# Moving From Ireland to Australia, Any Tips??



## Lyndi-lou (Aug 20, 2011)

Hi All,

I am new to this forum and was wondering if there are some people out there that can help me out with some information about moving to Australia from Ireland?

We have just recently decided to *emirgrate to Australia *as things are only going to get worse in this country and feel that Australia has a lot more to offer us, been a* family with two small children*.

We are waiting to attend an Expo in a few weeks as I have no idea where to start but want to try get some things in motion as soon as.. My partner is an *electrician by trade and is hoping to get work by sponsorship*, but again have no idea of where to start.

I would really appreciate any inforamation/ advice that anyone could offer.
We are hoping to locate to Melbourne so would be interested if anybody could recommend suitable areas to rent and schools etc.

Thanks a million
Lynda


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## Shivvy (Aug 20, 2011)

Hi there, 

We are also moving later this year/ early 2012 . 
My husband is getting sponsorship with his job so we're lucky. There are a few different visas you can get, the Australian Govt websites are v helpful and will explain more clearly than I could! 

Word to the wise though... Melbourne is an expensive city to live in , probably on a par with Dublin if not more expensive.. Rents are high.The cost of living (day to day) is also much more than most people are aware of. We're moving to a smaller city. If you want to improve your financial circumstances or save money , it maybe best to avoid Melbourne and Sydney.

Best of luck with it all... It's so exciting!


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## Lyndi-lou (Aug 20, 2011)

Hi shivvy

Thanks for the reply, we're thinking of Melbourne because we should have friends of ours there by time we sort everything out..

Just wondering if you went through a visa agency or did you sort all the document out yourself? 
We literally have no clue, ha looks like we'll be here for a long time!!!
Don't plan on moving until the later half of next yr as I have a yr left to finish in college but if partner was to get an offer he couldn't refuse we'd probably go sooner! 

What sort of luggage would you be taking with ye?? 
I read somewhere that it is very expensive for the likes of children's leather shoes, bed linen etc. And also would you be bringing your car?? 

Thanks again


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## Shivvy (Aug 20, 2011)

Hiya

First of all , don't bring your car. Not worth it apparently. I've done an unbelievable amount of research into this as we have a pretty good car here that we wanted to take that's worth alot more in Oz than here. Turns out, its not at all worth it by the time you pay shipping, GST , insurance, a shipping agent and a myriad of hidden importing costs then registration costs in Oz and any modifications necessary for Australian safety standards ( apparently garages rip you off on these 'necessary' modifications cos they know they have you over a barrel). The red tape and admin is a nightmare as you have to deal with the red tape of the Australian govt as well as the red tape of the state you're importing to and neither know what the other is doing. After all this your car, because it's a foreign import, is very difficult to sell should you wish to get rid. Trawl the forums and you'll read it all. We're gonna take the loss on the car here and rebuy over there... Annoying but away less hassle!! 

Regarding the visa we're using an agent but only because it's attaches to my husbands job. Apparently you can get a visa faster this way but you can also do it on your own.

We're prob only taking our luggage at the moment . There's a bit of confusion whether we get the extra 20kg baggage allowance with the 457 visa- the airlines I've contacted have said it needs to be a permanent visa and ours is a longstay. Otherwise we're not shying anything household- we're gonna rebuy- from my research people say it's not worth shipping stuff. We may post some stuff at the mo that's working out cheapest- 130 euro per 20 kg. 

Hope this helps. The different expat forums / Oz forums are great for gathering info


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## Zultan (Aug 4, 2009)

Shivvy said:


> There's a bit of confusion whether we get the extra 20kg baggage allowance with the 457 visa- the airlines I've contacted have said it needs to be a permanent visa and ours is a longstay. Otherwise we're not shying anything household- we're gonna rebuy- from my research people say it's not worth shipping stuff. We may post some stuff at the mo that's working out cheapest- 130 euro per 20 kg.
> 
> Hope this helps. The different expat forums / Oz forums are great for gathering info


There is no confusion, no permanent visa no extra baggage.

Also, you're in for a shock when you see the prices of things here. If you have a house full of stuff (washing machines, fridges, microwaves, TVs, furniture etc) it will cost you less to ship it over in a container than it will to buy it again here.


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## Lyndi-lou (Aug 20, 2011)

Again thanks for the info really helps 

Regarding zultan comment, I have read somewhere on the net that it's very expensive to buy new furniture tvs etc over there. One person actually advised to bring everything you could with you as the prices are very high and they found out the hard way!

Friend of mine priced a 40ft container which came to €2500 altogether. Not sure which company it was tho. 

We just bought a car 6 months ago hence the reason for wanting to bring it over because it's a great size and suits is perfect!


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## Zultan (Aug 4, 2009)

A forty foot container from the UK to Sydney is about £7500 - considerably more than what your friend has said.

Also, you need to have owned and used the car (in Ireland) for more than 12 months before you can import it. As well as shipping costs, you'll need to pay import duty (10% of whatever Australian customs consider the car is worth), as well as a charge for bringing it up to Australia specifications and a mountain of bureaucracy... as it is an import the insurance will cost more and the vehicle will be worth less when you sell it.


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## Lyndi-lou (Aug 20, 2011)

God that is some difference alright.. Hope she priced it correctly sounds too little compared to UK price. 

And now it looks as though we will prob sell and buy over car over there seems less hassle and hell of a lot cheaper. 

Have you any idea what car prices are like over there?


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## Zultan (Aug 4, 2009)

I was quote £4500 for a 20ft container from the UK. Trust me, her price is way too cheap.

As for cars, new cars don't seem any more expensive in than the UK (when compared to Australian salaries - converting anything back into Euros or Pounds makes it seem expensive). That said, second hand cars do seem more expensive - rust isn't a problem here and cars last forever hence keep their value longer.

*Also - are you aware that your husband will need to do some retraining before he can work as an electrician in Australia?  They do things differently over here and he will need to update his current qualification before being certified. This will make getting sponsorship harder.*


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