SAAustralia Immigration General http://www.saaustralia.org/index.php Thu, 23 Feb 2012 06:21:36 +0000 10 http://www.saaustralia.org/index.php/topic/35380-what-a-mess/ Recap: Got 175 grant Okt 2011 with first entry Okt 2012.
Started to sell of and job hutting exc.
Planning to MAKE the MOVE after winter.

SURPRISE !! Got a good job offer !!!
Now I am selling house, closing acounts and everything is not going acording to plan.

Wont get house sold in time, missing my bonus at work (I resigned), going to LOOOOSE with selling the car.

I think I am getting cold feet. The tought of "Is this all worth the effort" is now creeping up in my mind.

We are heading to Kambalda for work and probibly going to house hunt in Kalgoorlie.
(I wanted to be no more than 25Km for the beach)

Did you forumites feelt the same? Or am I making a mistake?? ]]> Thu, 23 Feb 2012 06:21:36 +0000 http://www.saaustralia.org/index.php/topic/35380-what-a-mess/ http://www.saaustralia.org/index.php/topic/35378-childrens-passports-will-expire-before-citerzinship/
I have searched the topics in this forum and I could not find info if your children's passport expires before we apply for Aus citerzinship. Is a valid passport required as Identification for them when applying? Still have long to go(about 3 1/2 years to go) but I am curious as we are not planning to renew their SA passports that will expire next month.]]> Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:11:52 +0000 http://www.saaustralia.org/index.php/topic/35378-childrens-passports-will-expire-before-citerzinship/ http://www.saaustralia.org/index.php/topic/35381-perth-people/
We are coming over for a look around and get our visas validated in April and looking to move at the end of the year.

We have been looking at suburbs NOR and places like Iluka and Burns Beach really appeal to me (I know they are quite expensive) as opposed to suburbs like Hillarys which are closer to the CBD. I believe the commute into the CBD from these places can be a bit of a nightmare, what would a realistic time be from these Northern suburbs into the CBD be during rush hour be? I see the train takes 29 minutes from Joonalup.

Thanks]]> Wed, 22 Feb 2012 22:30:18 +0000 http://www.saaustralia.org/index.php/topic/35381-perth-people/ http://www.saaustralia.org/index.php/topic/35383-house-not-selling-in-time/
We are in the process of selling our house but I'm afraid that the sale won't be finalized by the time we make the move in April.
So we might have to transfer the money at a latter stage when we are already there. (Hopefully not more than a few months)
How much time do we have to transfer the funds to an Australian bank account without it being taxed as an offshore asset in Australia?

Thanks

Loutjie]]> Wed, 22 Feb 2012 16:43:43 +0000 http://www.saaustralia.org/index.php/topic/35383-house-not-selling-in-time/ http://www.saaustralia.org/index.php/topic/35369-when-reality-interferes-with-life/
We are suppose to fly out to Brisbane this coming Sunday for a LSD. The kids are staying behind in our house with grandparents. This past weekend our credit card was cloned and money stolen from our account. Luckily the bank said they'll refund, but the account has been blocked completely, no transactions allowed even by us (they are still trying to do unauthorised transactions on the account). We are struggling to get a newly issued credit card which of course is really important to have when you go overseas.....how do you go without a credit card?

Then on Sunday night our power went off. We have been without electricity since, not our area, only our house in the entire street. This morning at 2am we woke up with a gunman on our property. After a minute or so he tapped on our bedroom window and told us it's ADT (security company)checking that everything is fine since they can see a power problem on their system, and the alarm is not working anymore. We were scared to death! The problem is with City Power - it keeps tripping on their box. They keep coming back and just flip the switch and after 4 call outs in one day, my hubby used some connections to get it sorted. Turns out it's a cable fault and they just informed us now that they will have to dig up the entire street's cables under the pavement to replace ours and this is done by a contractor....no idea how long it will take. Do we leave the kids and grandparents without electricity if it's not sorted by Sunday? (Grandparents live far away and our 13-year old can't miss 2 weeks of school to stay at grandparents' house).

Then to top it all off, one of the kids is sick with severe sinusitis, borderline bronchitus and if not closely monitored could turn into pneumonia. She is on a second dose of antibiotics after I took her to the doctor again yesterday.

So if we do not have a credit card, electricity and sick children, do we just cut our losses and stay??? We are not in a position to afford another LSD, since we'll hardly get refunds at such short notice....]]> Wed, 22 Feb 2012 11:59:04 +0000 http://www.saaustralia.org/index.php/topic/35369-when-reality-interferes-with-life/ http://www.saaustralia.org/index.php/topic/35368-transferring-annuities-to-australia/ I'm sure this question must have come up before, but as it was not in my sphere of interest at the time I would like your indulgence to bring it up again.
Has anyone used the organisation "Cashkows" to transfer your pensions/retirement annuities across to Australia? If so, how was their service? And how does it work?
In SA, once one is eligible/of age to cash in an annuity, one can take up to 30% in cash up front and the rest in a monthly pension payment. With using Cashkows does one get the full amount out of the country (less tax, expenses etc) or does one also get the 30% up front and the rest in monthly payments but in Australia?
I'm sure that Cashkows will answer these questions, but the main thing for me is to know if they are an organisation that one can trust with these issues.]]> Wed, 22 Feb 2012 11:33:11 +0000 http://www.saaustralia.org/index.php/topic/35368-transferring-annuities-to-australia/ http://www.saaustralia.org/index.php/topic/35366-unforeseen-set-back/ Hi

It is kind of pointless,but I still want to share with the Forum.

