hannybabe

Hi, is anyone out there able to help...?

My husband, Jonathan, and I (with our daughter who is 4 years old at the moment) are hoping to move to Perth. So far, we have done loads of research and are wondering what the next things are that we could do... because, as yet we are not in a position to put in a visa application?!

Jonathan (34) is a primary teacher but as yet he has very little experience. I (27) am a Nursery Nurse, but am not currently working although I will be from this September. We don't currently qualify for the Skilled International Regional visa, which is why we want to know what we can do now. But by the time we are in a position to make the application, Jonathan should have attained the required experience to get the work points for us to do so. I know he has to have been working full-time for 12 months. Is he required to have a contract for the necessary points or would full-time supply teaching be enough? It is possible he may be working as a PPA from Sept, would this count?

I have loads of other questions too, so here goes...

1) I have been researching teaching salaries in Australia. I have looked on the Aussie government website (www.australia.gov.au) to find a pay scale for teachers in the state schooling system. The latest figures they have are from 2003 (which seem really low) but I have read that the teachers over there wanted a 100% pay-rise. Has this happened? Has any pay-rise happened since then? Where would I go to find out more up-to-date information? Is there a Department of Education website I could look at? I am also looking into possibly training as an Early Years teacher there at some point (providing that we get Citizenship), so as you can appreciate it is quite an important factor for us!

2) Bearing in mind the fact that I will be working part time in Sept, what are people's views on getting an agent to help with the migration process? Is it worth the money that they ask? I have had a quote from 'Global Visas' for £1700 ish. Is that normal and would that tend to include the visa fees too because they are expensive... What are your thoughts? How easy would it be to do myself? I am worried that I might miss something important out! What kind of things are you required to submit to the DIMA?

3) I have had a quote from '1st International Shipping' and ‘Anglia Pacific’ for taking our stuff over and have asked for another 3 which I have not received yet. (I know this is early, but we need to know how much we need to save...) We have a fair amount of stuff and some people say that it is better to sell stuff here and then buy over there, but a lot of what we have is irreplaceable (sentimental stuff- wedding presents etc...) so we have decided to ship... Can anyone recommend a good firm? We don't want to spend less and find we cannot use our stuff when we get there!

4) As I have mentioned, we are looking at Perth. As we will be (hopefully) travelling on a Skilled Independent Regional visa, so we will be unable to live/ work in Metropolitan Perth. We are looking at the areas; Quinn’s Rocks, Ridgewood, Mindarie, Clarkson... and a few other areas close by. Are these acceptable areas for this visa class? What are the areas like (reputation wise) bearing in mind we want a good school for our daughter (and future children). We are happy to send her to a church school, but are not sure we want private education at this stage, unless the state education is not what they say... What are peoples' thoughts?

5) We will need to open a bank account at some point to start transferring funds. We are planning to take all our finances over there as we do not feel the need to keep finances within this country- we have very little family here. My husband has an account with The Commonwealth bank that he used 12 years ago when he went over on a 12 month visa- would this still be open? Could we use it? What are the best banks and is there anywhere we could go for financial advice in this country about this sort of stuff, if we decided not to use a migration agent...? When would you recommend moving funds over, is it too late once the visa application is granted? Or is that something we should start to sooner rather than later?

6) We want to buy when we move, as soon as is possible. Would we be able to buy on a temporary visa- I understand that the visa we want is temporary for 3 years? Where would the best place be to go to find out what we were able to do? We have been looking at www.realestate.com/au and around $450000 - $500000 seems to buy what we want, but are not sure what the lending rates are or what we would be able to borrow... what kind of multiples do they generally lend in? Here we are based on something like 4 times a single salary, I think. Any ideas where to go for more info..?

7) What do the medical checks cover? How basic/ thorough are they? My husband was treated for cancer 5 years ago and was given the 'all-clear' last year- as far as they can! Do you think that this could pose a problem for us? Other than that, we are all relatively fit and healthy. Where would we go to find this out? Would I be able to find out on www.immi.gov.au or would they tell us over the phone? We don’t want to pay out a lot of money to find out we wouldn’t be eligible anyhow!

8) We know that the Aussies love the water. We are teaching our daughter to swim and are starting her lessons in September (that is when the next session starts) but taking her as often as possible in the meantime. What would be her equivalent level in Oz? She is almost 5- going into Year 1 in the UK. She is VERY keen and a fast learner, so we are hoping that she would not be too far behind! Is there a site that would give me information about what stage she would be expected to attain at her age in Oz?

9) So far, we have found Emirates to be the best for flights, however when we fly to emigrate, we plan to go via America as the baggage allowance is more. As Emirates only fly via the UAE, can anyone tell me then the best company that we would be to go that way with? I usually use the flight comparisons on the web (www.travelsupermarket.com, www.dealchecker.co.uk etc) but they tend to only show flying via Singapore, Dubai, etc. Is it much more expensive to fly via the USA, bearing in mind that the ticket would be one-way this time? How long would the flight be via, say New York or LA? We do not plan to stop, just wait for the transfer. We would still fly economy, what are facilities like on-board for a child? How many films are shown? Are the seats comfortable enough for a child to sleep in- we probably wouldn’t sleep? etc etc…

10) What do you recommend us doing when we first arrive? We hope to stay with my best friend and her family for a week or so, but both they and we would want our space. Is the accommodation from places like www.pomsinperth.com or www.migrantsinperth.com worth a look at? We will have to await our furniture, so where we live will have to be furnished. From what we have seen, places to rent over there seem to be let on an unfurnished basis. Any hints? Anywhere you could recommend?

