A few questions
 

We have been thinking alot and think that Oz would be a good move for us, I've checked the points system and my husband qualifies with 135 points, I guess the next stage is to apply for a visa, this is where I have my questions:

I think it would be easier to get an agency to do this for us, has anyone got any recomendations??

I am assuming that myself and our 2 young children would be included on my husbands visa application?

We also have a friend who moved to Brisbane a few years ago, if my husband could get him to give him a job would it make the visa application easier/quicker??

I'm also concerned about the money side of things, finding money for the visa and costs etc wouldn't be a problem, but would we need to move there with enough money to buy a house, or could we get a mortgage when there?? If we sold our house after paying the mortgage off we think we would have roughly £30,000, is this enough??

I have loads of other questions too but will read through the threads and see if I can find some answers.

Re: A few questions
 

Hi,

I hope I can answer some of your questions. We are at the point of waiting for our visa to be granted any day so I can help with some of the questions.

We used Visa Bureau and they have been great. They have told me all the documents you need and have kept me organised - in fact my husband can't believe that I have done it all. In retrospect I could have done it without them in terms of it is all quite straightforward but it had gone very smoothly with them.

One thing I would say is when we applied in April they wanted me to apply by paper. I think this is so they can check all the documents more easily but it is slower - they may have changed their policy now though as it has become seemingly quicker online.



We have applied on my skills as a teacher and my husband and 2 children have been included on mine again very straightforward. You have to have your husbands skills asssessed by the relevant trade body then once that is completed apply for the visa itself

If your friend can offer your husband a job on 457 visa that would be quicker , i don't know the ins and outs of that though.

I have read that a mortgage is no problem once you have permanent residency, mortgages are more expensive over there but we aren't planning to take much to start and then sending over more when we get settled. If you look at the sydney morning herald website and look through the property pages called domain (found at the bottom of the page) it has a very comprehensive listing of many of the houses available throughout Australia and the costs.

Hope that helps you move a little closer to your plans

Han