# Advice on moving to the land down under



## Sunshine73 (Dec 5, 2007)

Hi folks,

I'm a newbie on this forum - my partner and I are toying with the idea of moving to sunny Oz. Having grown up in SA and now living in the UK, I really miss the outdoor lifestyle, beaches, open spaces & of course the year round sunshine. My partner is English (born & bred) and loves the SA lifestyle and culture but going back to SA is sadly not an option and while neither of us has been to Oz but are willing to give it a go - any ideas on how we can get the ball rolling? How do we go about getting jobs, house hunting, settling in etc.? Would appreciate any advice on how much money we'll need to help us get started and whether we should consider using a visa company? 

Look forward to hearing from you soon

Thanks


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## Sunnywa (Dec 2, 2007)

Hi Sunshine

I am also from SA originally, and probably Australia is the closet to South African in terms of weather and lifestyle. You have not said where you are intending to moove to but heregoes anyway.
Jobs - search the Internet ie seek etc etc. Post your resumes etc.
2 ways to get in , job sponsorship which is the quickest , but has certain drawback as you are not a permanent resident, no medicare benifits etc, you would still need to then apply for perment residence. You need to read up on these visas. If you are going to try for a job sponsorship , you need to check on the Dima website if you occupation in on the MODL list. Certaibn migration agents also look for jobs for you. Of course you pay for this service.Permanent residents visa application can take anything form 18-24 months to come thru.
Housing- you will only get a rental once you arrive in Australia, I recommend that you rent a furnished place for 2-3 weeks , check on the areas you want to settle into then rent a place of your own. How much depends on the city and where you want to stay. Can vary apartments from $300.00 per week to house avaerage $500.00 per week.
How much enought to see you through for the first few week plus purchase a little car . How much is that - well depends on your life style. Car price have a look at Redbook and idea for housing have a look at myhome or reiwa.
Sorry I cant post url's as the administrators will not allow me to. 
But please use your immagination.
I would recommend you have a look at SA Australia on the web, very useful info on that site well laid out as well cost of living plans budgets etc etc
Very pertinent to what you are looking for.
Hope that helps some


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## Baby75 (Jul 18, 2007)

Sunshine73 said:


> Hi folks,
> 
> I'm a newbie on this forum - my partner and I are toying with the idea of moving to sunny Oz. Having grown up in SA and now living in the UK, I really miss the outdoor lifestyle, beaches, open spaces & of course the year round sunshine. My partner is English (born & bred) and loves the SA lifestyle and culture but going back to SA is sadly not an option and while neither of us has been to Oz but are willing to give it a go - any ideas on how we can get the ball rolling? How do we go about getting jobs, house hunting, settling in etc.? Would appreciate any advice on how much money we'll need to help us get started and whether we should consider using a visa company?
> 
> ...


|Hi and welcome,

well first you need to see what visa you can go on if you have a trade on the modl list you can get a skilled independent migration visa here is a link to the modl list and the Australian government with all the info on the visa applications 
MODL - Migration occupations in Demand for Australia (MODL)
Applications & Forms - Visas & Immigration

also when you figure out which visa you can go for you will need to get your trade assessed by the correct body my husband is a welder so we sent our to the TRA.

on using an agent i think if your application is fairly straight forward then you might find doing it your self saves you a bit of money we used an agent for the tra but are using the on line application for our visa 

on looking for houses i think most people rent for the first while thats what we plan to do any way but here is a link to a rental property Rental Properties, Lease and Holiday Rentals - realestate.com.au

were about are you think of heading i have to say i like Brisbane  good luck Niamh


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## WHIPPERSNAPPER (Jan 1, 2008)

BABY75

"on using an agent i think if your application is fairly straight forward then you might find doing it your self saves you a bit of money we used an agent for the tra but are using the on line application for our visa "

Hi there 
I have just send all my documents to the tra i done this through an agent. Thay want another £700 to do the next stage of getting the actual visa. I haven't heard of doing it online. is it easy ordoes it require lots of spare time as this is something i haven't got haha! 

