ACT state sponsorship

[Mikeleigh]

Haven't thought on areas just yet, but schools may dictate that, or visa-versa

[DavidSmulders]

Hey Mikeleigh and MandyW and boertjie.

How are you doing with jobs? What line of business are you in?

Welcome to stay on this chat or smulco(at)gmail(dot)com

I have been in Canberra for 4 weeks now. It is tough on my own without the family but I can assure you that Aus and specifically Canberra is the right move. I unfortunately have not found anything permanent as yet but prospects are good.

Are you all applying for permanent residence or just a work visa? Permanent residence gives you so many more opportunities like assistance with schooling, I have a MediCare Card (state assisted health care) etc. Once you've been here for 104 weeks you also qualify for home allowances etc if one or both of you don't work. So do consider this.

Stay in touch and let us know when you plan to pack up and leave.

D

[Mikeleigh]

Hi David,

Going on a 190 PR, hope to have visa by end of June and as soon as house is gone then so will we, Pharmaceutical and Medical product Sales is what I play with. Keep us upto date on what Canberra is Like............

[DavidSmulders]

OK well please stay in touch.

Best advice I can give is that you start making as many business contacts as you can via LinkedIn. It is a very powerful tool if used correctly.

Look me up. I have made quite a lot of strong connections in Canberra and Aus in general already.

D

[MandyW]

Hey David

We're also on a 190PR - state sponsorship for beauty salon manager. My husband is in advertising and photography.

Hoping to get papers by Oct or so and go over in Jan 2014.

Good luck with the job hunting.

[Jasper]

Hi all,

New to the forum, first time posting, currently in the whole process of State Nomination for ACT (forms submitted, just being patient).

What I'm really looking for is some panic/fear- alleviation. Having gone through this process sans-agent (the costs were just too high for us to stomach it), I've now submitted everything for state nomination and we're waiting, but now I worry that I haven't said the right things, or enough, or anything. You know how you just run scenarios through your head and make things worse, day by day (X30)?

I guess I'd just like to know whether someone who's experienced it as able to say whether they've found that ACT is super strict with the info, or whether they're helpful and flexible. For instance, I'm not 100% sure whether my budgets and finances are all that correct. They're pretty much right from what I've seen and researched, but I worry that if I get it wrong they'll just say "no, you don't get how much it costs" or that if my Committment to Canberra letter wasn't enough they'll just say "you don't get it, go away".

Do they look for overall information, and then if they're missing something, would just ask for more info, or flat out deny you? I could very well just be blowing it all out of proportion because I do know that I submitted mostly everything, and I'm sure that I covered my bases, but who knows if I did! (I get it that this would be one fo the reasons PRO migration agent, but I made my bed, so now I lie in it).

Any opinions or prozac?

J

[Toitjie]

hi

My essay on Canberra was accepted so Im not sure how strict they are, but a friend of mine got hers sent back. They basically said it has to be the prescribed 2 pages and she wrote too much, so she had to condense her essay

I think if you stick to what they ask, in terms of number of pages, and variation of information, you will ok

good luck!

[Jasper]

Thanks!

We're desperately excited so I suspect the nerves play a big role, especially after the whole process so far of IELTS, then wait... Vetassess, then wait.. now nomination... and now waiting!

The worst of it all is, we're only planning on leaving in December 2014 (after Visa, house selling, dog quarantine etc)... THAT wait is going to be killer.

[MandyW]

Hey guys

So we heard this week that my Vetasses skills assessment was positive! Yippeee!!!!

We lodged our ACT sponsorship application on 8 Aug, and now we wait again. Our agent has said there have been delays with state sponsorships and it can even take as long as 3 months!

How long did yours take? Just trying to get a bit of a timing guideline so we can expect the worst but hope for the best

[Lyn]

Cannot answer your question, but wanted to say well done on the positive skills assessment. One step closer.

[Mikeleigh]

Ours took about a month as you can see on our timeline

[Classicman]

Mine was less than a month. I've heard though that they are slowing down on the ACT sponsorships for now due to the upcoming elections. Could be heresay thoiugh. Anyone else hear this?

