visa application fees and cost of living in Perth.
 

After a couple years of discussions me and the family are finally moving to Aus, can anybody tell me whats involved in the skilled visa application (and fees), I am a time served plasterer but with no qualifications so we will probly go under my wifes name as she is a beauty therapist.

We want to move to perth, and will be renting.

Maybe just explain what it costs per month for a family of 4 to live we have a boy and girl aged 3 and 1, and we will ideally be running 2 cars. so will a plasterer and beauty therapist (part time) be able to earn enough?

Sorry for so many questions just getting very excited and got everything crossed:fingerscrossed:

Thank you

Re: visa application fees and cost of living in Perth.
 

Hi
Not too sure how you'd go about it youself with no proof of serving your time. Firstly, if you're going to go on your wifes occupation, you should check it's on the SOL (Skilled Occupation List) which you'll find on :

http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/pdf/1121i.pdf

If it's on, it's just a matter of collecting all her qualifications, working history, references from employers, etc. Filling in visa application. Medicals and police checks.
Not sure if her occupation needs to be assessed by a TRA assessor, but i'm sure the kind people on this forum will help once you get started.

Re: visa application fees and cost of living in Perth.
 

Thanks pazza thats great, we done an online assesment and we passed so i guess thats a good start. We have had a quote for £4500 to take care of the application, is that reasonable?

Re: visa application fees and cost of living in Perth.
 

What occupation on the SOL are you applying under? Only I didn't see beauty therapist. Is it definitely a registered MARA agent, quote seems a touch on the high side?

Re: visa application fees and cost of living in Perth.
 

No, beauty therapist was not on the list but massage therapist was so we just selected that. It is a MARA registered agent, what should it be do you think?
thanks

Re: visa application fees and cost of living in Perth.
 

Massage therapisgt may be on the list, but is she a massage therapist? Does she have a diploma of massage therapy and 12 months in the last 24 work experience as a registered massage therapist? You can't just select an occupation to apply under. You have to have relevant education and experience in that occupation.

I really think you need to read booklet 6 www.immi.gov.au and speak to a different migration agent. 4500 GBP sounds an awful lot of money unless that includes all the TRA fees, DIAC fees and medicals.

Re: visa application fees and cost of living in Perth.
 

You won't get a Visa mate and no way on this planet you could afford to live in Perth on a plasterer and a part time beauty therapist wage.

Blunt! but that's how it is mate.

It may take a few years but if you're set on this do the needed qualifications needed. Other than that you won't be coming in.

Re: visa application fees and cost of living in Perth.
 

Why is there no way they could afford to live in Perth??!!

Is Perth more expensive than any other city? What do other people in Perth who have one half working fulltime and the other half working part time do??? surely your not going to tell me there is no one in Perth in this situation???

I agree with others that you need to double check the visa situation before you get excited but if you do qualikfy then Im sure you would find a way to make it work...stay positive:fingerscrossed:

Re: visa application fees and cost of living in Perth.
 

Well we are living in Perth on 2 x part time salaries being students. Albeit husband can work full time if college is closed.

Re: visa application fees and cost of living in Perth.
 

Yes it is more expensive than any other city I have ever visited.

People can do it when they bought a property 5 years ago for nothing. If you starting up renting even in poorer suburbs I think that on a plasterers wage and part time beauty therapists wage with kids yes you would run into problems.

But who knows I could well be wrong? Maybe you know people who do? But as a Perth boy I know the task would be very difficult and the quality of life wouldn't really make it better.

Re: visa application fees and cost of living in Perth.
 

And why would they not get a visa? It's possible they could be sponsored by an employer, which would lead to a visa.

I would say Perth is not the most expensive city. Have you ever visited anywhere other than Perth? Housing in Sydney and Melbourne would certainly cost the same if not more; public transport would cost less here than in Sydney, food is similarly priced if not more expensive in Sydney.

Re: visa application fees and cost of living in Perth.
 

Hi john82,

As the other posts have suggested, you really need to make sure you're eligible with your wifes job if she hasn't got qualifications for massage/beauty therapist.

I'm not too sure if £4500 is dear or the going rate for the agents fees. I supposed you wouldn't give a monkeys paying it if it got you your visas, if you could afford it.

With the recession and a lot of people struggling with either lack of work or the £ against the $ making buying houses a lot more expensive, i wonder how many people in the UK go through the visa process, get accepted, then wait for everthing to hopefully get "better", before moving over. That said, after you've been granted your visa and you've validated it, how long does your visa stay activated for before you've "got" to move over to Aus ?

Re: visa application fees and cost of living in Perth.
 

As others suggested, just make sure she will qualify as a massage therapist.

Regarding agency costs, I had a quote for about £3k, which included the DIAC application and skills assessment but not medical costs.

Re: visa application fees and cost of living in Perth.
 

I'm pretty sure our agency costs were less than £2000, and we then had the visa fee, meds and police checks on top (approx £1300?). £4500 does seem a bit steep - I assume that is including absolutely everything i.e. meds etc?

Even so it seems to be at least £1200 more than we paid which is quite a big difference. It's probably well worth your while shopping around and speaking to a few different agents, there are a couple on here which seem to come very highly recommended.

Good luck with it all :)

Re: visa application fees and cost of living in Perth.
 

Hi John82

I have just paid my migration agents final bill and it wasn't anywhere near £4,500. Our bill came in stages, which helped. We got the agent to do our TRA and then our Visa, all in all it cost around £2,200 plus VAT, the Visa being the most expensive.

If you want further info on the breakdown, PM me.

Good luck whatever you decide. ;)