My job is on the MODL list so hopfully will hear in the next few weeks there decision. I lodged 7th Dec. 

any advice on the online applicaion for the cisa will be appreciated.

thanks


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## Baby75 (Jul 18, 2007)

WHIPPERSNAPPER said:


> BABY75
> 
> "on using an agent i think if your application is fairly straight forward then you might find doing it your self saves you a bit of money we used an agent for the tra but are using the on line application for our visa "
> 
> ...


 Hi 
if you have your TRA and you are on the modl list then i think doing the application your self on line will be easy enough for you its much quicker what type of visa are you going for as some of them you cant apply on line we are going for the skilled independent visa my hubby a welder by trade 
Applications & Forms - Visas & Immigration

theres the link to the applications as far as i know once you have applied they come back very quickly looking for medicals and if they need any more info from you and you can track it on line as well 

good luck


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## WHIPPERSNAPPER (Jan 1, 2008)

We are going on a skilled indepentant visa under my skills as a child care co-ordinator which is on the MODL list. The online app sounds very good. I hope the TRA comes back within the next few weeks then the next process can begin. It all takes so long.

thankyou for your info its most helpful.


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## Baby75 (Jul 18, 2007)

WHIPPERSNAPPER said:


> We are going on a skilled indepentant visa under my skills as a child care co-ordinator which is on the MODL list. The online app sounds very good. I hope the TRA comes back within the next few weeks then the next process can begin. It all takes so long.
> 
> thankyou for your info its most helpful.


no worries glad I could help we are waiting on our TRA as well hope we have it back soon so we can really get the ball rolling. your right it takes forever but worth it in the end.

were about you heading in Australia we are heading to Brisbane


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## WHIPPERSNAPPER (Jan 1, 2008)

Baby75 said:


> were about you heading in Australia we are heading to Brisbane


Well we haven't made a definate decision yet and will travel around for abit to see where we feel we could settle. We are heading straight to perth where my boyfriend has some friends then go from there and see how things plan out. 

Not heard much about brisbane, whats the weather like there?


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## Baby75 (Jul 18, 2007)

WHIPPERSNAPPER said:


> Well we haven't made a definate decision yet and will travel around for abit to see where we feel we could settle. We are heading straight to perth where my boyfriend has some friends then go from there and see how things plan out.
> 
> Not heard much about brisbane, whats the weather like there?


As far as i know quite hot in the summer its called the sunshine state  ive heard Perth is nice as well we have friends in Brisbane so that why we are heading there plus my hubby has been and fell in love with the place


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## michelle.ritchie (Nov 8, 2007)

Hi guys,

i am a Relocation Agent living in Gold Coast qld, i relocate people from all over to move here and i absolutely love it! the satisfaction i get out of hearing about people like you and then seeing them settled here still gives me a great feeling. if you guys need any help. just yell. we do it all, accomodation, pickup from airport, pets, sort kids schools.............

Good Luck, its a great life here you will love it!

Michelle Ritchie


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## michelle.ritchie (Nov 8, 2007)

oh and by the way i moved from uk over a year ago!


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## michelle.ritchie (Nov 8, 2007)

hi guys,

i have noticed that people give advice on here about doing your visa yourselves, which is fine, but just be aware everyones circumstances are different and if someone has a more complex situation, (hidden problems) then a migration agent will help you get around these but if your doing it yourself, your visa can be declined and you will have paid for the application. declined. We get people who use us 2nd time round, they do not get told why they did not get a visa in the first instance. 

So, please when giving advice becareful that some peoples circumstances and the visa that they should be applying for may be very different to yours. 

We get alot of people telling us they had bad advice and this costs people money!

Michelle Ritchie


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## catherineryan (Jan 3, 2008)

michelle.ritchie said:


> Hi guys,
> 
> i am a Relocation Agent living in Gold Coast qld, i relocate people from all over to move here and i absolutely love it! the satisfaction i get out of hearing about people like you and then seeing them settled here still gives me a great feeling. if you guys need any help. just yell. we do it all, accomodation, pickup from airport, pets, sort kids schools.............
> 
> ...


hello new hear just trying to find out information how much does that coast Michelle as the visa is very expensive as it is.