[Jasper]

Our state nomination ended up taking just over a month - very much along the 30 working days guideline they posted. Whether or not the current pause on government till after the elections applies to the individual states, I'm not sure. But as always, they have what we want, so whether it's a month or 3 months... they hold all the cards and we have little option in the matter.

[Marilise]

Hey guys

So we heard this week that my Vetasses skills assessment was positive! Yippeee!!!!

We lodged our ACT sponsorship application on 8 Aug, and now we wait again. Our agent has said there have been delays with state sponsorships and it can even take as long as 3 months!

How long did yours take? Just trying to get a bit of a timing guideline so we can expect the worst but hope for the best

@MandyW - did you get your invitation as yet? We lodged ours on the 10th of September and I really hope it is not a 3 month wait (the nerves). We also want to be in Canberra no later than Feb 2014 in order to get the children in school (even if they miss a week or 2 is ok)

[MandyW]

@Marilise - We still haven't heard anything. It's so frustrating just having a delay for no real reason. We were initially hoping to have our visas by end Oct, but now we're probably only looking at beginning Feb. So we're still hoping that they just get it done as we would really like to get there to start kids in school. We really don't even want to start them in the new year here as it seems pointless, but don't want them to have nothing to do for too long either.

In the mean time we've sold our house and I'm moving y business (as I work from home). And we'll be moving in with my in-laws mid Nov. So we'll be all ready to get going as soon as papers get here. And who knows, maybe we'll get lucky!

Good luck to you guys too!

[Marilise]

@Mandy we also want to be in Canberra for the kids to start school. My daughter is starting high school and we do not want to buy. her new uniforms for only few weeks of school. Really praying it will all work out. I have the further stress of knowing my medical will be referred as I am overweight and on blood pressure tablets, although in control. So this will also delay the visa, so the sponsorship cannot take longer than the 30 days. Our house is on the market from the 1st October.

But you know what it is out of our control, and we must just keep our faith it will all work out. We should all have a BBQ when in Canberra and laugh about all our stresses.

Good luck, we will get our invitations soon!

[MandyW]

@Marilise - We also don't want to have to get uniforms and stationery packs for just a few weeks.

good luck with your house sale and hope everything else goes smoothly and quickly.

Will definitely get together on the other side :-)

[Mikeleigh]

It will all come together........see you there...........

[Orion25]

HI There

Been reading this post and it has brought back so many memories, we landed on the 25th January 2012 and drove to Canberra on Australia day 26th January and moved into our house 9 days later, we stayed with an awesome couple who helped us, pushed us, and gave us so much advice it was wonderful, they also helped keep my hubbys spirits up when he was wanting to home 3 days after we landed!!!!

Well it has now been here 21 moths almost and will not change it, you need to realise you are starting again and you will need to "fight" for what you want, be honest and upfront with agents they can be very understanding and especially in ACT they are used to dealing with immigrants. We live South, not far from Lyn and we just made sure we had our rental pack, and the details of our visa, as well as a copy of our bank statement, and told the agent that we were desperate as school was starting the following week and we couldn't enrol the kids without a house, and we couldn't get a house without a job, we paid 3 months rent upfront and hit the ground running. My hubby couldn't get back into his industry immediately so took on a job as a Blinds Technician just to start earning $$$, and he was upfront with the guy at the company and they were happy to give him a helping hand.

You need to remember not everything is sunshine and roses but darn is it worth it. I always say hope for the worst and it can only get better. You need to remember that your mindset and attitude will determine how well you will settle.

For rentals I work for our property manager and we have a few coming up, however they are Southside, which I don't see a problem with, but the choice is yours, PM me if you may be interested and we can chat, honestly as far as I am concerned the North side is overrated. But that's just my 2c.

Looking forward to meeting you all, also if you are interested there is a group on FB called the Triple C (Canberra Coffee Club) for new people to Canberra, and they try have get togethers monthly, some of us also help people settle in with furniture etc. Just ask.

T

[Marilise]

@Orion - Thank you so much for sharing this, cannot wait to also experience Canberra! We will definitely be in contact!!