As some of you mightknow, our house was sold within 3 days basically, and everything fell in placevery quickly. We booked our tickets for the 5th of May and started withthe planning for the move. Well, on Thursday afternoon, our house buyer gotcold feet and the deal fell through. The conditions on the OTP was a 100% bondfrom the bank, and when the bank came back with only a 95% offer, the buyer lostinterest, even though we were willing to give them "easy terms" forthe remaining 5%

This has now put ourplans back by at least 2 months. I amfeeling very negative now, even though I know I shouldn't and there are peoplewith much bigger problems, it still does not change my mood. We had a show daythis past Sunday and only 2 couples showed up. This made me feel even worse.

Oh well, I'll just tryand keep looking forward, and we'll do another show day this coming Sunday.




Let's hold thumbs.

]]> Tue, 21 Feb 2012 10:47:56 +0000 http://www.saaustralia.org/index.php/topic/35366-unforeseen-set-back/ http://www.saaustralia.org/index.php/topic/35259-living-in-oz-makes-you-healthier/
Since we have moved here, I think we eat better. We eat a lot less red meat, which isn't so lekker in some ways, but its certainly healthier! LOL I went for a check-up when I got here and my cholesterol was through the roof! Portions are smaller here in general and even in restaurants, they don't lace food with salt. Buy a steak, and it's usually 250 - 350 grams. They don't really do the big 'meneer' steaks that you used to take to braais in SA.

Don't know about you guys but I also exercise a LOT more. I used to work 18 hour days and rarely get in any exercise, but now I'm home around 6-30pm. I go to gym in the morning and most nights I also walk or cycle. I live in a beach town so on weekends, we walk everywhere we go (mostly). There are dozens of pubs, restaurants etc within walking distance to my house, so we don't have to worry about drinking and driving.

My son's sporting activity also means that on weekends I'm either swimming at the beach, walking to the pier to do some fishing or kicking a ball around in the park.

What about you?]]> Tue, 21 Feb 2012 01:38:06 +0000 http://www.saaustralia.org/index.php/topic/35259-living-in-oz-makes-you-healthier/ http://www.saaustralia.org/index.php/topic/35330-best-months/ I am new on here.
I just wanted to know what is the best time during the year to send your dogs to Australia. Our Boston Terrier is going to Australia, and is spending the 6 months here in quarantine and the last month will be in Perth. As Boston Terriers suffer terribly in the heat, I would like to know what months are the hottest in Australia.
Thanks.]]> Mon, 20 Feb 2012 16:23:54 +0000 http://www.saaustralia.org/index.php/topic/35330-best-months/ http://www.saaustralia.org/index.php/topic/35214-how-often-does-it-rain-in-sydney/ ]]> Mon, 20 Feb 2012 08:40:30 +0000 http://www.saaustralia.org/index.php/topic/35214-how-often-does-it-rain-in-sydney/ http://www.saaustralia.org/index.php/topic/35319-457-visa-and-centerlink/
I just want to know if a family on a 457 visa can also benefit from centerlink?

Thank you!]]> Mon, 20 Feb 2012 06:03:57 +0000 http://www.saaustralia.org/index.php/topic/35319-457-visa-and-centerlink/ http://www.saaustralia.org/index.php/topic/35314-vetassess-online-application-help-needed/
If anyone could assist. It would be appreciated.

We are in the process off completing out vetasses trade skills assesment application
on-line.

But can not seem to find the correct occupation description (code)(ANZSCO)for Electronic Instrument Trades Worker (General)- 342314

I have checked the Australian Immigration Skilled Occupation List and the code if there!

Need to do the skills assesment ASAP.

Thank you]]> Sun, 19 Feb 2012 14:00:33 +0000 http://www.saaustralia.org/index.php/topic/35314-vetassess-online-application-help-needed/ http://www.saaustralia.org/index.php/topic/35287-skills-assessment-in-australie/ Kan iemand my enige inligting gee oor een van die 3 se skills assessment? Sun, 19 Feb 2012 13:56:06 +0000 http://www.saaustralia.org/index.php/topic/35287-skills-assessment-in-australie/ http://www.saaustralia.org/index.php/topic/35325-container-company-recommendation-jhb/
For all those relocating from Gauteng, we have recently unpacked the last boxes from our container. Nothing missing, everything intact.

Would like to recommend LSA containers, a small family run company in Edenvale.

Their price was about 25% lower than all the other quotes we got, and their service was professional and friendly.]]> Sun, 19 Feb 2012 13:48:33 +0000 http://www.saaustralia.org/index.php/topic/35325-container-company-recommendation-jhb/ http://www.saaustralia.org/index.php/topic/35241-how-long-until-oz-goes-the-same-route-as-the-uk-and-scraps-quarantine/
How long until Oz follows suit? They need to make an announcement about this because I got a quote today for around R200k for our four dogs and two cats, and that's enough money to make anyone think twice about the country they're choosing to move to. Which is exactly what this article discusses - the UK has realised how unnecessarily difficult and expensive they're made it for so many people moving to their country. I wouldn't want to be someone that paid R200k today, only to have quarantine scrapped in July, or July next year.

Have a read:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/dec/30/pet-quarantine-rules-relaxed-in-uk]]> Sun, 19 Feb 2012 11:41:38 +0000 http://www.saaustralia.org/index.php/topic/35241-how-long-until-oz-goes-the-same-route-as-the-uk-and-scraps-quarantine/