tey&craig

Hi there.
Can anyone offer advice on melbourne,my partner and i (child and 2 dogs in tow!!)are just setting out on the long road to migration to oz and we're drawn to melbourne.Can anyone recommend a migration agent from there,what do we need to be aware of,things we need to know etc.Any advice/help would be gratefuly appreciated.

Craig

REGGIE

Hi Craig we used Migration expert.com and found them A1. They now have an office in London as well as Melbourne. We found them brilliant, we would email them before we went to bed and by the morning we could normally guarantee a reply. We now have our visa and hope to be in Oz after the sale of our house. Best of luck mate any questions dont hesitate Reggie

Hels Bells

You could also try www.gomatilda.com. Alan Collett posts on here and is really helpful.

Hels

simpy

Hi m8, me + OH +2kids are off to Melbourne b4 Christmas on a 136 - Skilled Independent, we did the whole skills recognition and visa application ourselves with email support from an excellent site here it worked out the cheapest.
What is your Job? Be aware of migration agents, use only recommended ones not just fancy sites, there are some really good ones out there but there are also some really bad ones, thankfully not many. If you do decide to go it alone (i personally think it's better as you tend to find out more because you are always looking for advice and it's a really good sense of achievement when you get throught the different stages) you will need to decide on what type of visa you want, whether to be sponsored or not etc etc. The thing is you have done the right thing by coming to this site, you WILL learn loads on here and there is always someone to help and advise you.
We haven't even been to Australia when we decided to start our immigration process but by no means are we going with blinkers on. We have been researching for 18months on the internet and, yes i know it's not the same as being there, but at least we have a good understanding of what to expect and what we need to do upon arrival, but that will probably go up in the air when we do get there.
Good luck with whichever way you decide to do it, and from a personal point of view, Melbourne stood out for us also.

Simpy

tey&craig

Hi simpy,
Thanks for that advice, know what you mean about bad agents,my partners b/in law got ripped off 3 grand a couple of years ago trying to get to the states.He's give us quite a bit of sound advice as you can imagine.He put us onto this site and to try and find a few buddies who can help us on the way.Been in contact with a couple of agents,one in sydney,the other was the australian visa bureau,not picked one yet tho, both have offered great advice.Got a points score,was fine on that.Think its going to be a 136 visa for us also.I work for airbus,fit trailing edge hydraulics,but timed served as a welder/fabricator,guy from the bureau suggested i go as a fitter,rather than a welder/fabricator as i wont be tied to one particular state/territory,we'll be able to go wherever,but hoping i might be able to get work in melbourne,maybe at the airport in a maintainance dept.Have you got any links to sites about melbourne?Have you found work out there yet?
Thanks again,
Craig.

QUOTE=simpy]Hi m8, me + OH +2kids are off to Melbourne b4 Christmas on a 136 - Skilled Independent, we did the whole skills recognition and visa application ourselves with email support from an excellent site here it worked out the cheapest.
What is your Job? Be aware of migration agents, use only recommended ones not just fancy sites, there are some really good ones out there but there are also some really bad ones, thankfully not many. If you do decide to go it alone (i personally think it's better as you tend to find out more because you are always looking for advice and it's a really good sense of achievement when you get throught the different stages) you will need to decide on what type of visa you want, whether to be sponsored or not etc etc. The thing is you have done the right thing by coming to this site, you WILL learn loads on here and there is always someone to help and advise you.
We haven't even been to Australia when we decided to start our immigration process but by no means are we going with blinkers on. We have been researching for 18months on the internet and, yes i know it's not the same as being there, but at least we have a good understanding of what to expect and what we need to do upon arrival, but that will probably go up in the air when we do get there.
Good luck with whichever way you decide to do it, and from a personal point of view, Melbourne stood out for us also.

Simpy[/QUOTE]

Bordy

You will get lots of advice specific to Melbourne on this site to.

http://z7.invisionfree.com/BritVics/...ex.php?act=idx

JAJ

You may find http://www.liveinvictoria.vic.gov.au a useful resource. You need to be sure you're eligible for a visa before taking any further steps. Why the need for a migration agent in Melbourne as opposed to somewhere else?

simpy

Hi Craig,

As we are not getting sponsored, we have found that the chances of actually securing a job without our visa is virtually nil. Had a few interviews but they all wanted to take over my visa for me and make it sponsored but we didn't want that, i prefer to have a choice. I am still applying for jobs however up until we leave (that's hoping the visa goes through smoothly).
Jobs is a good site for jobs as you can register your interests and get daily job adverts emailed to you.
The other links above posted by the other members are also informative.

Did you take a look at doing visa yourself with the link i provided?

Simpy

lang81

Hi there,
My agent was absoutley amazing. She is not in Melbourne but Perth, however it won't matter where they are. www.theozlife.com Her name is Doulene Steyn and her company is Active Migration Australia.

Australia_bound?

www.gomatilda.com. Alan Collett is from Vic and does a roaring trade as they're highly recommended.
For me I'd use George Lombard who's offered me advice in the past, knows his stuff and extremely helpful.

tey&craig

Cheers for that reggie,much appreciated.

tey&craig

Thank you hels

tey&craig

Cheers bordy

tey&craig

Cheers for that jaj,just think it will make life easier if our agent is from where we hope to live,especially if they can deal with buying houses etc,think it will be a usefull point of contact,someone we can call on and harass if things go dodgy!!!

JAJ

Expertise in immigration law and real estate are rarely found under the same roof. Use a migration agent for immigration assistance - find a real estate expert to advise on housing.