Just starting out

[Guest TheCleghorns]

Hi everyone - We are the Cleghorns (Tim 43, Lisa 41, Alexandra 15, Nadia 8 and Molly 5). We live in Kent and are just starting the long road to moving to Oz (hopefully!!). We've got loads of questions, which hopefully will be answered when Tim goes to the skills expo in London on Saturday. We haven't lodged anything yet so we really are just literally starting out. We feel at the moment as if its a race against the clock as Tim is going to be the main applicant and is already 43. How long does the whole process take on average from start to finish? Has anyone applied to be sponsered by the SA government? Unlike most people we don't own our own house so are not going over with much money. Does anyone know if there is a minimum amount of savings that you have to take with you? And have most people moved over with a job already in place? Have most people applied for their visa via an agent? Gosh I really have got loads of questions but I won't bore everyone with them all now.

 

Would love to hear your thoughts? Excellent site by the way with loads of info.

 

The Cleghorns

Tim (43)

Lisa (41)

Alexandra (15)

Nadia (8)

Molly (5)

[ianb]

Hi guys, welcome to the PIA, the times taken cary greatly so best to get an idea from peoples time lines below the names on posts. Will depend on what visa, if on MODL listof occupations.

 

Good luck with it all and you will like us all do find this site great to get advice and also some company on the long wait!

 

Good to see you also close by. By the way there is a meet happening at Crawley on the 19th April which is a great way of meeting people as well. You will be more than welcome

[Guest Django]

Welcome to PIA guys,

 

We own our own house but by the time we pay out all we owe and flights and stuff you'll probably find you will be taking out more than us.

 

It all depends on what visa you apply for whether you need to have a bond and how much it costs. For example, we are going out on a perminant/independant visa (sub class 175). We won't need to enter Oz with any set amount of money.

 

Good luck with it all

 

Pete

[Guest mOZzy]

hello and welcome to pia!!

 

if adelaide is your choice then this is the right place - don't forget to check out

www.adelaidebound.com - a brilliant site!!!

 

we've all started out with questions questions and more questions so just ask away.

 

the length of the process depends on so many things; like what type of visa or how well you bribe your caseofficer - i think on average they say 6-9 months (not included the skills assessment)

we also have applied for a 136modl (new 175 i think) - so i can't help with the SA sponsored one; but i know there is many others on here who can help you with that type.

like pete (django) we own our house (well, more like the bank does ) - so we won't take that much.

and OH doesn't have a job lined up so our plan is to sent out cv's once we actually have a flight date and see if there is someone interested!

and yes, we have an agent. we discussed this long before we started but it was just the right thing to do for us. we had so many things going on back then and we just wanted it to be right the first time.

 

good luck!

[Guest louiesmum]

Hi

Just wanted to say welcome & good luck with it all, we went via SA sponsorship, our visa was sub class 134, not sure what the equivilent is now after the changes in Sept though. It took quite a while for us to get all our info together but once the visa went in, May 2007, we got our visa end of Nov 2007, so it was about 6 months to get visa after submitting application.

What part of Kent do you live? We are in Welling Kent

[Guest Libby1971]

Hello

 

We used an agent because I had a lot on my plate at the time adn just wanted someone to tell me where to sign - I was/ am the main applicant.

 

As for questions, ask away. We didn't have a job to start for when we arrived as it wasn't possible to get one.

 

Libby

[Guest TheCleghorns]

Hiya - we are in Wittersham which is a village just outside Tenterden and Ashford? My OH is off to the Skills Expo on Saturday so we are hoping that he can pick up lots of info when he is there. Did the SA government insist that you took out a certain amount of money over with you?

 

The Cleghorns

Tim (43)

Lisa (41)

Alexandra (15)

Nadia (8)

Molly (5)

[ianb]

Wittersham not far from us down here!.

 

Dont think any sponser type visa requires "an amount of money" to be taken in. Not sure which class of visa it is but one involves "investing" an amount with the oz Govt (i believe). I may be wrong but employer sponsered visas do not have that requirement.

 

Good luck at the Expo

[Guest TheCleghorns]

Hello

 

We used an agent because I had a lot on my plate at the time adn just wanted someone to tell me where to sign - I was/ am the main applicant.

 

As for questions, ask away. We didn't have a job to start for when we arrived as it wasn't possible to get one.

 

Libby

Hiya thanks for you reply and info. I think we are probably going to hire an agent, who did you go with? Did you sort out all your living arrangements before you went over and did you ship all your belongings over or start afresh when you arrived? Did you find it fairly easy to find a job once you arrived in Adelaide and did you get any help from anyone, pointing you in the right direction as far as employers go? My OH is a glazier and its only very recently that a Flat Glass Tradesperson has been listed on the MODL list which is why we are only able to go for it now.

 

Is Adelaide everything you expected or have there been some things you have been surprised with?

 

The Cleghorns

[Guest TheCleghorns]

Wittersham not far from us down here!.

 

Dont think any sponser type visa requires "an amount of money" to be taken in. Not sure which class of visa it is but one involves "investing" an amount with the oz Govt (i believe). I may be wrong but employer sponsered visas do not have that requirement.

