ollylongden

can anyone give any advice - looking at going to oz - been before but want to go and live there with wife and kids. Approached loads of agencies who say i have enough points - only thing is that they charge a lot of money. Some people miss out the middle man altogether and say it's pretty easy - anyone come up with the cheapest and simplest way of doing this emigrating thing? I think i'm just a bit nervous about shelling out a wad without the knowledge of whether i could do it myself. Also any tips on jobs/hunting - was offered a place with cable and wireless optus year and a bit ago but needed a visa before anything could happen.
Anyway, any help anyone can offer will be greatfully received.
Regards
Olly

Rossi

First things first Olly,
You have to have your skills recognised.
What do you do?

tiredwithtwins

Hi Olly,
All the info you will need is on the dimia website - and the links attached to it. And on here of course!!!
What I have done (and should have done first) is printed off all the forms/booklets I needed then sat down with a highlighter pen and a pad of post it notes - I then went through the booklets/info sheets/application forms making notes and making lists of things to get/do/find etc. USE THIS FORUM!! anything you dont understand will be explained by someone who has the knowledge/first hand experience of any obstacles you may encounter.
Use the links people post for useful websites, speshly the sites people have done as a sort of diary of their progress throught the migration process - they are an excellent resource!
Finally, keep your sense of humour!!!!!!!

Good luck

sue

ollylongden

Im a telecomms engineer - think this comes under the communications linesperson catagory - got a few skills that match the shortlist criteria - such as fibre jointing, comms supervisor etc - but i'd put it in the comms linesperson catagory - a few of the agents i approached also put me under this.
Thanks for the reply
Olly

kittenlips

Hi Olly

I went trhough an agent purely to take the stress out of the situation and can guide you through any loopholes or problems you may have. We went with Ian Harrop & Associates based in Burford, (I think they have a branch in London somewhere too). So far they have been very helpful and not too expensive. Their fees are about £1,050 incl VAT.

Good luck Theresa

FiFi

Hi Olly

we did it all ourselves without migration agent.. only discovered this website 6 weeks ago so you are one step ahead of us..

First thing is to check on DIMA site to find the authorising body for your skills.. I was IT, so had to send references / certicates to ACS, hubby was mechanical engineer and we sent his stuff to the trades association... this took a couple of months .. however once you have this you can proceed to the next step, completing your application... its not difficult and the booklet explains everything ...

we then waited a year, then we had our meds, applied for police checks .. then we had an agonising 3 weeks while after we sent off our bond money while we awaited the final letter .. we have 12 months from the date of the medical to set foot on Australian soil.. then we can come and go as we please for 5 years.. if we leave the country after 5 years (wihtout taking out citizenship) we have to apply for a right to return visa ..

Hope this helps.. best of luck

HiddenPaw

Hi Olly
We didn't use a migration agent - did it all ourselves and got here ok!
The most arduous and time-consuming task was preparing all the paperwork for the ACS skills assessment. After that, applying for the actual visa was pretty straightforward.
Good luck
HP