help pleeeeze

[Guest markshelley]

Hey all,

 

Would all you kind people out there help me out cos im having no joy in getting things going as far as our visa application goes, has anyone got any good websites or info that you have dealt/dealing with so i know i aint going to hit a brick wall. look forward to hearing from you soon so i can get away from here and take our kids to a better life in oz.

 

Kind Regards

Mark and Shelley

Wakefield, West Yorks.

[ianb]

Mark & Shelley,

 

A good start for looking around with loads of links is http://www.adelaidebound.com/

 

Plenty of information on there with loads of links to sites with most of the information you will be looking for.

Also a good scroll through previous posts on here give alot of information of experiences from people in the same boat.

 

Good luck with your dreams

[Guest markshelley]

Ian & Rachel,

 

Thank you very much for your reply.

 

Which agency/body have you used for your application and how much will it eventually cost you when its all done and dusted?

 

Mark and Shelley...

[ianb]

We went with Go Matilda who so far have been very good. Cant think what the costs have been so far but i know when we started it was one of the most competitive fees we looked at. A good + for us was the fact you paid as you went and not all up front. I believe now the costs are more due to recent changes so suggest looking at a number of agencies before starting.

Any other help you need just shout

[Guest graandjac]

;)Hi guys we have used Four corners which by all accounts are expensive ...but that said having paid £3,500 to them they have been 100% spot on all the way, every call answered that day ,allways there for any questions and every form sent to us was filled in already all we had to do was check the contents. £500.00 of this is for a what they call relocation package, they have helped with schools, jobs ,housing personal intrests we have and much much more. Total costs inc meds, TRA assesment, visa's and Agent approx£4,700 not yet added the lot up accurately .....visa on the way:wacko:Cheers Graham

[Guest markshelley]

hey,

 

thanks for the reply.

 

1) did that agency get reccomended to you? if not where did you get it from?

2) have you got jobs when you get there?

3) is there anything that has cropped up that you didnt think of? so its not a shock to us

 

 

regards

Mark and Shelley + 3kids

[ianb]

hey,

 

thanks for the reply.

 

1) did that agency get reccomended to you? if not where did you get it from?

2) have you got jobs when you get there?

3) is there anything that has cropped up that you didnt think of? so its not a shock to us

 

 

regards

Mark and Shelley + 3kids

 

In response to the questions

1) the agency was mentioned by a few people on here and was recommended that way by he comments given and by speaking with them so we felt comfortable

2)have not sorted out jobs yet and will start nearer the time when we have date for arrival as alot of firms ask for permanent residency on applicants. As my line of work is building and with the work going on at present am not to concerned although i am realistic it wil take time and effort to get a job so i am not expecting to walk into job, so be prepared and realistic.

3) The only thing that has cropped up and you need to be prepared off is the wait! This can be frustrating. But so far, fingers still crossed, nothing has cropped up. We felt the money spent on a reccie was the best money we have spent. Not just to look round but to get a realistic view of the place as all is not as you imagine. But dont get me wrong we loved the place more after the reccie and was more determined to go through with it.

[Guest Django]

Hi Mark and Shelley,

 

What skill are you going out on? We didn't use an agent as we have better things to spend our money on. That said Tracey's skill assessment (nurse) was quite straight forward. The visa application (we did ours online) is a doddle. We got all the info we needed from this site, one like it and from http://www.immi.gov.au/

 

Pete

[Guest markshelley]

Pete,

 

Thanks for your reply.

 

My skill im going to go as is a construction manager.

 

So which agency did you do your assessment with?

 

 

 

Mark and Shelley......

[Guest Django]

So which agency did you do your assessment with?

 

Our assessment was done by the Australian Nursing & Midwifery Council.

 

I don't think yours will be as straight forward as the nursing thing was done with stuff sent from NMC to ANMC and Tracey just needed to get a couple of letters from her last 2 managers and write down her work history.

If I was in your shoes I would deffo get an agent. You can normally get free consultations with them so book yourselves in with a load and see what they have to offer you for the money charged. You can also use a migration agent just for the TRA (skill assessment) and then lodge your visa yourself. That could save you a bit of money. So phone around and see what agent sounds best value for money.

 

Pete

[ianb]

Pete,

 

Thanks for your reply.

 

My skill im going to go as is a construction manager.

 

So which agency did you do your assessment with?

 

 

 

Mark and Shelley......

 

Im going as a Site Manager (although application based on my carpentry trade background)

There would appear to be plenty of construction work going on around Adelaide so if you have the right background things should be ok.

Where abouts you from in the Uk?

[Guest markshelley]

Hey,

 

Believe it or not im actually a site manager too and im a joiner, i have been in the management side for 5 years now.

 

We are from wakefield, west yorkshire

We have 3 kids aged 8 year old girl and 5 year old twin boys.

 

So when do you hope to get over there?

Do you recommend going there first?

 

Mark and Shelley

[Guest graandjac]

Mark, Shelley, Hi guys our agent was reccommended by two people , job wise after having visited Adelaide a few weeks ago there is lots of building work all over and Iam also hoping to work in this area but as a tradesman, But as Ian pointed out I do not expect to walk into work as extra licencing is required so a little homework in the area would be a good idea. Also agent wise dont pay anyone for your assesment as lots will do this for free also there is an Approved agency list which i am sure can be found on the adelaidebound web site. good luck Cheers Graham

 

Having just been on our reccie, now we are so glad we went first although not a necessity

[Guest markshelley]

Guys,

 

Do you really recommend going to oz before fully deciding to go through with emigrating?

 

Mark and Shelley

[Guest graandjac]

Big question that one......we as I read 80% were going to go blind and up untill 2 months ago were fine then jac had a wobble and after a good chat we decided to go for a reccie to be fair to Jac, and after our trip of lots of ups and downs. We Both of us cant wait to get back, we made some great friends ,and if nothing else know where we are heading, so for us it worked . Cheers Graham

[Guest markshelley]

hi,

 

Why Adelaide?

