Dhardy

Hi All,

My wife and I are considering emigrating to Oz. We are late 20's with a son under 1 year old.

Both of our jobs are on the skills shortage list, with mine being a chemical process plant operator, and hers a Learning Disabilities Nurse, with childrens experience.

We like the idea of relocating, however my wife has been diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis, would we fall at the first hurdle with a visa application ? We still haven't found the treatment the works for her and wouldn't condiser a move until it was under control. Biologic treatment looks the most likely, but can also be very expensive.

Regarding the jobs, I currently earn around £38k and my wife earns £26k a year. If anybody could help with greater information with these two job roles that would be fantastic.

Thanks for reading

quoll

Are your skills on the list? Cant say that I have ever heard of a Learning Disabilities Nurse - is she a degree trained nurse with general practice?

As for the RA - who knows. Your best bet would be to discuss with one of the agents who specialise in medical conditions - George Lombard or Peter Bollard are usually mentioned in this regard. No personal experience with them but many folk have used their services and been quite happy with the outcome. Basically though, if your wife's treatment is going to cost the Australian tax payer over a threshold amount then, yes, you are likely to be declined. If you find a medication which is expensive but not on the PBS (Pharmaceutical Benefits Schedule) then you could be up for the full cost yourself anyway.

What you earn in a foreign country is not going to be much help. If you look at it as a percentage of the average wage in Britain then work out what an Australian equivalent might be in terms of percentage of the average then you will have some idea about the range you will probably need to have a similar standard of living - that does tend to be somewhat residence specific though so if you earn what you earn now in London then that will be the same as earning in Sydney or Melbourne for example. Look at Seek to see if there are jobs which fit your job description and see what they are offering.

Pollyana

RA is such a broad term - I mean there are so many degrees of the condition. I have suffered from it in degrees from mild to medium for the last 30 years; when I did my medical for Aus I'd had it about 15 years, it was in a very mild phase and I wasn't under any treatment. I declared it and got the visa no problem.So it is not an automatic refusal. I would echo the need to consult an agent, and my pick would be George Lombard, just from personal experience.

Dhardy

Thanks for your replies.

Regarding the RA i think it is degenerative? I may be wrong. It is fairly severe at the moment, we are trying different treatments constantly, quite a broad answer for that i'm afraid.

Developmental disability Nurse is listed on the skills shortage list, as is chemical plant worker. How transferrable are the skills for nurses over there?

xizzles

Sorry to chime in, but RA may cause degenerative changes of the joints and the tendons, but it is not degenerative as much as it's an autoimmune condition, where the body's immune system inexplicably turns on itself - in this case, your wife's joints, joint capsules, tendons and (in extreme cases), other internal organs and even the skin. Biologics do appear to be the new front where the battle is fought, but that in itself is fraught with potential pitfalls that will need to be carefully navigated - the exorbitant cost involved being a prime example of one such issue.

As your wife is discovering, there's quite a bit of trial and error to find out what works best for her - and it's best that her care is not unduly disrupted until her condition stabilizes. In any case, the whole process from planning to final visa grant may take a fair amount of time, so she can get herself sorted out while the migration process hums in the background (smoothly for the 2 of you, I hope).

Good luck and here's wishing the both of you the very best!

Dhardy

Thanks for the lovely message. Better half will be trying retuximab soon, fingers crossed there.

How does health insurance work over there ? Are there any employer based ones or does that totally depend on the job?

scot47

https://transferwise.com/gb/blog/hea...ance-australia

Google is your friend.