 

Good luck at the Expo

Hiya yes not too far at all, in fact I was born in Hastings!! Where abouts is the venue for the meet in Crawley on the 19th?

 

The Cleghorns

[ianb]

the meet is at

 

http://www.themillhouse.info/.

 

Hyde Drive

Ifield, Crawley

West Sussex

RH11 0PL

Tel: 01293 534959

[the fishers]

Hey you guys,

we are new to this too.. just starting out as well........ if it makes you feel better we are not home owners either and to be honest will probs arrive Down Under with our suitcases and 50cents in our pocket but that is not gonna stop us.. GO FOR IT!

 

good luck with everything keep in touch xxxxx:notworthy:

[Guest The Dog Comes Too]

hi we've just joined this site too and are also just starting out. I am also going to the expo in london on saturday. We also went to the 'emigrate' expo at sandown last weekend....one of the better know agents told us that visa applications are now taking 14 to 18 months to process! I plan to ask around first though and won't commit until after this weekend. Not too sure what to expect at this expo?!? Just hope i might get some help- or info on work...i am a qualified gardener? By the way we got back from Adelaide a couple of weeks ago and thought it was great..Clean,modern, safe and the beaches are beautiful! Good luck! Paul.

[Guest Libby1971]

Hi Cleghorns

 

We used Ian Harrop www.ianharrop.co.uk - we liked him because he was local to start with but he also did a postal service run through the London office which meant everything was done over the phone, we completed forms and then she sent them to me to sign, I sent them back, called if any changes had to be made etc. She was called Sue by the way!

 

As for living arrangements, we applied for and got OAA (On Arrival Accommodation) which gave us somewhere to go when we got to the airport. In hindsight, I wish we had looked at rentals closer to where we wanted to go and gone straight there for a number of reasons (it would have been nicer, the kids might have felt more settled etc) but it was fine, forgotten really now.

 

Belongings - we shipped over one sideboard, a mountain of books and other cr*p, personal effects etc. Furniture we bought new when we got here. We decided a few years ago that we were coming and so stopped replacing anything that went wrong. We just lived without it unless absolutely essential. It was exciting to be shopping, stressful to have to do it when we first got here and were trying to find our way around although we certainly learnt!!

 

Finding work is/ was much harder. I am teacher and so is OH although diff age groups. We got here, registered etc and he had a few days supply in May/ June. I got a job from July to Oct. He worked a few days in Oct and then got a job for 5 weeks in NOv/ Dec and got a perm during that which he is in now. So one or other of us has been working since we got here which isn't too bad. For us, the employers are easily identified and the processes that go with it so we haven't had too many probs identifying who to apply to. We just have issues finding the vacancies and getting an interview.

 

I am pleased for you that OHs occupation is on the list. When do you hope to be here?

 

Adelaide is not what I expected but I was expecting Uluru style desert with a beach I think and some buildings. I was not expecting hills - I HATE them :arghh:. It took a while to feel settled but I am closer to that now. I would still do it even knowing how rough I felt in places.

 

The major surprise is that South Australians can't bl**dy drive, they are lunatics. Fantastic, lovely people when they are NOT behind the wheel. Deaf, dumb, stupid and blinkered when they are!!!!!!

 

Hope this has helped, a bit. Enjoy yourself at the meet!

 

Libby

[Guest TheCleghorns]

Hey you guys,

we are new to this too.. just starting out as well........ if it makes you feel better we are not home owners either and to be honest will probs arrive Down Under with our suitcases and 50cents in our pocket but that is not gonna stop us.. GO FOR IT!

 

good luck with everything keep in touch xxxxx:notworthy:

Hiya

 

I'm glad that there are other people out there that will not have much money either!!! That is my major hang up .... the finances, I'm not worried about anything else. Like everyone I suppose I have days when I think yes excellent lets go for it and then other days I'm thinking are we really able to do this? It really makes me feel upbeat though when I read all the comments on this site!!!

 

The Cleghorns

[Guest TheCleghorns]

hi we've just joined this site too and are also just starting out. I am also going to the expo in london on saturday. We also went to the 'emigrate' expo at sandown last weekend....one of the better know agents told us that visa applications are now taking 14 to 18 months to process! I plan to ask around first though and won't commit until after this weekend. Not too sure what to expect at this expo?!? Just hope i might get some help- or info on work...i am a qualified gardener? By the way we got back from Adelaide a couple of weeks ago and thought it was great..Clean,modern, safe and the beaches are beautiful! Good luck! Paul.

Gosh upto 18 months thats a long time, especially as my OH is already 43 and he is the main applicant. From reading the comments here though alot of people are having their visa's come through a lot quicker than I first anticipated. We are hoping that once we've been to the expo on Saturday we will be making a definate decision. It all hinges on what type of visa we can apply for as we are just 10 points short of being able to apply for a permanent one (if only my OH's profession had been listed on the MODL list 5 years ago things would of been much easier). I'm all visa'd out, my head is spinning from all the different types available!! Hopefully things will be much clearer on Saturday!!!!

 

The Cleghorns