you, as gives you the flexibility to work anywhere in Australia, but it does take alot longer to process, 176SS visa is sponsored by the state that you agree to live and work in for 2 years, this is processed alot faster but it does not have the flexibility of the 175). You need to pass the points test for GSM visas - http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/general-skilled-migration/pdf/points-fact.pdf If you go down the GSM route you will probably have to do the IELTS test. But as it has been sugessted speaking to RMA - that can go through your options for you, regarding visas - points, work experiance. As for bank accounts, they can be easily set up once your get to Australia - you can shop around for the best deal (banks not free in AUs - some charge for withdrawels, account keeping fees etc). Mobiles - easy to get pay as you go deal to start, you can get some good deals (vodafone for example - top up $29 get $150 worth of credit). As got the other things dont worry until you get your visas sorted, but generally wages are quite good in Australia, but cost of living is more than UK. Hello, I really need some help with the Stage 1 Cover Letter of AACA, as the information available for the overseas qualification assessment is very limited I would really appreciate it if you could provide a sample of same. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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