Just to say hello.

[jlr248]

Hi everyone, This is my first posting so here goes...We have literally just started the visa process. About ready to apply for husbands trade assessment. So I guess we have a long way to go. OH is a plumber and I'm a Teaching Assistant we have twin 11 year old girls.
We have been to Oz before many years ago ( we met in 1990 on Bondi Beach) and now the girls are that bit older and before we get too old we have decided to make the move to Adelaide. Milder climate and house prices being a big factor. I have so many questions but will read through existing threads before I start. Oh just one question, Agents or not - we plan on not using agents is this a wise move do they make a difference? Any advice or opinions would be great. Thanks.

[ianb]

Hi everyone, This is my first posting so here goes...We have literally just started the visa process. About ready to apply for husbands trade assessment. So I guess we have a long way to go. OH is a plumber and I'm a Teaching Assistant we have twin 11 year old girls.
We have been to Oz before many years ago ( we met in 1990 on Bondi Beach) and now the girls are that bit older and before we get too old we have decided to make the move to Adelaide. Milder climate and house prices being a big factor. I have so many questions but will read through existing threads before I start. Oh just one question, Agents or not - we plan on not using agents is this a wise move do they make a difference? Any advice or opinions would be great. Thanks.

Welcome to PIA, For advice you have come to the best place. We used an agent but everyone has their own opinions. We wanted to egt it right so went with the agent. Many go alone and get the visa so the choice is yours really. we used Go Matilda and found them great from start to end.

Any questions just ask on here and someone will always provide the answer. Just ask away.

Welcome to the PIA "Family"

[alibongo]

hi guys
Welcome to the site,

We also chose a company to do the application for us..looked too complicated for me to do and needed to get it right first time..Hassle free application so far!!! butthen we are still waiting for our visas to come through.
Good luck however you decide to do it!

Ali

[isandev]

hiya,

We decided to use an agent as some friends of ours had a bit of a nightmare about 5 years ago and advised us to use one. We have just been granted a permanent resident visa after lodging our application 6 months ago. I personally would recommend going through an agent as all the hassle of the form filling, and the forms really are a pain, is off your shoulders. Also the experience the agents have is invaluable in lodging a succesful application as my mate found out after trying to lodge the application himself and after 10 months was told that he had filled the trade forms out incorrectly and was refused a visa!!!!

Hope this is some use to you.

Good luck.

[Libby1971]

We also used an agent - Ian Harrop www.ianharrop.co.uk and they were great. We signed what we were told to, paid who were told to and when, etc, it was worth every penny to get that call to say you're off!

Welcome to PIA

Libby

[The Monaghans]

Hi there and welcome to PIA! We also used an agent, Global Visas, and they were worth every penny. Basically all we had to do was sign our names on whatever they sent us then just sat back and waited for the visa!

[jlr248]

Thanks to you all for your helpful advice. I can't believe how quickly I got replies as I've posted questions on other sites and have heard nothing. You must all be a friendly bunch. I have another question. I'm a bit confused about which is the best visa option to go for. As I said my husband is a plumber and should (fingers crossed) have enough points to go for skilled independent Migrant Visa sub class 175 but as we are planning to come to Adelaide and they offer state sponsership I was wondering if it would be quicker or easier to go for Skilled sponsered migrant visa subclass 176. Anyone know of any pros / cons for either visa, does sponsorship speed uo the process etc.?Thanks Jane

[mossmac]

Hi there,

We are currently waiting for our SIR (sponsored) visa, Subclass 176. Getting the actual sponsorship was relatively quick, as you can see from our visa 'timeline'. As to whether or not sponsorship speeds up getting your visa, this is questionable, but then we have not been a straightforward case as we had a baby born in January who had to be added to our application.

We have not used an agent as we wanted to save money! Some friends of ours, who are now in Oz, did not use an agent and have guided us through all stages of the visa application process from their own experience - a great help.

Sarah xx

Jan ’07 – Decided we wanted to go and live in Australia!
Feb ’07 – Teaching skills assessment sent off.
Apr ’07 – Teaching skills approved.
May 21st ’07 – Applied for South Australia sponsorship online.
July 12th ’07 – Received sponsorship from South Australia.
July 20th ’07 – Online visa application sent off.
Oct 30th ’07 – Case officer allocated.
Nov 20th ’07 – Medicals done and police checks sent.
Feb 18th ’08 – Medical done for our new baby.
Awaiting our visa ………………………………………………..

[Django]

I'm a bit confused about which is the best visa option to go for. As I said my husband is a plumber and should (fingers crossed) have enough points to go for skilled independent Migrant Visa sub class 175 but as we are planning to come to Adelaide and they offer state sponsership I was wondering if it would be quicker or easier to go for Skilled sponsered migrant visa subclass 176. Anyone know of any pros / cons for either visa, does sponsorship speed uo the process etc.?Thanks Jane

Don't worry about time taken to get the visa. The main thing to consider is how different visas affect you once there. We could be there by now if we went down the sponsorship route but Tracey didn't want to be tied to an employer if she didn't like working at the place sponsoring her. Also temp visas seem to get you there fairly quickly but you will have to put up with various restrictions. Have a gander at the immi site http://www.immi.gov.au/immigration.htm and look at your options and what each visa subclass allows you.
Oh where are my manners welcome to PIA.:D

Pete

[suejohndan]

Hi Jane,


We got our visas in January. My husband is also a plumber/gas fitter and I am a teaching assistant. We did use a agent (four corners). The process was straight forward and they completed all of the paper work all we had to do was the TRA and sign the forms.
Hope all goes well for you let us know about you progress.