iphammer

Hi all,

we are a family of 4 ( myself, me partner and our 2 boys under 7 years old) living in the UK and looking for a change in life. We are looking at applying for a permanent residency visa. I currently work as a hardware technician in the transport industry and my partner works as a carer assistant.

1. have done a search for agencies that will help with the PR visa process and found a number that stand out ie Go Matilda and True Blue Migration are there any others that are worth looking at ?

2. As we have little savings £4k how much would you recommend saving before even considering starting the application process ? Thinking about the cost of visa, agency fees and having enough $ to live off for at least the first 2 months out in Australia.

3. What is the air quality like in Australia let’s say Queensland and Perth compared to the UK ? ( we are in Suffolk ).

quoll

That's sort of like one of those "how long is a piece of string" questions, unfortunately. £4K is barely going to get you your visa https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visa...t-visa-pricing charges depend on the visa you are going for. Not used an agent but they generally offer a consultation and you would get an idea of costs from there. Then you have shipping - a while ago and prices have gone up but we only brought a move cube and even then it was close to £4k with costs at both ends iirc. Then there are fares - they, too, would cost more than your £4k. Then when you arrive there will be set up costs - airbnb while you try and find somewhere to live, bonds, insurances, car purchase, etc etc. It was a while ago for us and memory dims when we returned as citizens to our own home (no rents or mortgage) in Aus after 9 years away (in Cambs!) but we didnt see much change from £15k what with shipping, insurances, fares, set up back home, etc and if you include the cars it was £30k. I'm sure you can probably cut some costs but whether it will be comfortable or not is a different matter. If you think that the average wage is now around $90k (Au) you are looking at ball park around $8k a month (which is close to £4k) - so if you are out of work for a while then you would need to think in terms of that sort of buffer. It is a process which rather haemorrhages cash I am afraid and you need to be able to potentially say goodbye to around £50k without batting an eyelid.

Air quality, probably not much different from Suffolk except for the days when there are bushfires then air quality is cr@p.

First question you will need to cover though - can you get a visa with your skills and training? Talk to an agent then you will be much better informed

Pollyana

The first thing to establish is whether either of your skills are actually on the list as being in demand

https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visa...ccupation-list

However, more importantly you need to look at costs.
Visa costs are here
https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visa...-visa-pricing#
and just as a guide, the 189 which is the skilled, independent PR visa, would cost you around £5,000 just in visa fees. Skills assessment, agents fees, police checks, medicals, all that is extra, and that's before you think about the mechanics of the move itself - flights, shipping etc.
The most recent figures I have seen people quoting for their own moves are easily £25,000 - £30,000. Australia has got increasingly more expensive in the last few years and moving there is no longer as cheap and easy as 2o years ago. I don't want to burst your bubble, but £4k will go nowhere I'm afraid.

If you do look into it further, Go Matilda have a good reputation and are probably one of the best around.

brits1

We did our visa applications ourselves (to save money) we are “careful” with our money and when we migrated to Perth WA in 1998 we had enough money for our visas, flights and for enough funds for accommodation/food/car and school fees with the assumption of not having work within the first two months of arriving, that was 1998 and I know “things” are much more expensive now, so if you work on the amounts in todays money and not have the worry I would save really hard as the amount you currently fly have is although great to have savings is just the tip of the iceberg. Air quality in Aus as like here in the UK depends on where you are living, we use to live in the hills above Perth and in the mornings you could see the “haze” around Perth (as you would near most large cities) we loved the winter in Perth as we at least could then feel a “freshness” we found Brisbane to be way to humid for us but others may enjoy that. Good luck

Pollyana

Hate to argue, but £10-12k is unlikely to be enough these days. Visa fees alone would be nearly £5 for the family, without medicals, police checks, and agent's fees.

christmasoompa

‘Twas a pesky spammer, which is why everything they said was nonsense!

Edited your list just to delete the quote.

Pollyana

I did suspect that, but didn't want the OP to take it as gospel!