Introducing me ... Stuart

[Stuart]

Hello everybody ;

I am very new to the whole concept of emmigrating from South Africa. I have only done the initial assessment on the Australian immigration website.

I was strongly considering Canada but have decided on Australia based on the number of friends already there and the bonus of the weather.

I am very excited about getting the ball rolling and would appreciate any advise whatsoever, including :

How long the process will take ?

Job market in Australia ?

Most attractive places to live (I am particulalry interested in Queensland and Melbourne)

I am a 30th year old male soon to be engaged and married. I work in I.T. doing Business Analysis and have more than 7 years experience in the financial / insurance / medical arena's.

I look forward to hearing from everyone on this forum.

Stuart

[Ajay]

Hi Stuart,

Welcome - you are certainly in the right place to find information!

There are many ways to gain entry to Australia - and they are take different lengths of time, require different documentation etc, so my first suggestion would be for you to go to the www.immi.gov au site - there is heaps of information there about the various types of visas. Once you've decided on a method of attack, then you will be able to get ideas on timing etc.

With your skill set, you shouldn't battle to find employment. IT skills are in short supply all over, so you should find more than enough opportunities.

I live in Sydney, so can't comment on QLD or Melbourne - but I'm sure that my fellow forumites will step in. I personally love Sydney - great vibe, lots of energy, but many people find if too busy.

Best of luck and keep the questions coming!

Cheers

Ajay

[Stuart]

I will be applying for a skilled visa.

Did you use an agency to complete your visa application ?. Can you recommend someone ?.

I would like to hand over as much work as possible to an agent to complete.

Thanks

[Cindylou]

Hi Stuart

Welcome to our little piece of the wwworld! I'm sure that you will not have a problem getting a visa. The paperwork is fairly simple and if you need answers you're sure to find them on the forum, however, if you feel that you need to use an agent there are a number of good ones out there. Always make sure that the agent you use is registered (check this out on the immi website)

Because our app was fairly borderline we chose to use an agent (various issues such as age, sponsorship etc) He was highly recommended and I have been happy with his service, his details: Andrew J Emmott

Advance Australia Visas Pty Ltd

Suite 4, 82 Reserve Street (Cnr Flynn Street)

Wembley, Western Australia 6014

Tel: 08 9387 1033

Fax: 08 9387 1055

Email: andrew@aavisas.com.au

However, agents are expensive and you might decide to save yourself some money and DIY.

Good luck

Cindylou

[DesertDaisy]

I'd suggest is that the first thing you do is get all your paperwork together. Your agent is not going to be able to do this for you. This means getting unabridged copies of your birth certificate (and your wife/children etc) and an unabridged copy of your marriage certificate (if relevant obviously). You will also need a police clearance certificate. Depending on the relative efficiency of your local home affairs/police station, this can take anywhere from 6 weeks to 6 months....

[chatterbug]

Hi Stuart,

Welcome to this site and welcome to the immigration journey. Most of us know how difficult the process can be and you are sure to find all the info and support you need from this virtual community. Queensland is a great place to live, and the warmer climate and relaxed, outdoorsy lifestyle one of its great assets. Anyway there are quite a lot of Qld'ers on this site so fire away with some specific questions and we'll do our best! We live Brisbane ( I can generally comment on the SE corner of Qld mainly) - I work in the city and live in the 'burbs.

Have a great day

Queensland BUG

[Stuart]

Hi Queensland BUG ;

Thanks for the warm welcome !!!.

I am very new to the immigration process and would appreciate any advise that anyone can offer on where to start ...

I am a 30 year old male with +-9 years experience in the insurance / I.T. / finance environment and have been a Business Analyst for the past 5 years. I have 2 diploma's done at Damelin and am currently studying for my Business Analysis Diploma.

I am very eager to begin a life in Australia as soon as possible. My wife-to-be would like to have our first baby here in South Africa to be close to her family and friends, so we would only be looking to leave for Australia in 2009.

However, I would like to get everything possible arranged, so that the process is as smooth as possible. I understand this would include having my skills assessed etc.

Perhaps, even me going before the wife-to-be is an option we would have to consider.

I have so many questions about Australia and Queensland in particular.

If possible I would like to avoid using an agent but if it will be a lot easier, especially given the functional level of all South African government agencies, then we will take that route.

Thanks very much ;

Stuart

[chatterbug]

Hi Stuart,

Seeing that you guys are not very urgent in getting here you do have the luxury of checking things out and reading quite broadly about the whole process. A word of warning however to not leave it all to late . It is certainly the experience of many posters on this forum that the immigration criteria is getting more difficult as time goes on. I think the more SA's standards go backwards (or the perception of deteriorating standards/conditions are on the increase) the more sceptical and cautious Australian immigration processes will get towards immigrants from SA. Also your profession might be a scarce/or "needed in Aus" one with a higher points allocation but that is not static situation. These get reviewed as the demand over here changes so you might find that yours is not on there in the future.

My advice is to get the application process going asap and then once you have PR (assuming you qualify on the skilled independent visa class) or the "go ahead" to then decide what you want to do. With the skilled independent visa you have 5 years (currently - this might change in future) to settle in Aus, provided that you enter Aus once within the 1st year after approval.

Anyway I suggest first up you spend some "research time" on this forum take a good read of all the relevant previous postings and questions asked and answered by others. Here you will find a lot of valuable information especially about employment, the use of agencies, and about Queensland etc. Use the search function to help you. This will point you in the right direction and enable you to ask more specific and clarifying questions.

After this the best place to start is the http://www.immi.gov.au/ website which has all info pertaining to immigrating to Aus. Also check out www.seek.com.au and /or www.careerone.com.au to give you and idea about the availability of jobs etc in your field. A good resource to look at an indication of the remuneration for your job is www.hays.com.au

Good luck with it all !

Qld BUG