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## Baby75 (Jul 18, 2007)

michelle.ritchie said:


> hi guys,
> 
> i have noticed that people give advice on here about doing your visa yourselves, which is fine, but just be aware everyones circumstances are different and if someone has a more complex situation, (hidden problems) then a migration agent will help you get around these but if your doing it yourself, your visa can be declined and you will have paid for the application. declined. We get people who use us 2nd time round, they do not get told why they did not get a visa in the first instance.
> 
> ...


 I guess that would be me so ! i do agree with you Michelle that you have to make sure you have all the correct information before sending off for your visa as i said in my post if your application is fairly straight forward then you would be fine applying your self. 
I think as soon as you read through your visa form you know if its going to be difficult or not as well and isn't it great that we have sites like this were we can get information from fellow expats going through the same thing and ask a question and get the answer i do think you do need to be aware that sometimes you do get the wrong answer so ild always double check before i put pen to paper as it were. I think the majority of people on here get the right information for free that helps them in the visa process but its good to be careful and make sure you do it right. 

I think if it needs be then registered Migration agents are infallible and can really help people who need it and for peace of mind. but if you are like me and have spoken to an agent and know that our application is going to be straight forward then its great that we can bring over the money with us instead


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## kaz101 (Nov 29, 2007)

catherineryan said:


> hello new hear just trying to find out information how much does that coast Michelle as the visa is very expensive as it is.


Hi Catherine, and welcome to the forum!

We used a migration agent in the UK for the visa process and that cost us several thousand pounds but I know that without them we would not be here. Two migration agents said we wouldn't get in. 

We had the luxury of coming over to Australia in February and buying a house then before the move in July (it was my Mum's 70th and I had to be there for that!). So we checked out areas etc, and we had already decided that we wanted to buy rather than rent, although most people rent first. 

I'm not quite sure what a relocation agent does but I'm sure Michelle will explain. 

Regards,
Karen


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## CarterTucker (Mar 5, 2008)

*Hi...From the Uk!*



michelle.ritchie said:


> Hi guys,
> 
> i am a Relocation Agent living in Gold Coast qld, i relocate people from all over to move here and i absolutely love it! the satisfaction i get out of hearing about people like you and then seeing them settled here still gives me a great feeling. if you guys need any help. just yell. we do it all, accomodation, pickup from airport, pets, sort kids schools.............
> 
> ...


 Hi there, I have been reading some of your helpfull advice to others & thought i'd make contact with you! We have talked of emigrating for years, but just recently talk has become research & even to the point of discussing with our families! Im not sure when the next stage kicks in! Although we are planning to take a trip to Australia later in the year, using our honeymoon money (we got married in January, after 12 years together) We have 2 children, Aaron age 15 (from my previous relationship) & Jarred age 4. My husband is a roofer & owns his own company here. I am (lucky to be) a stay at home Mum. We have watched all the 'wanted down under programmes' (in fact I have just applied for it, but not heard anything & not going to hold out for it, just thought, I had nothing to lose)  I am researching alot on the internet & buying the magazines, so far not really sure on an area, but Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Melbourne & Perth have come up alot...I know a varied bunch!  I will really appreciate any advice you can give to us, as someone who is already there, and been through it all. Really look forward to hearing from you.  Kindest Regards, across the miles! Kelly, Jay, Aaron & Jarred.


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## scottishcelts (Aug 5, 2007)

Hi all, we are in the last stages of 'playing the waiting game' and we applied using the on-line visa application, which we found a doddle.

Also we did not use any agents etc. as we decided it was a complete waste of money, considering the whole process costs enough as it is! Also my sis in law and hubby started off using an agent, paid them off and then done the rest themselves as they felt the agents were taking too long with things and they were doing most of it themselves anyway.

I think if you have enough savvy to and are a good letter writer and good at explaining things and are organised i don't see any reason why an agent should be considered - apart from the obvious i.e. criminality or medical issues etc.

Hope this helps a wee bit


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