As i am just researching the pro's and cons of making the move at the mo i.e: i haven't even got a passport yet! am keen to find a time line of the the emigration process.

Now i can appreciate timescales vary largely from case to case but the actually lengths of time in between each stage are not my biggest concern, its knowing what order things have to be done.

Is there a thread illustrating the stages of emigration or could somebody list them here?

many thanks

It really depends what visa you are thinking of. Have you decided that yet? If not try the visa wizard on www.immi.gov.au and then come back and have a read around that type of visa. Many people put their timeline in their signature so you can tell from that too.

Skilled - Independent - Migrant (subclass 175) visa

Well that is the one that I applied for so I will tell you what order I did things in.

Firstly identify an occupation on the Skiled Occupation List that you have worked in for at least 12 of the last 24 months.

Then do a points test to check that you have 120 points. If you don't have 120 points then you can't apply for a 175 but if you have 100 points you can apply for a 176 if you can obtain sponsorship from either a family member in Australia on PR / citizen or from a state.

After then also worth considering whether there are any potential character or medical issues relating to any of the applicants. If there are, then I think a chat with an agent is a good idea.

Next step is skills assessment. The Skilled Occupation List will name the body in Australia that you need to apply to for this for your chosen occupation. the requirements vary for each occupation so you need to read up on teh one that is relevant to you and do the necessary.

If you do not have a passport from an eligible country (IK, Ireland, US, NZ, Canada) you also need to take an IELTS test, the pass mark is 6 for many occupations but there are some exceptions.

Once you have a positive skills assessment and the required IELTS result (or eligible passport) you can then lodge your visa application.

Once the application is lodged you sit back and wait for a Case Officer to contact you. They might ask for more information or they might just ask you to go and do your medicals and collect police checks.

After that you sit back again and wait either for further communications or for the visa itself.

Good luck with it.

Sorry I have not covered what you do if you don't have 120 points and want to get state sponsroship as I didn't follow that route myself.

Well i got 130 points in the assessment, have requested the free consultation on the phone from the buereau, it advertises a call back within 48 hours, although the weekend is here tommorrow so probs be monday