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New Canberrans to-be (Hopefully)


Jasper

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Hi Folks,

I thought I'd do a short introduction having just joined the forum and amidst the process of this whirlwind!

We're a young couple, just starting out our lives together with our dog and heading on to bigger and brighter things - that being the hope of Canberra.

Mid-2012 we decided to start looking into immigration in earnest, and I contacted a number of Migration agents to make enquiries. After much back and forth, we realised that it would be impossible to pay the costs of the Migration Agent as well as everything else, and then be able to afford food when we arrived! So, with some tips from people who'd done it before, we decided to go it alone. I'm an anal retentive researcher so thankfully we've been on the right track. Initially we looked at the obvious choices of Sydney, Melbourne etc but discovered my occupation is ONLY listed in ACT... to which my response was... Where the hell is Canberra? (I hadn't paid much attention). Well, lots of research later and we discovered that actually, this place is probably IDEAL.. so onward into the process. First step, getting the initial funds.. we had investments, so sorted that out.

Booked IELTS for me (primary applicant), which I wrote at the beginning of March this year, got the result.. 8.5 average ... the damned reading gave me an 8! I was annoyed until I confirmed that 8 - 9 gave me the full points, so I felt a bit better about that.

Vetassess went and did it's thing for 2 months while we waited anxiously. This also started around March, and got the positive assessment back in May... then waiting for the physical documents to arrive, which (even though I sprang for the courier fee) still took forever once it hit our shores.

The trickier part has been getting all the documents ready and certified, and particularly the statement of service from an employer who doesn't know I'm going yet, and can't know for quite some time!

Then we did the ACT State Nomination online, submitted all the documents, and the website timed out on us a number of times as I filled things in... so I ended up with a few lapsed applications.. but got everything through and submitted. And then immediately panicked that we hadn't said the right things, worked out our budgets wrong, or will just have flat-out done something wrong.

But either way, here we are. Desperately awaiting our results, hoping Canberra will be our new home!

The timeline is that we'll arrive at the end of December 2014. Mainly because we'll need time to put the house on the market, and give enough time for registration to happen after the sale so we actually get the money (market willing!!) plus add 6 months for our dog's quarantine in SA (no question that was going to be a cost we'd pay.. hence cutting Migration Agent).

So backdating it all, brings us to about the beginning of 2014, which by then I'm hoping we'll have heard about our visa!

Oh and don't let me get started on the drama of trying to get our Unabridged Birth Certificates at Home Affairs! The actual process was easy... but the 5 hour wait in line wasn't fun! So we're waiting for those (figured, rather have them soon, than need them when it's too late) - and the same applies for Police Clearance.

And there we have it... our little family anxiously waiting and being spoilt by everything we read which now makes us say "They don't do that in Canberra you know" every chance get.

I started this saying I'd be short.. so, Hello all! Thanks for all the info! Sorry about the long post in the end. :blush-anim-cl:

J

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Hey Jasper, welcome to the forum and good luck with the rest of the process and planning. This is the longest roller coaster ride, with many ups and downs, that we have ever been on, but it's definitely well worth it. Being young and not having kids definitely makes this process easier.

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Hi Jasper, welcome to the forum! Hopefully we will see you guys in Canberra...we are going in November

We just put our dog in quarantine, this past weekend, so I understand your feelings. I had the same idea wrt the budget. I cannot take all 3 my animals, but the Scotty is going. She was always part of the budget. Good luck with that, I dont know if there are any quarantine stations other than those in Joburg, but its really a difficult thing to do, and one of the thing I didnt expect to be so difficult. But so far Keringa has come through on every promise they made.

But all in all it seems you are well on your way....I will be holding thumbs for your positive state nomination!

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Welcome to the forum and good luck on your journey.

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Thanks everyone!

Hi Jasper, welcome to the forum! Hopefully we will see you guys in Canberra...we are going in November

We just put our dog in quarantine, this past weekend, so I understand your feelings. I had the same idea wrt the budget. I cannot take all 3 my animals, but the Scotty is going. She was always part of the budget. Good luck with that, I dont know if there are any quarantine stations other than those in Joburg, but its really a difficult thing to do, and one of the thing I didnt expect to be so difficult. But so far Keringa has come through on every promise they made.

But all in all it seems you are well on your way....I will be holding thumbs for your positive state nomination!

Yep, I've also only seen the approved Quarantine facilities in JHB. We've had great service from Paws Resort, so will probably use them. Although I've heard great things about Keringa too. As long as she's happy, comfortable and well looked after. But I dread the day we book her in.

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I've heard on this forum and also on other that having a dog/cat can make finding a rental more difficult. What is the view of the folks on the ground, are they quite open to pets in rentals or is it more like no pets ?

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I've heard on this forum and also on other that having a dog/cat can make finding a rental more difficult. What is the view of the folks on the ground, are they quite open to pets in rentals or is it more like no pets ?

Definately an issue in some places. The NT News had an article not too long ago about the drop in pet ownership due to the lack of pet-friendly rentals and increase in communial living complexes like apartments and townhouses that do not allow pets anymore.

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I've heard on this forum and also on other that having a dog/cat can make finding a rental more difficult. What is the view of the folks on the ground, are they quite open to pets in rentals or is it more like no pets ?

I've definitely found this when browsing rental accommodation for ideas on price and budget. There are much fewer pet-friendly rentals, and those that allow them are much higher in price ($400 to $500 p/w minimum in most cases)

It's a non-negotiable for us and we're budgeting for it, but it definitely poses a problem.

