cadman

I'm 35, wife is 29, kids aged 5,7 & 9.

We have applied under visa sub-class 139 - Skilled sponsored designated area so have no points test to pass.
Skills have been positively assessed by VETASSESS (Civil Engineering Technician), DIMIA forms are in for processing, went in about 1 month ago.

We wanted to go to NZ about 10 years ago but didn't have the points, father passed away a year ago and missus is always complaining of the cold so we thought sod it let's see if we can emigrate to OZ.

Cousin (sponsor) lives nr Melbourne (Sunbury), we have decided on Brisbane or somewhere near.
I want to live as rural as possible but obviously have to be near enough to work. Wife is applying for her Nursing (here in the UK) so we may have to validate and then wait 3 or 4 years until she's qualified. Pain in the arse but it makes financial sense to have 2 decent incomes.

ovenater

hi all

we are applying as skilled sponsered designated area and are having my uncle sponser us. We have an agent and are almost ready to have my husbands trade recognised (wall and floor tiler), which has been too long in getting ready. We are going to oz for a month over xmas and we are staying on the goldcoast, Adelaide and Perth, so we can get a good look. Our friends live in Adelaide so I am hoping we like it there best. I am 39 hubby 40 and three kids 18, 16, 11.

great post by the way

can't wait Sally

jopaulss

Hi All
We are Jo 35 paul 36 scott 13 and shawnie 11 decided we would migrate back in the late eighties being young and no ties etc , but things happen and we didnt go ahead , kids came along , life went on , and we didnt get a visit out to perth till dec 2000 . That was it for us we loved it ,went back home after 6 weeks , and tried to get back to normal and get out of holiday mode. Couldnt so decided to start the ball rolling with the application in about april 2001 , the main application went in late september 2001 skilled cant remember hubby a bricklayer. Front end loaded the application with medicals and we got our visas 9 months later on june 10 2002 . Was good going then for time . Sold house already so we flew out on october 26th 2002 to perth . Renting in hillarys , paul has had a job from one week so thats been great , im at AQWA and loving it . Have some very good friends here who we have met off the site and all in all we do love our new lives and we wouldnt go back now , settling in just takes a little time.
Good luck all of you still waiting , it will be worth the wait. . Just wish it would stop raining here and summer would hurry up
Joanne xx

bundy

Our story is right at the beginning (not put the application in yet, but we're been planning it for the last 4 years!). I'm 26, my Aussie partner is 25. We met in Australia on a sheep station on my fourth day in Oz, lived together on a converted bus and then in a shack called the Mexican Prison for a year then came over to the UK. He has right of abode over here and we've been living in Cambridge since our return 3 years ago.

The aim has always been to go back to Oz, with me getting residency, and open up an outback pub/backpacker hostel (I know, hardly original, but it's where our experience/contacts is/are). We'll get married out there (but not necessarily within 9 months, hence de facto visa, not fiance one), both want a brood and want to give them a good, healthy rural living.

Off to Oz at the end of Oct to catch up with people, gather stat decs then return to do PCC and medicals then front-load application asap. Want to move out there in July 2004 (got to wait for brother to get married first...grrr).

spuds

hello everyone,
My husband Neil and I applied for Skilled Family Sponsored 4 months ago and have just sent our police checks and medicals off as we are off to Oz in 3 weeks and feeling optimistic!

We are a bit mad and our situation is a bit risky but we are actually going out in the hope that our PR might come through before we have to come home and so have sold almost everything we own in anticipation (rest is in storage) we reckon the worst that can happen is having to leave Oz in Jan and travelling round for a bit which shouldn't be a bad thing.

Anyway, fingers crossed and good luck to everyone.

The McGintys

Hi,

Well myself (25) Hubbie (29) Jack (2.5years) & Harry (11 months) are planning to go to Adelaide.