 

Mark and Shelley

[Guest graandjac]

Weather not too hot.....cost of living not too high........cost of housing not expensive compared to most of the other citys......great family feel.....not to big as we are not city people, and as we live 5 mins walk from the beach here we wanted great beaches of which there is LOADS to choose from. Cheers Graham

[Guest Libby1971]

Hi

 

We came in on a 136 visa. We used an agent called Ian Harrop who charged us a couple of thousand pounds I think. They were recommended to us by a friend who knew someone who'd got their visa through them adn so on. The online system has made a big difference though. What we paid for was their experience - they knew the deadlines and we just wanted someone else to say 'sign here' or pay this etc.

 

My hubbie came here on his hols 25 yrs ago and liked it hence we're here. I hadn't been but still applied. Luckily we got an opportunity to visit Oz last summer which helped me a bit although I hadn't been to Adelaide at all. It wasn't that Brisbane (where we went) wasn't nice it was just that it helped me think what I didn't want to have when I got here e.g I thought I wanted a 2 storey house but when I stayed in one that was almost identical to what I thought I wanted I found I didn't used half the rooms so in that respect it was great.

 

We are both teachers so I cannot help on the job front!

 

We came to Oz for the options that were opened to us in how we could support our children and the options that they had.

 

Hope this helps

 

Libby

[Guest dglamoore]

Hi

 

We arrived here just over 6 months ago and had never been before - we just thought go for it and make it work

 

We used Go Matilda to help us with our visa and they were great. We used them due to hearing so many good reports on forums about them.

 

We chose adelaide partly due to the visa we came on and partly because of the family orientated feel to everything and so far it has not let us down. There are ups and downs and not everything is a bed of roses but life for us is far better here and we just wish we had made the move sooner!

 

Can't help on the job front I'm afraid but with the amount of building going on cannot see any problems for you work wise.

 

It is hard to get your head around things to start with but as your application goes along you will be surprised how much you learn!!! Good luck with everything and welcome to the forum

 

Lisa:jiggy:

[The Monaghans]

Hi Mark and Shelley, welcome to PIA. We used Global Visas when we applied and they were fantastic. They wouldn't send anything off until they were sure that it wouldn't be questioned and basically walked us through the whole thing. It cost about £1800 or thereabouts. We found them by potluck really, I think we googled Migration Agents and their name was one of the ones that came up. We were originally planning to go to Perth but halfway through the process we realised that we simply couldn't afford it anymore, the housing boom has pushed prices through the roof there. Adelaide is (I think) the second cheapest city in Australia but those in the know will tell you that it's a boom waiting to happen, something to do with mining I think. There is certainly plenty of construction work going on at the moment so I shouldn't think you'd struggle too much to find work. Good luck, hope that helps!

[Guest markshelley]

hi guys............

 

i aint been on for a few days but hows tricks?............

 

 

M + S...

[Guest markshelley]

Hi Lisa....

 

Thanks for your reply...

 

Questions for you im sorry::::::

 

1) Did you have accomodation arranged before you set foot on the aussie land?

 

2) Have you got any kids? if so what is the situation with kids did you or do you know of someone that has organised the schoolng thing before we go or is it fine to sort out when we get there?

 

3) As a U.K drivers license is no good over there, what do we need to do to get a aussie license sorted preferably before we get there?

 

Cheers

 

Mark and Shelley

 

P.S are we ok to chuck alot more questions at you that crop up as we cannot think of all at once.

[Guest Libby1971]

Hi

 

Only a few people have accommodation sorted for the long term before they leave the UK. We had temp accommodation sorted and then once we'd got here, and decided where we wanted to head for, then we really started looking for it and found it. We thought we wanted to head for Aldinga or Willunga but found that schools were few and far between for me down there. I liked the arc from Aberfoyle Park through to Hallett Cove so we looked and looked and found a rental and then bought this place.

 

We sorted out the schooling once we got here. Once we decided on where to live, we took a look at the schools in the area and walked round a couple. Then we got the kids signed up and hey presto, off we went.

 

I am not sure how you would sort an Aussie licence before you get here. As far as I know the UK licence is good for at least amonth (to cover you if you're on holiday). All we did was go into the motor registry with the licence, paid a fee, filled in a form, they took a new pic and we received the licence in the post a couple of weeks later.

 

Keep the questions coming! We have all been where you are, someone else helped all of us in some way shape or form and it is nice to be able to return the favour. A bit of karma I think.

 

Libby

[andy and lindsey]

Hi Mark and Shelley

 

We came here two weeks ago from Doncaster (but we both worked in Wakefield) - my hubby is a nurse and I am a midwife. We didn't use an agent - as nurses the application is pretty straightforward (as Pete said) but I think they are invaluable if your application isn't as easy. We have two little boys aged 5 and 3. Thomas our eldest started school on Monday and is settling in nicely. It is a little different to his school in the UK (not in a bad way) and everyone seems lovely. We are staying at the moment in a short term rental courtesy of Judi (who posts on here) but have found a rental which we move into shortly. We came out on a reccie last year but to Perth (helpful I know) - we were initially headed out there as have friends and family there but decided on our return that we couldn't afford to live there! So hence here we are (I have never been to Adelaide before although Andy my hubby has). Let us know if we can help you in anyway. We have friends that live in Crofton that are coming out to Adelaide when they sell their house - I could put you in touch with them if you want.

 

PM me if you need anything

 

Lindsey

[Guest happy-jools]

thanks to all who have posted on the topic. Its answered quite a lot of questions for me too.

 

So keep them coming.:v_SPIN: