Hi, Ive just joined so this being my first post, I thought it best to jump in with a few questions.

Myself (40) and my wife (32) have recently started to discuss emigrating and after watching a documentary one evening (might have been a cooking show, We had had wine!!) saw how amazing Tasmania looks and have done some very simple google searches on house prices and weather etc and have decided to put this pipe dream into motion.. From Bolton NW to...Who knows....

Initially we intend possibly to fly over next year and generally get a feel for the place,people,climate,food and pending this... Go through the Visa application process and take things from there..

I currently work in consultancy designing highway lighting installations and have attained IEng as well as a 25yr career in electricial engineering, so what are the current prospects of finding a career similar? My wife works in telesales but has said she will happily do 'anything'

So any tips or pointers anyone can fire my way will be very warmly received.

Steve & Claire

First step check to see if you can get a visa - I've no idea if your qualifications would entitle you to apply for one but you can check the SOL and CSOL for that. Sadly, it isn't as easy as deciding you'd like to live there.

Tasmania is certainly beautiful, my favourite part of Australia by a long long way.
You'll need to have a look at Australian Government Department of Immigration and Border Protection to see if you qualify for a visa first. I'm not sure whether your skills are currently on the SOL or CSOL but as Quoll said thats the first thing to look at.
Work in Australia

Many thanks for your replies.

That was going to be my next question, whether anyone has any suitable links to the relevant Government websites.

I went on the Skillselect(?) website yesterday evening and went through the arduous form filling for a 189 Skilled Person Visa but could not get past the final page as I had ticked 'no' to having the relevant Australian qualifications...

Very early days to this whole process, so not panicking just yet..

I work in electrical engineering and it is very quiet all over Australia at the moment - with Tasmania probably the worst. Economically, Tasmania is very backward and is the poorest part of Australia. This is due to the hard-left, Green, anti-business political setup down there - and an unwillingness to even try and sort it out. Therefore population flows out of Tasmania to the mainland - especially amongst young people

Nice place to retire or live if you are economical independent but a terrible place to earn a living

Good luck

You can't submit an EOI for a skilled visa unless you have got a Skills Assessment for the skill you are applying with, plus possibly an IELTS test result and maybe even state sponsorship, You definitely need the skills assessment though.

Hi Steve, well you'd certainly get points for your age (40) and if you've been working for the past 20-odd years, you'd get points for that as well. You can pad up the points with a good IELTS result (8.0 and above) and if you total that up you'll already have more than half of the min cut off of 60 for an 189 (a quick mental calculation gives me at least 50 points?). What's important is to ensure that your occupation is listed on the SOL and I reckon that'll be the first step to take.

Good luck!

Amazulu - You have echoed what I have read on other forums and advice pages so maybe the dream fades away at every turn. Although I do have the electrical background to fall back on, I specialise in highway lighting which although a very niche market in the UK (with some good money being earned currently due to the boom on LED's being the next big thing)..

Pollyana - Thanks for the heads up, I discovered this yesterday after some intense lunchtime reading whilst at work..

Xizzles - Think from Pollyanna's message I need to do some reading up then look into the IELTS thing.. Fortunately I have some fairly recognisable qualifications (at least in the UK) and am qualified to a higher level amongst my peers. Whether this counts for anything, only time will tell. A friend of mine emigrated to Australia in 2010 and to my knowledge had no real qualifications in any field.. Although he did end up working in mining and last head was planning coming back to the UK...

Quick online test and I scored 65 for a 189 Visa application..

There you go! You're well on your way! Good luck!!

Tasmania is certainly a great place and really enjoyed it for a holiday, but I certainly wouldn't move just for weather and house prices (cheap for Australia but expensive for Europe), if you can find similar in the UK or Ireland without all the visa stress.