HI,

We are just going through the process of applying for PR and have read with interest the discussion threads currently underway which have answered many of our questions and raised others (such as should we be using the agent or doing it ourselves.

A couple of questions I have not found answers to are:

Do we need to get rid of all of our electrical items and start afresh ?

On average how long does this whole process take, I am at present busilly writing off to all of my employers over the past 5 years gaining evidence of my IT experience. I have been told by my agent that we will probably have our application lodged for the end of Jan 2003 as the new Visa year starts in January. Will I be out there for next christmas ???

Another question which I need advice on is whether to go for Melbourne or Perth having realised looking at property websites that Sydney is way to expensive.

Hope there is someone out there who can help.

Cheers.

Ian & Debra Foster
Morley
Leeds

[email protected]

Hi Ian & Debra,

I thought the visa year started in July, it did this year anyhow.

As for electrical items, from what I understand TV's won't work unless you get them altered once there,everthing else is ok (not sure abour VCR's) We were advised that if the item is relatively new and you have room in the container then take it otherwise leave them here.

I'm afraid I can't help with waiting times for IT, we have applied under General Skilled but not IT and have been waiting since January this year. Hopefully not much longer to wait.

I also can't advise on location as we are heading for Brisbane.

Susan

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TVs, VCRs and cordless phones almost certainly yes, as they won't work in Australia
(and foreign cordless phones are restricted because of radio spectrum allocation).
However, your VCR tapes should play on an Australian VCR, so do take them.

You mobile phone should work in Aus with a new SIM card as long as it works on the
GSM900 spectrum, ie if it's a UK Vodafone or Cellnet - or if it's dual band (most
mobiles sold in the last few years in Britain are).

If you have a UK DVD player it needs to be multi-region if you want to play
Australian DVD discs on it (as UK is in Region 2, Australia in Region 4).

White goods (washing machines) etc can be taken but:
- if you're using a shared container there will be an extra cost to ship
- if they break down in Australia, getting them fixed might be a problem.

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Do you mean Jan 2002 to lodge? If you lodge your application in Jan 2003 you'll
probably be doing well to get to Australia by Christmas 2003 - especially as 'IT fast
tracking' may not survive until then.

It surprises me your agent thinks the new visa year starts in Jan - as far as I know
it runs from 1 July to 30 June.

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Perth real estate is a lot cheaper than Melbourne. There are jobs in Perth, but
Melbourne's a bigger market, so you'll have more choice. Perth's climate beats
Melbourne's hands down. Ocean beaches are more accessible than in Melbourne. On
the other hand, Melbourne is Australia's cultural and sporting capital, if this is
what you're looking for. Finally, Perth is pretty isolated. To some, that's part
of its appeal.

Jeremy

Jeremy,

thank you for your reply, I did mean 2002, slight typo.

As a result of yours and Sisan's replies, I have now questioned my agent over the Visa year start / finish dates.

Ian