Curtis gang

Hi, this is our first post on the site and was hoping for some much needed advice.
We are a family of four, two adults with a 5 and 4 year old. We really want to emigrate to Aus in the next couple of years for a better life for our girls and of course us!
My husband is a fully qualified gas engineer and plumber and hope this will help. We have completed the skilled work visa application online at the Australian bureau, and he gained 125 points which he was congratulated on!
I have worked as an office manager for the last 15 years and we have relatives living in Australia who are now citizens.
We are not sure which visa is the best for us to try to get and also what the next step for us is? Or how much the whole process is going to cost?

Any help with this would be very much appreciated!!

Thanks

Janna and Nick

have a look here: http://www.immi.gov.au/visawizard/

This will help with that decision. There have been lots of changes to the way visa applications are processed and in what order so it could potentially be a wait for 2 or 3 years.

The visa wizard is the place to start and the immi.gov.au website holds all the info you need.

kporte

A lot of the cost depends on whether you use an Emigration agent or do it yourself. Doing it yourself will save at least a couple of grand, if you are confident in form filling etc. You can learn a huge amount from this site, or even have an initial consultation with an agent to get you on the right track.
As a Gas engineer, hubby may have to get licensed when he arrives, so if this is the case remember to budget for the costs and also the period of time he may be unable to work. You should be sweet for employment but be prepared to take a step back. You will get back to where you were pretty quickly though.
Good luck!

Centurion

Welcome to BE. As above I would suggest checking our immi.gov.au and look at the forms required and the fees for your visa type. Speak to an agent, but you should be wary - some charge considerably more than others and if you employ an agent ensure that they give you a fixed fee estimate or similar assurance.

There are several reputable agents who post on this forum. For example, George Lombard amongst others.

I'll move this post to the immigration forum where you may have more replies.

Good Luck !

flanagaj

If it is of any help we are in the final throws of our visa application and to date we have spent ~ 2.5k and that was us doing it ourselves. 2 kids my Wide and I.

The only thing that may be different is the cost to have the skills assessed. I am in IT so mine is obviously different.

These were my costs.

£400 skill assessment
£1000 visa app
£120 police checks
~£800 medicals

hth

Curtis gang

Thanks for all your advice it really is appreciated.
We have family who emigrated to Aus in the 60's and a few of my cousins are now living in Berwick a suburb of Melbourne. Does anyone know if this is a nice area and are house prices reasonable?

So excited about the prospect of emigrating, just a little worried about the financial aspects, jobs, mortgages etc!

Ozwanderer

Hi Curtis gang and there are essentially two paths as options to be followed re skilled migration:
1. Employer Sponsorship or
2. Independent and
There's a priority process in place at the moment with Employer Sponsorship having top place followed by CSL occupations and others some way down the time tunnel.
Details @ http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/gener...processing.pdf
There is also a possibility of changes occurring sometime this year as a review was commenced in second half of last year.

Employer sponsorship can be either a temporary residency situation to start with which can lead to a permanent residency visa to be applied for or with greater luck getting a PR sponsorship at outset.
For details, start @ http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/skilled-workers/

You'll face particular problems in getting sponsorship however for there are stringent licensing regulations governed state by state. In addition to that you may appreciate that we are using more and more air conditioning here in Oz and less by way of heating though many people in southern states do like their cosy warmth in winters as short as they are.
I'd suggest you have a look @ http://www.immi.gov.au/asri/a-z.htm#top and click on what appears to be the most likely occupation and you'll find references to assessments and licensing.

The other way of migrating, the independent route is the one that points are used for, and for details you can start @ http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/gener...led-migration/ , the SOL indicating points and then Visa Options will take you to the 175/176 visas and under either you have headings, eligibility and applying for this visa being the key sections to read thoroughly including all links and the Checklist to be well used.

The very first thing you need to have though will be an assessment, likely by Vetassess but start with http://www.deewr.gov.au/Skills/Progr...s/default.aspx

Cost wise, a PR visa currently costs A$2525 which is adjusted annually about end of June and that ammount includes the whole family, no secondary fee re english language level for UK passport holders.
From what I've read, your UK costs for medicals and police checks are about 1000 - 1500 pound.
Vetassess something similar.
Migration Agent fees will vary, the old story of you get what you pay for and sometimes not!
A rule of thumb of doubling your total visa/medical fees may apply.

johnnye

Have a look at this site for house prices. Melbourne is not the cheapest place in the world.

www.domain.com.au

Pollyana

If you visit the main Australia forum here - http://britishexpats.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=54 and ask about the Berwick area we have several posters who live around there