advice please .....

[sassy]

hi there all....would appreciate a little advice from anyone who has made it to oz or still in the process. am hopefully going to apply very soon but dont no wether to go via an emigration company and pay or do it ourselves. any advice from anyone would be great pros and cons good experience or bad would like to hear all...thanks so much me and hubby really want to get there. as i am on the skilled workers list we should have no major problems.....eeekkk i hope anyway...x sarah;)

[the4hopes]

We used an agent, they charged about £2000. We just included this in our budget with visa cost etc. They sent us all the forms we needed for the TRA, along with templates of how the replies could be set out. Then all forms for application for TRA then finally fot the visa application. There was no searching for the forms we needed, or which visa to apply for. They have all the information, you can phone or e mail and get a quick reply on any questions. We had one original meeting with them then all the rest was post, phone and email. I found using them was the best choice for us.
Even though we have our visa they will still answer any questions. They have also given us info on removals, solicitors and banking. They also have have a job finding service too, although that is extra.
Hope this helps.
Laura x

[sassy]

thanks laura thats really helpful, mayi be as cheeky and ask wich agent you used??..

[Trakki]

HIya, it really depends what your skill is. We didn't use an agent. I am a nurse so the skill assessment was very straight forward. I believe the TRA and Vetassess are quite complicated so an agent is helpful. The actual application itself is very straight forward.

HTH

[sassy]

hi traceyn thanks i too am a nurse...may i ask where i start am such a novice and av had filled in loads of skilled visa assessments online but dont want to commit to an agent just yet!! thanks...sarah

[the4hopes]

Hi Sarah,
We used The Emigration Group, they are based in Chester, have a look at their website, you can give them a ring for any info about them. Phone other companies too, it will give you more idea of what they are like.
Laura x

[andy and lindsey]

Hi there
We are both nurses and applied without using an agent. Like Tracey said the skills assessment is pretty straightforward. The visa application is again pretty straightforward. There are two ways of starting the process - one is applying for apply to join the register in SA - www.nursesboard.sa.gov.au then following receipt of this you then apply for a skills assessment (shortened) from www.anmc.org.au This is the cheaper way of doing things (registration with the NBSA takes around 3 months.
The other way is to apply for a skills assessment from the www.anmc.org.au if you go to their website it will tell you what you need to include. Really its just a matter of collecting the relevant information and/or getting it sent from various people ie - NMC, university etc. Once you have received your skills assessment you can then apply for your visa http://www.immi.gov.au Whilst you are waiting for you visa to be granted you can apply for registration with NBSA

It really is pretty straigt forward for nurses!

Hope this helps

Lindsey
Dont know why this changed colour - arghh!

[Trakki]

Hi there
We are both nurses and applied without using an agent. Like Tracey said the skills assessment is pretty straightforward. The visa application is again pretty straightforward. There are two ways of starting the process - one is applying for apply to join the register in SA - www.nursesboard.sa.gov.au then following receipt of this you then apply for a skills assessment (shortened) from www.anmc.org.au This is the cheaper way of doing things (registration with the NBSA takes around 3 months.
The other way is to apply for a skills assessment from the www.anmc.org.au if you go to their website it will tell you what you need to include. Really its just a matter of collecting the relevant information and/or getting it sent from various people ie - NMC, university etc. Once you have received your skills assessment you can then apply for your visa http://www.immi.gov.au Whilst you are waiting for you visa to be granted you can apply for registration with NBSA

It really is pretty straigt forward for nurses!

Hope this helps

Lindsey
Dont know why this changed colour - arghh!

Thanks Lindsey, was just about to write the same thing so you saved my fingers .

If you need any help Sarah, don't hesitate to pm me.

[Sharron & Andrew]

Hi Sarah,

We are using an agent (recommended by people on this site) and they are excellent, we have just started the process and are getting together all the info to submit for the skills assessment with Vetassess (My OH is a bricklayer), and the agents have been great, even drafting letters up from info I e-mail to them to ensure that they will be accepted and contain all the correct info etc. My friend is a plumber and he is doing the whole process on his own as it is cheaper, but having helped him out loads with the forms I would much rather pay and go through the agent. I don't know about other agents, but ours takes payments in stages so you aren't paying the whole lot in one go.

What ever you decide to do, there will always be somebody on this site that can either answer your questions or point you in the right direction.

[sassy]

thanks so much to all of you the info and advice has been really valuable. at least i can now sit down wid hubby and discuss it!!! i hate form filling and letter writing so maybe an agent will be best for us...this site is really good and every1 is helpful. my hubby is a print finisher by trade and it has just come up on the skilled workers list aswell...does any1 no if this will speed things up if both apply on skilled visa ?? cheers x...sarah