terrold

hi all,

my name is terry and my partners name is rhonda and we ive in the isle of man at present which is very nice place to live but looking into moving to australia, we also have a 10 year old daughter. i am a bus driver at the moment and my partner works in banking. we are considering going to the expo in manchester in october. we are very new to the idea of moving to oz and there are loads of sites to look at that after a while you get a little lost.i used to work with a guy who moved to oz and had to put 100.000 oz dollers in the bank for a year, do you still have to do this? rhonda doesn't seem to have a problem with skills cus of the banking experience she has, but not sure if oz is crying out for bus drivers? also have my hgv class 1 if thats any good? was considering training in something else cus have had a few jobs in my time, so can turn my hand to most things. was just wondering if the expo is worth a look, also any advice from anybody about things you don't think of, if you get what i mean? also does anyone know anything about taking pets? we have a dog and a cat which we would hate to give up. i also read a post on here about a 457 visa? would that be an idea for me and my partner to look into? anyway anyone with any comments or ideas, or places to look for info would be appreciated. thanks to all reading this and hope everyone is well.

thanks terry

Scott

Welcome Terry , a good place to start is here http://www.immi.gov.au/

also do a search of the Australia forum now you found us , you will find out lots .

never been to Expo , my start was speaking with an agent , some charge for this but its worth it just for that as it gives you a feel of what there is & isn't available to you .

good luck ,

scott

sprug

Hi
We went to the Expo in London earlier this year. The stands mainly were engineering and medical stands. It is worth a look as you get many different reading materials. My husband works in the water indusrty and we wanted a 457 visa (sponsorship). This took us 8 months to get. We were really lucky as a lot of people want this and not many are given. This visa is also known as a long stay buisness visa and you are entitled to stay for 4 years. This can be extended after this period. The visa entitles your daughter to schooling etc. This is the reason we wanted this as it provides a level of certainty. We didnt want to got the long way round and apply for a permanent migrants visa (think its called something similar) as we were told this takes over a year and is costly. With our 457 visa the company my husband is going to work for are paying for the visa which costs around $6000. We have been told that some people have to pay for this instead of the company. We have been looking into tking our cats, but the cheapest quote we have had in £2100 each so decided this is not an option for us as we ahve 3 cats and 1 dog and wouldnt be able to choose. We are in the middle of packing and cant believe how quickly things have progressed since receiving our offer. (3 weeks ago). We are hoping to be gone as soon as possible, but more then likely mid november. Hope this helps.
Shelley

the pursers

Welcome!

I think I read somewhere that HGV I drivers are in demand...try a search on immi.gov.au about which skills are in demand.
There is a magazine you can buy, called Australia and New Zealand Magazine. YOu can get it in WHSMiths. It might make a good starting point. Lots of agents advertise, and there are always adverts for skills assessments, training etc. But the mag isn't as friendly as the people on here!

NickyC

Have you read this? http://britishexpats.com/wiki/457_Visa_Restrictions.

In some states you DO have to pay for schooling if you're on a 457. You also might have to pay more for many other things that PR visa holders get for nothing.

wongstonn

Hello Terry

You will need to look into converting to the Australian equivalent to your PSV/HGV licences. Licencing is controlled at state level, so you will need to look at that laws for the state you intend to live in.

We're in Victoria, and one of my friends who was a bus driver in the UK. As I understand it, in Victoria the basic truck and PSV licence here is one and the same thing. You'll nned to do a course...at cost....before taking the test.

My friends experience was that it was difficult to get a bus drivers job. There are more truck drivers jobs around, though it was his opinion that it was interstate driving most in demand. He thought better of it.

I would recommend a bit more research on your part.

Neil

TELLYADDICT1

HI
Just want to say good luck. I've been viewing this site for some time now (only registered this month tho) and have found it invaluable. Great balanced info & support.
TA

terrold

cheers for the the comments and advice guys and gals! the other half had bought a book about living and working in australia which covers a hell of alot, its called living and working in australia and is the up to date edition, so if anyone wants to know anything it covers most things, let me know and i'll tell you what is says.

brissybound

Good luck, youll get a lot of help on here