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When I search for homes in Amaroo on allhomes.com a lot of the complexes has a "no pet" policy so even if you ask nicely a pet will be refused

we have had a kind forumite offer to take our dog for a short while while we try to find a pet friendly rental. But there are rentals out there. I have decided that when I actually apply for a rental, I will write a motivation describing Lucy and the fact that she is not going to ruin their house, plus offer a pet-bond which is over and above your normal bond, and also give some pics of our house that we sold, to show how clean it is... :whome: (very clean after we moved out) and also a letter from our current landlady stating we are excellent tenants, look after the place and our animals are well behaved

somewhere out there someone will take pity on us! Im not going to stress too much about this...fortunately we only have the 1 dog.

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Huge welcome, we will see you all on the otherside, my posts are short and sweet, 2 kids and work make posts a hit inbetween chaos.........all good though..........

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Welcome to the forum and I hope your ride is a smooth one. It is definitely a test of the ol. patience.

Most places do say pet free but you do come across private rentals where you deal with the owners directly and

you may have a better chance of smiling sweetly and asking. You are also probably better off in the older areas rather than

the new ones as their gardens are bigger and the properties are not a new builds.

Anyway look forward to meeting you all.

Canberra is really a stunning place to live. We are loving it.

Keglin

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We have gone the route to rent a pet friendly place, it is harder to find and limits your choice and budget. Getting a house is easier for a pet friendly solution than units, there are very few units that are pet friendly and it is normally a pet like a cat or dog under 10kgs. We had an agent at a unit who was so for pets and really wanted us in there rather than people with kids!! Unfortunately the body corporate was in the process of changing their policy on pets.

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Welcome from the best regional town in Australia. And hopefully soon to be your new home too.

Rentals with pets are definitely hard to find - but not impossible.

As Keglin says you may have to live in an area with bigger blocks which are normally the older more established suburbs. When we arrived - pet free - we so desperately wanted cats in our lives - and our landlord kept refusing our requests. Then my daughters counsellor sent a letter saying it was in my daughters best interests (PTSD)that she have animals again - and the landlord agreed that as long as when we moved we had the townhouse professionally cleaned. So maybe offer to have this done. Cost us about $600, but was well worth it.

All the best with your plans.

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Canberra is great! All the best with this new adventure!

Re pets - we rented out our house in Canberra before moving into it. We stated 'no pets' on the ad. Then somebody applied who had a 'small, outside dog' and we decided to give them the lease. I figured a dog wouldn't trash the place half as much as my kids eventually would (I was right!) and we just asked them to get the carpets steam cleaned before they moved out.

I think landlords are more inclined to overlook the pet issue if you can reassure them that you are going to be reliable tenants who pay the rent on time and who look after the property.

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Welcome Jasper, I landed in Canberra in Jan 13, my 3 small dogs went into quarantine on the 28 March with Keringa so we will only get them from Sydney at the end of October, my problem is also when I was looking for a rental in Amaroo I could only get a small townhouse with the "No Pets" so I also have a problem when my babies come out of Quarantine, what if the landlord says no when I apply, I have been looking and there are very few places that allow dogs/cats and if you do find one the rental is a crazy amount.

My other problem is I have being looking for work since Feb with no luck, I even tried looking in Brisbane for two weeks thinking maybe it was a Canberra thing.

Anyway we are from Durban, so I really am looking at relocating to the Gold Coast, one reason being that finding a rental with pets allowed is not a problem there and the cost of living is cheaper.

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Sorry to hear you still haven't been successful Shaz, - don't give up.

We have been running a small business in Canberra for 3 years - and we are feeling it these last two months - this is the first time we hear people complaining so much, many small businesses are struggling and closing shop - even the African store in Mawson closes next week.

Those that have lived here for years say that it has to do with elections in Sept. Some say the date should have been announced closer to the time. Not sure what that means. And I believe Canberra under Liberals has a different vibe - when Liberals took over in 1996 - 15000 public service jobs were axed. So people are being very cautious.

I am not trying to put any doom and gloom in anyone's day, but I think people need to be aware, and budget accordingly just in case things go a little slow after elections.

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Why not consider sending your dog via New Zealand before going to Aus.? It may be cheaper and if you are in PE and the quarantine is in JHB, you would not need to be without your dog for 6 months, that time can be spent at home with you. When travelling to NZ, there is 10 days quarantine on arrival and your dog would just need to stay a further 80 days in boarding or with friends / family and then can join you in Aus., 3 months is better than 7.

Just a thought...

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Why not consider sending your dog via New Zealand before going to Aus.? It may be cheaper and if you are in PE and the quarantine is in JHB, you would not need to be without your dog for 6 months, that time can be spent at home with you. When travelling to NZ, there is 10 days quarantine on arrival and your dog would just need to stay a further 80 days in boarding or with friends / family and then can join you in Aus., 3 months is better than 7.

Just a thought...

This sounds fascinating! I'm going to look into that RIGHT now... thanks so much!

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No problem.

Have a look on other posts on the forum regarding pets to Aus. and via NZ for companies that do this..

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  • 2 weeks later...

Good news! Our Case Officer was assigned today for the ACT Nomination! From experience, how long does it take roughly from this point?

The excitement continues!

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Firstly well done, 25 to 30 working days, looks like they back at work, things have been quiet, party time

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Welcome to the forum! Good luck with everything. Just remember, this forum can be addictive ;-) Enjoy!

Edited by rikamarie
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And this morning we received our approved state nomination from ACT and invitation to apply for the visa on SkillSelect! What a relief!

Now just to get the visa!

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Congrats Jasper...things are moving fast!

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