Just some tips...

[Guest RobJ1978]

Hi all,

 

We have been here for just over a month now and thought i would post some tips for you guys still in the UK.

 

Firstly, We did as much as we could whilst still in the UK. Organised car hire via the fantastic MD auto's http://mdautocare.net.au/ They dropped our car at our holiday rental, but they also do airport pick ups! (based Aldinga)

 

We also organised our bank account so we just had to go in with our documents to get our debit card. This meant we could transfer money over before we left (we used Moneycorp).

 

We were lucky as we booked a holiday rental for 4 weeks. As this was probably gonna be the most stressful month we were going to endure we decided that we wanted to be somewhere nice and for us all to have our own bedrooms. We booked into the delightful Seaford Rise property from auseelife http://www.auseelife.com.au/. Tyke greeted us on arrival with a much needed bottle of bubbly. The house was amazing, we knew we had made the right decision. It has everything you need and has internet. All the bill's were included (apart from a little contribution for your phone usage...can't argue with that!) we even had our bedding changed every week! (which also meant we were able to pick his brains every week...Thanks Tyke!)

 

Our first job was the whole medicare/centrelink/Tax File Number job. We went into medicare, didn't take long, they gave us a form to fill in so we went and got a brew and filled it in. I also enquired about centrelink, but we needed TFN first. For the TFN you can apply online once you are over here, http://www.ato.gov.au/ on the left it says 'get a TFN' just click on there and away you go....with a glass of your chosen beverage in hand!

 

Once you have your TFN you can apply for centrelink. This can also be done online and then you can go into the office and provide your ID (Visa, Tenancy and Birth Certificates). You will need to register to obtain a CAN number first....http://www.familyassist.gov.au/...but again you can do it with beverage in hand. We thought oh got it sussed....We went into the office thinking we would be straight in and out but it still took 2 hours of waiting around! BUT only one of you needs to go so you don't have to have the kids in tow.

 

Driving License's you have 3 months to change them, but you MUST carry them with you at all times. Also alot of the traffic lights you can turn left as it is like a very small slip road...just becareful nothing is coming and no one is walking across the road.....we are still getting used to this!

 

Gosh im shattered just writing this!

 

I think that is all my advice for now.

 

Nic

[jtct]

Very helpful - couldn't have put it better myself. We stayed with family for the first month but bought our house within 2 weeks of landing - had been looking online for ages and went to loads of opens in the first 2 weeks of arriving. It was an exausting first month but we haven't looked back and are loving our new life.

 

Life is certainly a lot easier if you do your homework before you arrive and we were luckier than most as we had been coming to Adelaide for 5 - 6 weeks every year for the last 5 years to visit the family and felt we knew the place quite well by the time we arrived as permanent residents.

 

Our Visa took about 20 months from start to finish so we had plenty of time to plan.

[Guest Guest75]

Glad to see things going well Rob. Thanks very much for the compliment. You are a lovely bunch and deserve all the success in the world:notworthy:

[Guest ali]

Glad to see things going well Rob. Thanks very much for the compliment. You are a lovely bunch and deserve all the success in the world:notworthy:

 

And you are thr man:smile:

[Guest Dazzlin]

Hi Nic,

 

Good idea to document these things for our successors. If you don't mind I'll just add a bit more detail (it's what I do!)...

 

We've been here just over a week now and have benefited from great advice given to us by Tamara and Shaun of Homes Down Under (we're renting their excellent 'Boomerang' property - and they collected us from the airport!).

 

First thing to do on arrival (after some well-earned kip), is to get along to your bank and give them your new address (we took along a copy of our short-term lease but I'm not even sure this was needed). The bank can then print confirmation of your account being registered at that address, stamp and sign it, and that becomes an official document in support of your driving licence application. If you haven't already validated your identity (we bank with Westpac and did this at their London office), then take along passports, etc and they will do this at the same time, which includes ordering debit cards and providing telephone and online banking details.

 

Shaun took us up to our local Medicare office and, after filling in a very straightforward form, we were given a record of our Medicare numbers there and then. Our permanent cards then came through a week later.

 

We then went along to our local Transport SA office (150 metres away) and applied for our driving licences. You need passports, driving licences, proof of address and one further form of ID (we used a UK-issued debit card). Note: if you need specs/contact lenses to drive, and indicate so on the form, they will give you a form and send you for an eye test. This was no real problem as we went to the local shopping centre and booked one in for the next day - the full cost was billed back to Medicare directly by the opticians. When we went back with the eye test forms, we were in and out in 15 minutes (they take the photographs). We did that Monday and we received the driving licences on Friday!

 

Also, if your state-sponsored, don't forget to register your arrival. Immigration SA should have sent you (many) e-mails prompting you to do so with a link enclosed. This starts the clock for when you can apply for citizenship and prompts them to check in with you (they periodically e-mail links to surveys).

 

As per Rob's message above, we've also applied for the TFN and await receipt of these.

 

Good luck everyone - you'll be amazed how quickly you can tick off some of these things!

 

Daren

[Guest Mrs Bon Jovi]

Note: if you need specs/contact lenses to drive, and indicate so on the form, they will give you a form and send you for an eye test. This was no real problem as we went to the local shopping centre and booked one in for the next day - the full cost was billed back to Medicare directly by the opticians. When we went back with the eye test forms, we were in and out in 15 minutes (they take the photographs). We did that Monday and we received the driving licences on Friday!

 

 

Daren

 

We did ours in January. I wear glasses and didn't have to go for an eye test. It just states on my licence that I need corrective lenses.

[Guest Paula H]

Is it the same for PR visas as I thought we wouldn't need to apply for a driving licence?

[Guest Mrs Bon Jovi]

Is it the same for PR visas as I thought we wouldn't need to apply for a driving licence?

 

I think if your only on a temp visa then you don't need to but like Nic says, if your PR then you have got 3 months to change them over so if your on a 175 you will need to.

[Guest Paula H]

Ooh ok thank you x