The longer we are here, the more we are able to save to pay for everything for the emigration. Is there anything we can do in the meantime? (I understand that there is probably not) We are planning a research trip out as soon as is practically possible, but what can we do now, over here..?

If you have any tips on telling parents: the timing of, how to do/ not do etc that would be great too! My husband is quite worried about this as our children will be his parents’ only grandkids…

Thanks. Any other advice on things that people found hard or complicated would be great to know! If you feel there are things you would do differently please let me know too! What people found easy or ways we could do things quicker would be fantastic though!

Look forward to hearing from you all.

hannybabe

hereshoping

wow thats a lot of questions, some of them I think you need to leave for a while, until much nearer the time. I'll give some of them a go though... (takes deap breath)...

1, working supply is fine as long as he can prove his employment with pay slips etc. He will need to contact teaching australia for a skills assessment to see if he qualifies first before you get into all the visa stuff. Look on the teaching section of this board for more advice on teaching in oz.

2, If your case is straight forward and you are an organised person then doing the visa yourself is definately possible. We both work full time and are managing it (i think, no visa yet ). It is basically collecting paperwork to prove every aspect of your life, qualifcations etc.

3-6 no real idea at the moment sorry.

7, the only thing specifically mentioned in the health requirements is TB. Other than that the medical requirement is that the person wil not be a drain on australian resources. This is highly subjective and judged case by case. I have heard 3 years remission is standard for cancer patients, but try phoning australia house and they might give you a better idea.

er thats about all i can coment on right now,

good luck!

Scott

WOOOWW lots of questions .

go here , if you havn't already
http://www.immi.gov.au/

I wouldn'tthink that £1700 will include visa's , yes they are expensive but then again are they ?

Agents are worth the money if you think you need one , if you don't then don't have one .
there was a simlier question asked just last week , so search a page or 4 back or use search function .
we are using agent http://www.gomatilda.com/home.cfm & i will say they are highly recommended & less than £1700 but we are only using them to do paperwork & obtain visa & nothing else ( relocation etc that you may get in with you quote ) ?

most agents such as the one above , will chat on phone for FREE ! & give you advice .

all the best ,
Scott

hannybabe

Thanks for that- will have a look at the website! Still working thru a lot of stuff as you can guess, but will keep this space updated!

Thanks!

Wow, thanks for that. Really helps, esp the health one- will get in touch with Aus House but feeling little more confident!!!

Teaching info is also of gr8 help 2!

Thanks a lot!

hitchcock71

hi loads of questions

if you are going on a Regional visa then i dont think you can live in the "metro perth" which would include quinns etc i think you have to live south in the peel area of perth which is south of perth

its only 1hr away from perth central

if i am wrong sorry

hannybabe

Thanks for that. I will look into it.

Australia_bound?

Way too many questions there lol

Teachers pay is poor when at the bottom end of the scale, jobs are hard to come by and Australian experience is all important (unless you wish to live in the arse end of a village/town in the middle of no-where!

We're almost in an identical situation. If you can break down that mass you've typed up via pm I'll try and help you more, too tired to work my way through it all right now

hannybabe

Thanks for that... loadsa questions I know lol

I guess a lot of them are a bit premature... but the most important ones i guess are;

How do you decide whether to use an agent?
And if you do, how do you choose?

How do you find out info on recent teachers salaries?

What do they include in medicals...? Will my husband be rejected for having had cancer?

Thanks for that and Good luck yourself!
People are soooo helpful on here, thanks!

Geordie George

Welcome to BE.

A lot of the questions are premature. My advice would be to start out by seeing whether you qualify for a visa - medicals are a necessity. The search facility here is useful and you can learn a lot. But you'll get more specific answers on your particular case by speaking with an expert: a lot of migration agents will offer the initial consultation for free.

As for costs, it's not cheap. Allow a couple of thousand for visas (if you choose to use an agent), a couple of thousand for flights, a couple of thousand for shipping (depending on what you take) and enough to cover you on this side for three months without a job. Personally, I think we went through about 10,000 squid (Aussie keyboard - no pound sign) in the process. Of course, it can be done for less - but work out how prepared you are to struggle initially. But that's all immaterial if the visas can't be sorted.

There are lots of agents that are members of BE. Look in the immigration section of the forum.

Wendy

Normally, you have to be clear of Cancer for three years to pass the medicals, but given the fact that your application isn't going to be straight forward I would recommend an agent. They will help you should you come into any problems with it. They will also telll you what you are going to need in the way of medical reports from doctors/specialists.

You should choose one based on your initial feelings of them, also in your case the one you think will have the best chance of representing your case to DIAC.

Can't help with teachers salaries I'm afraid

hereshoping

For teachers salaries look here

http://www.det.wa.edu.au/education/t....html#salaries

there is also general information on that site about employment with the dep of ed in WA which you will need to know. Be aware that unless you work in a private school your choice of where to work may be limited.