gabyjane

Possibly someone who is there/about to go/been as opposed to clueless like us!! I dont really want to start endless posts on diff things..if not please feel free to move.
We are in very early stages of looking into this and are finding the whole visa thing very hard to get our heads round for various reasons..i dont want to fall at the first hurdel though so need to know some facts before i delve in properly.

Right! dh is a Chef (head) I was wondering if there was anyone in the same career who has moved/moving and how you have got/not got on!

IF it is a career that may be ok for him to work over there do you know where are the best areas?

How did you decide where you wanted to live? we are pretty easy if we get that far although dont like the remote areas as much!

How many people have done loads of the process and failed at the end? it is a possibility and im not sure how much you would have to give up to find this out?!

Do you have to have a certain amount of money to take with you/place in a bank over there? has anyone gone with not a lot? how do you set up a bank account for funds while there (renting) if you havent got a bank till you get there?

How much do you spend roughly before you get there on fees for everything?

Thankyou and sorry for such varied questions but for example if there are no chef positions what's the point looking into anything else!
Thanks

shears

Sorry I can't help, different situation ... but this should be your first port of call http://britishexpats.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=85 ... hope that link works, otherwise just go to the main Forum at the top left, then scroll down and you'll see a section "Working abroad by Profession" and you'll see a sub-section for chefs.

Have you checked out http://www.immi.gov.au/ - this has info on visas, a points calculator for seeing if you qualify for a skilled visa etc. Lots of information there and on this forum, but don't be afraid to post your questions - it's a lot to take in at first

cheers
shears

gabyjane

Hi thanks i have checked out the sites..very helpful. I have just checked the fees for the visa..is it really just under £4k..i am worried it will get refused then i will be so fed up as we are saving hard for this..on top of the £3k for the cats i am beggining to have a sinking feeling about it all before it even starts.

Alfresco

Yep, it's pricey. If you can get the points (skills assessment) and you're all healthy you should get your visa. It may take a long time though.

It's a calculated gamble we all take.

Ours took about 2 years + £5k from concept to visa.

Bermudashorts

My visa process cost about £2k for two adults. Well strictly speaking £3k as we got ripped off by an agent at the beginning but if it had not been for that it would have been just the £2k.

I think most of us would have a good idea before we embark on the process whether we will be successful. For me for example; well I knew I had 120 points, I got a positive skills assessment, I knew I had the work experience, I knew my references would check out, I knew that neither hubby or I have a police record and I knew we are both in good health. So it is not a case of paying up and crossing fingers. You can make an informed decison on whether your application is likely to be successful.

If you have any doubts, it is wise to take professional advice before applying.

A rough order of things to do would be; chose an occupation on the SOL, check your eligibility / take a points test, consider character and health issues (ie do you have any), apply for skills assessment, take IELTs test (if you need to), apply visa, send in docs, take medicals and police checks when asked.

Good luck.

gabyjane

Thanks guys.
Alfresco thanks for the reply.

Bermudashorts thanks..dh is on the list he is a head chef/cook whatever they want to call it!..he is qualified but i am yet to find out whether it is good enough over there!..he has been in the same employment for 16+ years so knows his stuff is relaible etc etc!..

points test brings up 125ish maybe more if he does english test but if he doesnt need to he wont.

we are both very healthy no probs there.

What do you have to do for the character part?

Skills assesment he is worried about as working for the same co for so long he is thinking they may decide to get rid of him if they know he going/thinking of going..IELT ive forogtten what that is again as skip from page to page reading but not always intaking sorry!

I guess if he gets throught hat ok the visa, forms money then police checks (he's in the police part time so hopefully all ok there!) and medical again unless something is up we dont know about all ok..

After the visa is done..years down the line what is the process then..is the really hard bit over as such and you are hopefully granted a yes..do you have to do the selling up and job hunt and packing sorted etc?

Thanks so much for your reply much appreciated x

Bermudashorts

OK, so you have the points, you have no health issues, by character issues I was mainly referring to criminal records. Sometimes children by previous relationships can cause complexities to the application too? If you have none of those obstacles then the first thing to look into is skills assessment.

For "trades" in particular, which could include chefs skills assessment can be difficult without employer support. I don't know that much about chef skills assessment as I am an 'accountant, accountants don't need employer references for skills assessment. I think you should read up to see exactly what is required and that will indicate what you will need for the employer. There may be no choice but to get them involved, perhaps the blow will be softened if OH points out the visa could take years and he has no intention of going anywhere for years?