[Ericadslv]

Oh wow. I am so glad to have found this forum. We also submitted our state sponsorship application in December - hoping for an outcome soon. Please help with the following questions:

1. Is it worthwhile taking furniture across or can we buy that side?

2. What is the cost of taking a container across?

3. Is it easy to get the kids into school?

I will definately need help finding accomodation, so Orion, will definitley keep in touch. I have 4 kids - 2 bigger boys (they are still unsure as to whether they want to go with us) and 2 little one (5 and 8).

Can't wait to start a new life.

[Toitjie]

hi Erica, welcome to the forum. Im sure you will find answers to most of your questions right here.

1. Furniture this is side is more expensive in my opinion. I compared some sites and if you buy new I think its cheaper in SA. BUT - I have found plenty second hand and antique shops and if that is your thing, then you are in for a treat. There is this fantastic antique shop about 30 km from Canberra and the lady delivers. She has almost a warehouse full of antique furniture, really beautiful stuff.

You can buy everything here. It depends on what you want to bring. I had some things that I could not replace, paintings, kids toys, personal things and wooden furniture that warranted a container for me, but for everyone its different.

2. Cost of a 20 ft container from Pretoria to Canberra for us was R 80 000. It gets considerably more expensive the moment you go over 50km from the ports.

3. To get kids into a school you have to stay in that zone - they cant refuse if its a public school as far as I know. Quite simple to register, you can do it online and they will contact you. Beware - school clothing is expensive! For my 2 kids I had to buy everything new because they just changed the schoolwear and for 2 kids, for summer uniforms 2 each and sport clothers and backpacks it was $600. I was depressed for a week

good luck with everything!

[Ericadslv]

Thank you so much Yolandi. Any advice is appreciated. I suppose the $600 paid for the uniforms will be offset by the lower school fees compared to SA. I am so impatient now and can't wait for the process to be finalised.

Another question - is it better to arrange rented accomodation upfront? Any contacts? Can we apply for jobs while we are in SA, or is it better when we arrive in Canberra? Again, do you have any recommendations?

Thanks again - hope you are loving Canberra.

[Toitjie]

My advice would be to try and get a rental from SA so that you can move straight in. My experience it seems was the exception to the rule as it seems most people struggle to find rentals without jobs.

I booked 11 days accommodation in Kaleen (I can give you the contact details) with a very nice person for a fully furnished flat, pet friendly, to stay in after we land. The problem is I had to book this way in advance and closer to the date, I started applying for rentals, and after applying for 3 and was successful with all 3, I cancelled the booking and forfeited the money. He was kind enough to reimburse me for the days that he could get bookings from other people but I still lost about $ 500. So its difficult, if you DONT get a rental straight away, you would need that furnished accommodation. Depending on when you plan to arrive, furnished accommodation might be scarce.

Ito rentals - what area are you looking for? I would suggest that you go to www.allhomes.com.au and then check what houses are available in that area that suit your pocket and your needs. Then contact the agents and request a viewing time. You will need someone to view the property on your behalf before they will start doing business with you. If you have someone, get them on standby. If not, I can always go (but it would depend on times as well as Im volunteering some mornings, but we can work it out)

when you have rental you like, you need to submit your application form (supplied by the agent) and all the docs they require. Some ask for 100 point ID, some ask for proof of residence in SA etc. Just give everything. And then some. Write a letter about what good people you are, how you were home owners for xx number of years etc. Basically you have to convince the agent that you are people who will not destroy the place and who knows the value of good tenants (Im not just saying to say this, it must be true) I also attached photos of our house, of Lucy (the Scotty) and I got 3 reference letters of previous landlord and people who's properties I have managed who all vouched for my integrity.

Lastly, I had to prove that I had the funds to afford the place for a few months until I get a job with income. I attached proof of my pension fund credit.

Edited to add: PS Loving Canberra! Its my home now.

Edited January 14, 2014 by Toitjie

[Ericadslv]

You are an absolutely amazing person - thank you so much for all the advice. Please can you give me the contact details for the accomodation in Kaleen. I hope to meet you for coffee when we are finally there to thank you personally.