We are in the process of doing our TRA skills assessment. Ross (hubbie) is a bricklayer and we are planning to apply for designated area sponsor. Ross's 2 Aunts & Grandad all live in Adelaide and have kindly offered to sponsor us.

We really would love to go before Jack starts school and I am told that our visa should be fast tracked (but I wont hold my breath!!)

OUr friends & family all think we are mad but who cares!!! (mostly because we have not ever been to Oz) but we will give it our best shot and if it does not work out at least we can say we tried.

Good Luck to you all
Cheers Daihla

booboo1

Hello Uncle T

My story (the very short version)

Born in Melbourne ( pre-historic times) yearned to go back for many years.
Was going back in 1987 then I met hubby to be.... stayed here. Gave him some serious nagging for 14 Years.....Please,please come to Aus with me .....blah blah blah
He decided this January that he would like to live there after all...
After a short spell in Intensive care for "total and utter shock syndrome" I got to work and got his visa sorted. It took 20 days..
now the hosue is sold and Hopefully by year end we will be in Aus....
Totally excited and totally happy......

what more can I say!!!!!!


see ya all there
hugs

booboo

Scott&Berni

Hi

Our story is that I travelled to Oz on a working visa in 97. Loved it and din't want to come back. however came back and settled and met scott my hubbie.

We got married in Sydney in 2001 and when we came back he could not settle back in so i got my dream and we applied to emigrate. we applied on Scott's skills (Automotive Engineer) in Nov 2002 and got our visas on the 5th Sept 2003.

So really excited. i have family in Sydney and we have contacts in Brisbane. our original thoughts were to go to Sydney but we are alos looking seriously at Brisbane now as so many people on this site have recommended it. We are going out for a 3 week check it all out in Dec/Jan and then permanently late feb early March.

Have sold the house and this should complete mid November touch wood.
Cheers

Lany

Hi, I've just joined today....it seems like everybody else did things the right way around...ie obtained there visas first before going to Oz??? My hubby's an australian resident and we are currently in the uk but we are going to oz next week (me on a tourist visa) then once I arrive (according to the lawyer) I can apply for my residency. I'm very excited..NEVER been as far away as oz before but I am also devastated at leaving my family....scarey

Any advice on living in oz would be great....I'll be living in Melbourne


Lany

ohsohopeful

OK here's our story too. I'm 31, my partner (main applicant) is 34 this month. No kids to worry about.

2002: in touch with other half's ex- colleagues (IT) who emigrated a year or two before. At that time we were seriously considering emigrating to Caribbean.

2003: Decided Caribbean was getting too expensive with too few work opportunities, so decided to pay Oz a visit. Spent just over 3 weeks there in April this year and visited said ex-colleagues plus cousin in Sydney. Travelled Adelaide, Sydney, Bris, got PADI certified on GBR, flew back from Cairns. Very very close to not getting on plane at Cairns.

Had started off ACS assessment for other half before we flew out there and had positive assessment waiting for us when we got home. Submitted Skilled Independent visa application within 10 days of return home, in May. Now just over 4 months into the process and we have already:

1. Told the family
2. Packed all our belongings and put them into storage
3. Sold the house and moved into rented flat
4. Sent off police checks and medicals
5. Handed notice in at work

Will spend December and January visiting family and tying up loose ends and have fingers firmly crossed for acceptance shortly after New Year if we are lucky, although we may be waiting until May and beyond.

Some days, today in particular, it all seems a very long way off and I find myself wondering if we'll make it and what we'll do if we don't. Telling people all our plans is very exciting but just makes you hope against hope that we pull it off!

Thanks for listening!

The GoodbyeGirl

Hi,

My story is this: We are originally from South Africa, currently in Canada and wannabe in Australia. We sent our Visa's in July last year, our medicals in June of this year and pcc last week (we waited 5 mos to receive our South African police clearances!!). Anyhow, we decided we wanted to live in Oz, because although Canada is great, it is really colllllld, and we would really love to have the outdoor lifestyle that we were so used to in SA. The only thing that we are concerned about is the fact that our son who is 20 (still a dependent), has epilepsy. It is controlled, but only in the past few mos, as we have been experimenting with drugs (he was only diagnosed last year).

