British Expats - Excitement!

British Expats (https://britishexpats.com/forum/)

- Australia (https://britishexpats.com/forum/australia-54/)

- - Excitement! (https://britishexpats.com/forum/australia-54/excitement-439159/)

Hi Jo, certainly not taking the message as an insult, I really do appreciate the help. You have been at the stage we are now and all information is good:)

I have e-mailed the agent asking for a breakdown of all costs. Hubby has said that he hasn't actually posted the document to give the go ahead for them to act as our agent yet, (was supposed to post it on saturday morning on his way to work!) so no harm is done yet.

Thanks again:)

Jacky xx

Quote:

Originally Posted by allthejs (Post 4591366)

Hi Jo, you have me worried now. We have been told that the whole package will cost in the region of £4000 which includes the cost of medicals for seven people and police checks. I think I will get onto them today and ask for a breakdown of costs. Maybe I am wrong when I say £1400 for first stage, hubby has been dealing with it so maybe I heard him wrong:( Certainly hope so now.

Will read the threads again at a slower pace and see if I can get some more info. The Visa Bureau were actually recommended to us by a friend as well and she was very happy with their service and costs.

Jacky xx

Hi,

Just so you can compare - our agents fees were £1500, meds £800 for 5 of us and approx £1000 for cost of visa and skills assessment.

Vikki x

That is a relief, what sort of visa are you going for. Do a search I can think for 4 good agents off hand, but I think that it ought to be someone else cause I dont want you to think that I'm working for them.:p .

Jo

Quote:

Originally Posted by joho (Post 4591396)

I wouldnt recommend our agent as he has been a bit useless but I do know that Ian Harrop and Go Matilda have very good reputations.

Quote:

Originally Posted by allthejs (Post 4589552)

Hello everybody, I have been following your threads and gaining valuable information for a good few weeks now and have become addicted!

We have just given the go ahead to the Visa Bureau to act as our agents and for the first time since we had decided to go ahead with a move to australia, I am excited!. It is a really big move for us, as I am sure it is for alot of people. We have five children ages 12, 7, 4, 2 and 1 and I hope we are doing the right thing by moving them. Some days I have doubts and then others I know it is the right move. Is everybody like this?

My husband is in a very good job here, we live in a fantastic house with an acre of land, (ideal for the kids), I don't work (am a full time mum!)and I keep thinking why do we want to leave that behind? Then on the other hand I think the future of my children is important and at the moment Australia is coming ahead of england and the fact that my husband will be able to get a day job (currently works shifts all over the place) and spend more time with us is also a bonus. We really want to have time with the kids while they are still small, we know that time goes very quickly.

What I am trying to say is that I really do know in my heart that it is the right move, but am still having doubts. I will be leaving behind my parents and sisters (who I am very close to) to follow my husbands dream which is also becoming mine. Are doubts in everybodies minds?

Sorry to rattling on about nothing in particular, just really wanted to air some thoughts. Thanks for listening :)

Jacky xx

It is a tough decision and like they say, if it ain't broke don't fix it, but you have to go with whats in your heart; don't think of it as a permanent move, it can be for as little or as long as you want. Do a pros and cons list, look at the benefits to having your family near, do they provide valuable free child care? Are the schools in your area good? Do you have a good life in the UK? I know we did, in fact we were in a similar situation (other than I had to work) but we lived opposite Mark's parents who owned a farm, we had a nice house, land, good schools in a nice village with very little crime (hubby was the local bobby). It was a tough decision, but we made it and haven't regretted it.

I don't think its cold feet, I just feel that when you make a huge decision like this, and start the ball rolling you suddenly begin to appreciate everything you have, beacuse you are leaving it. Most people who move here and settle well are the ones that didn't leave because they hated the UK, far from it! We loved where we lived, we loved our jobs, but we just felt it was right for us to move back to Queensland. We have very active boys that love the outdoors - be it in the UK or here!

Don't feel daunted, just look around you and appreciate what you have, take lots of picures, visit places and make the most of it! When you get here, new experiences will start all over again. Your kids are the perfect age for this change, any later and it can become difficult.

Quote:

Originally Posted by VikkiL (Post 4591401)

I wouldnt recommend our agent as he has been a bit useless but I do know that Ian Harrop and Go Matilda have very good reputations.

We're using Gomatilda - have had no problems with them - very professional / very quick to answer queries etc....
For what we've paid so far it has all come to over £3,000 in all (our xrays and medicals 2adults and 2kids) came to £800 (£60 of which was the courier charge). We have nothing further to pay now - used Gomatilda for the TRA application as well as the visa application.:D

Hi Jo, we are going for the skilled 136 visa, hubby is a multi skilled maintenance technician so can be listed as an electrician (although he is trained in alot more than that) We have already been told that we pass on the points score, we gained 135 points so no worries there.

Which agent did you use Jo? We did speak to Go Matilda and liked Alan although we were speaking to somebody in Melbourne called Shaun for most of the time. He was very quick with responses and answered all of our questions very well.

Hi Glittababe, you are right, we are not leaving because our lives are bad here, we are just looking at the big picture and believe that we will have an even better life in oz. Like you say, we can always come back:)

Vikki, thanks for the comparison on prices:)

Jacky xxx

Hi Jacky,

I would strongly reccommend taking Joho's advice on agent. We are one of the unfortunate families who have been charged excessively. Our agent has actually been fantastic but their bill has left a very large hole in our bank balance - only wish we'd found this site before we started. We're on the last leg now so are just going to continue with them and learn from our mistake but you can make the right choice from the start.
Just from looking at other posts Go Matilda, George Lombard and Ian Harrop seem to be highly reccommended by other users. Its worth contacting them for a chat. Also, if you do a search on BE for Visa Bureau I think you'll find a few negative posts. Good luck with everything though and welcome to British Expats:) !!

Tasha x
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Hurrah I may have saved one.......

Just going to polish my halo.

Jo