IELTS is the English test. If OH has a British passport (or Irish / NW/ US/ Can) and does not need the extra points then no need for IELTS.

gabyjane

Thankyou..so the very first thing to do is try and sort the assesment he has for his job..how much si that going to be? then wait for the results?

steve`o

have you looked here ?
http://britishexpats.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=85

gabyjane

Hi steve yes i have sorry and the posts i found were either fairly old or i still wasn't sure. I ahve posted there now thanks

Bermudashorts

Yes sounds like skills assessment is the next step for you.

I have no idea about costs. I am an accountant not chef. I am sure it will tell you on the application instructions.

RedT

Hi there,

Just wanted to wish you luck with the whole process! We applied May 2008 and got out visa Jan 2009 and that was including a small hiccup over my husbands gammy knee I think it's taking longer now but there's plenty of information on here so keep searching and asking questions. I found the whole thing very daunting too so I got out my trusty A4 pad and made a list of abbreviations, how order things go in (police checks, meds etc) and then investigated them one at a time. It really makes it all clearer in your head and you can see how the whole thing is going to pan out. Once you've been through all this you'll have a pretty good idea if your visa will get approved or not and we found our case officer at DIAC very helpful and approachable.

Good luck!

Tx

slapphead_otool

I don’t want to put a huge dampener on things here, however i am totally fed up with people who are here and complain about it.

This is my honest advice. I have been here 25 years, and married a Japanese girl in 5 years ago. Came here on an expat posting and decided to migrate.

Migrating anywhere is a huge step. Massive. I rate it higher than divorce and remarriage. Others here may disagree – however they may well be the ones complaining about Australia.

Trust me its a big step. Some people slip into it like its just changing jobs. It isn’t. It also isn’t like working as an Expat – you don’t cross the days off the calendar until you go home.

Its better to come out for a years working holiday (if you are under 30) or a holiday for a few weeks. Try before you buy. And spend a LOT of time researching on the internet. Not the beaches and tourist stuff. Look at the mundane. Electricity prices, food, cost of housing. Look at earnings as well.

Try to avoid the financial surprises that seem to have caught a lot of people here.

It is always more expensive than you think, and its a good idea to have return fares and enough money put aside to go home if you are unhappy. Again, others here will disagree, but a lot of people simple cant afford to go back even though they are unhappy. If the cost of the application is worrying you, chances are you cant afford it.

Discuss it with your entire family, and set out some basic agreements. A lot of people here end up stuck because there partner loves it and wont go back. Set an agreement. Say 18 months trial, and if everyone isn’t happy, you go back.

Consider the negatives. My family grew up and grew old without me seeing it. Two grandparents died without me being there. I guess the same will happen with my parents.

Remember that Australia is BIG, and that makes it boring. You cant drive over to the next major city to see a Pink concert. You drive for a day or fly.

Try to understand why you are migrating. Running away from something wont help. I knew a girl who did that. She move from the UK because she was depressed, and ended up overdosing in an apartment here in Sydney. If you career is in the doldrums in the UK, chances are it will be here.

Sorry to be a bit negative and bleak about things. But if you get the above wrong you end up as another unhappy person on BE, posting about the heat, poor pay, lack of entertainment and endless boredom.

Alfresco

Yep makes sense. Can't argue with that.

gabyjane

Hi..

Bermuda shorts thanks.

RedT thanks for your advice..lists are good for me they i agree make thigs a lot clearer!

slapphead_otool thankyou for your reply especially..i have seriously wanted someone to point out the bad bits as well as the good.
We have £4k saved..that's it our savings..aside from the job test fee (which im trying to find!) we can 'gamble' the £3.5 on a Visa and get accepted..move and adapt hopefully or pay it lose it and know we gave it a try..dh is quite happy to spend the money but i am hesitant as to all the other costs..As we sat there discussing this last night our cat weed in the kitchen (never done before)..he has done it a few times since and we are now worried he may have some sort of illness..not a HUGE issue regarding stopping changing our lives as if he is ill the vets is down the rd but my point is if anything, the cat or be it something else is going to go wrong we have no back up.
My Grandad wrote to say he would be helping us out financially as soon as his house had sold but i know s*ds law it will be too late..im not a money grabber at all btw but thats the only hope we may have i guess..
We are in a good position to save at the mo and have done a plan to do so which i'm starting later (whether it be for Oz or not) if we dont spend we dont go and if we dont save we dont go!
We are not trying to get away from anything..we are both tired of life here..dd will be older yet wants to go now!..I can imagine life as it is now (working etc) being so much better there for some reason..maybe im wrong!

Alfresco thanks!