I understand temp visa holders are not eligible for the 40kg baggage allowance, even though its a one way flight and we'll be there for 4 years , but some time ago i recall someone saying they were able to get an increase to 30kg?
Has anybody had any experience of this?

Thanks

Leigh

Best thing to do is contact the airline(s) that you plan to use, as there don't seem to be any hard and fast rules on this. (Whatever info you get from them try to have it in writing, just in case!)

When my Daughter and her Husband went to Australia on a 457 visa they went via the States on Air New Zealand and told them they were emigrating and was allowed 62 kilos each. I think this was because of flying States way round that allowed that.

Hope that helps

Caz

I heard AirNZ have a large standard baggage allowance for longhaul flights - may be worth going with them just for that!

I emailed Singapore Airlines this afternoon, as this is who we are going to go with.
I grovelled for 30kg and got this reply

Hi,

Thank you for your email regarding baggage allowance. The baggage
allowance in Economy Class for adults and children who occupy a seat is 20kgs. Check in staff will waive a further 5kgs free of charge to bring your total free baggage allowance to 25kgs. You are also entitled to 1
piece of hand luggage at 7kgs.
Infants who do not occupy a seat are entitled to 10kgs baggage allowance
and small hand luggage bag for essentials onboard.

Kind regards
Singapore Airlines



I grovelled some more and they replied,

Hello,
I am sorry , the baggage allowance is already increased.

Kind regards
Singapore Airlines


Worth a try

Leigh

We travelled one way with Singapore on a 457 last October. Although they said over the phone we needed a PR visa evidenced to get the full 40k emigration allowance they said on the desk on the day that they turned a blind eye up to 30 kg. We eventually flew with 28, 26 and 22kg respectively and they didn't say a word.

Mark

Leigh
Keep grovelling!
I came on 4 yr 457 and flew with Singapore. Initially they told me 20 Kg but after persistent nagging, we managed to get 35 Kg each.
Even though we were departing out of Dublin, the Irish ofice was very unhelpful so we contacted London (Singapore Airlines main UK branch) and they eventually upped it to 35 Kg each.
PS: There were 5 of us so that was 185 Kg between us. Total weight of 9 suitcases was 210 Kg. We also bought our buggy and 2 car seats on top. They never said a word!
Mind you, carrying that lot on a trolley or two wasn't easy!

Andrew

Yes this is true - With Air NZ and United Airlines, flying through the states, you can get a baggage allowance of up to 64 kg per person. With United you have to pay an upgrade fee of US$50 per bag at check in if you bags are over 23 kg, but it's still far cheaper than shipping...

S

We flew in June from Heathrow to Perth and got 30kg each. We're on a 4 year 457 visa.

When I phoned Singapore Airlines to book kiddie meals for my little ones. The chap asked if we were emigrating as he noticed we were flying one-way. I said yes but that we were going on a temporary visa. He said we were entitled to 30kg baggage each and he put it on our booking.

Hi mbike just noticed you went on 457 visa we are thinking of doing same so has it all worked out for you ? Cheers

Hi,

It has worked in so far as we were able to get out here quickly (6 week visa turnaround) and spend a year deciding if we liked it enough to stay on. (We do). All our stuff has been in storage in the UK and we have treated the year a bit like a holiday. As I am +40, and points poor it was also one of the few avenues open to us. You may have noticed from other posts that we are now applying for on-shore ENS PR with my employer. This has meant getting skills assessment, PCC's and meds all over again and we have probably spent about $1000 so far on all this (My employer is covering the cost of the visa).

I can't say the 457 has exactly held us back. Once you're here and renting (most do to start with), got your reciprocal medicare card and TFN, life is pretty good. I like where I work and after my trial period was up we agreed it would be good to go for PR.

However, it does seem to be a visa specifically designed to allow multi-national companies like Shell BP etc to move employees in and out of Oz to work with the minimum of fuss. Not a vehicle for individual long-term emigration. If you don't have an exisiting relationship with your sponsoring employer and think you might like to stay for longer than the contract they are offering you, I would push for an ENS PR commitment before you sign anything. If you do go 457, make sure you try and get 3 month's notice in you T&C's from day 1. This give you time to sort something else out if option 1 - and therefore your potential future in Oz falls - through.

Hope this helps

Mark

Hi,

We also came out on a 457 a couple of months back flying with Quantas. We had weighed our cases and thought we were a bit over 20Kg per person. However when we get there all the cases were around 30kg. As there were six of us we should have been allowed around 120kg our cases came in over 200kg :scared: .

The check in lady didn't bat an eylid. Asked us if we were emigrating we said yes and she didn't charge us a penny. A good thing as the charge is £120.

Cheers

We flew one way with singapore airlines to Sydney on a 457 visa. I was told over the phone that we would get 30kg allowance each. I got the name of the person I spoke to on the phone just in case there were any problems at the airport. Needn't have worried. We got our 30kg no problem.

We came in on a 457 about 4 weeks ago. Got 30kg from Singapore Airlines. We had more than 60 kg with us at Heathrow. The sweet lady at the check in was very nice once we told her that though on a 457, we plan to apply for PR and stay permanently in Aus. Finally travelled with three pieces of luggage, combined weight of 72kg! Hope you are that lucky too

We are going next month on a 457 visa and have decided to go via LA, as previous posters have said 64kg each is too tempting. We are not shipping anything as we are selling up! starting from scratch so every bit of extra luggage space is brilliant.

The prices for going via the US are comparable to other flights, and the bonus of a night in LA for some clothes shopping sounds nice.