Can't wait to find out whether we get to go or not. Like so many others on this forum, the wait (and not knowing for sure), is a killer!!!

earlswood

Hi everyone,

So weird, I remember reading Terry's post when I first found the site!

Here goes our story,

Should have grown up in OZ but mom and dad pulled out when my sister was concieved
(She's emigrating too her hubby has family in Bris has promissed to pay mom and dad back by sponsoring them when they retire!)

Thought about it loads over the years but never seemed to be the right time.
Visited Sydney and Brisbane at Easter and fell in love with the later.
Got George Lombard as our agent (dropped into his office while in Sydney for free certification ) Hubby in IT so sent the "war and peace" to the loverly ACS in June 2003, had possitive assessment 5 wks later and immediately Fedexed the 47SK in July.
Still waiting for confirmation but George has a case number and DIMIA took the cash straight away (as they do!!).
Have been to the Bham meet, met some great people, have some good PM buddies, footie chick,Trevski,plumb etc and can't wait for the next step (medicals etc...)

Good Luck to everyone,

And here's to lots of yellow envelopes and joyous posts over the coming months

Earlswood

footie chick

Hi All

Read this the first time round but never answered so here goes.

We decided to go for it in the summer of last year. After much searching we decided to go it alone and not use and agent. The first task was to get the TRA done and that was eventually completed and sent off in Jan 03 and we had a letter back in around three/four weeks with a deeming date of 86. We sent off the visa app at the beginning of May and had confirmation on the 21st of the month. Waiting times quoted 50 weeks so i will be around for a while !!

I have made some great friends through this site and keep in touch via email,letter,phone and the forum itself. Also not forgetting those that i have met at the Essex meet and also the Brighton meet.


Footie chick

nosuchluck

Hi Terry
what a great post, really interesting reading everyones reasons and where they are in the process!
so here goes, we are me 37, hubby Mark 38 and daughter Chanelle 11. We decided that we no longer wanted to be what the Uk is fast becoming, Britain without the Great bit when we got married in Tobago last year. We have been together for 12 years but only bought a property four years ago, we sat on the Caribbean sands and talked like never before, talked about what we both wanted out of life, that we didn't spend enough time together as a family and that on the rare weekend that Mark didn't work (he's self employed), we couldn't plan any outdoor activities because the weather is so unpredictable! we talked about moving to Antigua but decided that we weren't wealthy enough to retire just yet and Mark would be lucky to find work there so we plumped for Australia! neither of us had ever been so it is a massive step for us. On returning to the Uk, we did lots of research on the internet, subscribed to Australian News, looked at the pros and cons of all the states/territories and both decided that Brisbane was for us!
We hired an agent Global Visas and collated ALL the information for the TRA (mark is a plasterer), thankfully he passed that last week with a deeming date of 1991! so this week we will send off all the paperwork for the biggy to our agent to post off, then we will wait and wait and hope that the next year goes by as quickly as the last has!
alot of people have said 'how can you make a life changing decision on a whim?' well to put it into some sort of perspective my new manager has just moved lock, stock and barrel from Luton down to Poole having never been to Poole/Bournemouth before!! maybe its not the same as its only up the 'road' but what difference does it really make, he is as determined to make a go of his new life here as we are in Brisbane and if all else fails then we'll move on, its very unlikely that we will come back here. We are not getting any younger and life isn't a dress rehearsal, i for one don't want to be on my death bed thinking 'what if'!
thanks again Terry
really enjoyed answering this post
regards
rach

debsy

Nice post Rach. Just thought I would let you know that Terry is now in Melbourne. I spoke to him today and he is loving it there.
Debs