migrating to australia

[debswad]

dh wants to migrate has done for 2 years.. blues are here and i have agreed to look into it!
have dd age 3 and dd age 10weeks.
not looking at doing this straight the way.
it does look like a wonderful life for my family, but am i robbing my children of growing up with grand parents and uncles etc

not true at all lewislewis - bit like saying all poms talk about the weather or are whingers !

...but they do talk about the weather..... an awful lot....

Ah, but Lewislewis they intersperse it with interesting conversations about the relative merits of which A and B roads to take to get to any given point in the UK!

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wow i go to bed and you al just keep chatting... quite a time difference isnt there..
you are all so helpful.
i have decided to go for it but it is minefield please dejags contact me with help.
my concern is how much .. the big picture is to cost.
dh is going for big promotions to scrape good cash in to hopefully then not go into house capital.
renting my british home out was something i never considered.
dh is a teacher and i think there is an xchange system.
looking positive.
surely there is no grotty weather in oz..
not to sound like your stereotypical pom..
but it is 16.15 dark and wet outside and i have the fire on.

depends on where you live debswad. We have had the hottest summer on record so far and usually Feb is our hottest month... so will be interesting.

However - the long dark winter is something we will never experience again that was something I could not handle with living in the UK.

Ok Debswad here?s some info you might find useful.

Costs ? what you can expect to pay to have your visa processed (this all assumes that you will be applying for a skilled independent visa i.e. you will not be sponsored):

DIMIA (Department of Immigration) Visa Application: A$1935.00
Skills Assessment Cost: A$350.00
Migration Agent: A$2400.00
Medical Fees: Approx 500GBP per family of four
Police Clearance Certificates: 10GBP per person over 18 on the application
Courier Fees: Bank on around 250GBP
Solicitor/Notary Public Fees: approx. 5GBP per page (you need to get all birth certs, passports, degrees etc, etc certified as true copies of the original).

Useful websites:

www.immi.gov.au here you can study all the different types of visas and take a points test to see if you qualify.
www.britishexpats.com

In terms of how long it takes ? we have been advised it will take 6-9 months

Hope this helps.

Dejags

should have said that the expat website www.britishexpats.com is a fantastic resource for information on day-to-day life in Australia as well as everything relating to visa application.

thanks dejags.. you are a star..
we are in the process off finding all our info and working out our money.
that is agreat help
i cant beleive how much this is going to cost us.
it sure does sound worth it.