Bazinga Posted June 23, 2015 Report Share Posted June 23, 2015 Hi everyone! I'm new to this forum and need a lot of help/advice about emigrating to Australia.I'm currently still studying (2nd year) and hoping to emigrate as soon as I've graduated. I know it's still another 18 months but I want to get as much help and info now so that when the time comes I'll be prepared. So I just have a couple of questions: First, honestly speaking, how hard is this whole process and should I use an agent to assist me or could I do this myself? Secondly, will I as a graduate be able to find a job easily? And finally, coming from South Africans who've made the move, what is Australia like? I've heard many stories of how "it's exactly like SA" but I'd like to hear 1st hand what it's like and your experiences. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mara Posted June 24, 2015 Report Share Posted June 24, 2015 Bazinga, welcome to the forum.. you have a lot of reading ahead of you.The first step you can do is to apply for an unabridged birth certificate, as you will need one when you do your application.Yes you can do the application yourself, not a problem at all, if it is straight forward.What you need to realise, just because you have a degree will not give you the immediate ability to apply for a visa, that time has come and gone. These days you would have to lodge an EOI (expression of interest), in order to be considered, your job has to be on a "needed" list for either a state or for the country... without this you will not get anywhere.You would get great points for age, probably points for education (depends on what you studied and whether your qualifications are recognised by Australia)Where you will miss out on points is for experience, if you intend to move as soon as you have graduated.As you have not told us what your intended career is, we will be unable to tell you if it would be in demand in Australia.Finding a job depends on your experience as well as the demand for it in the workplace. This changes all the time, so as we cannot forecast the situation in 18 months time.To me Australia is a great place, in many ways pretty similar to life in RSA, however, not everyone always feels that way. I think it depends on what you make of it. If you are constantly looking back to your old life, you may find it difficult to settle. In the end it is Australia, with it's own set of problems, foibles, rules and regulations, something you would have to get used to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackieO Posted June 24, 2015 Report Share Posted June 24, 2015 Also bear in mind not all South African qualifications are automatically recognised, sometimes you will need to do a bridging course.And AFAIK this includes alot of university degrees. They will often say degrees prior to 199x or 200y are recognised, but all degrees after that date are not, depends on what you studied and where. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monsta Posted June 24, 2015 Report Share Posted June 24, 2015 (edited) I hope "Bazinga" doesn't mean you are joking about moving to Australia.I am surprised that nobody has pointed this out yet. You may need work experience before you apply. It depends on which "body" in Australia assesses people with your qualification.For example, if you are in IT, you will need 4 years of work experience. The IT assessing body is the Computer Society. They list their requirements here https://www.acs.org.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/7319/Skills-Assessment-Guidelines-for-Applicants.pdfIf you degree is an engineering degree, Engineers Australia would have to sign off on your skills. There are various other bodies.If you can't get your skill properly approved, then you can't get a skilled migration visa. You do have other options, for example, get a job here and apply for a visa with the help of your new employer.One more thing, on my glass half full theme. Minimum wage is -+R400 000 per year here. So, if you come out here and it takes 3 months before your first pay cheque. Well, you need at around R100 000 (minimum wage for 3 months). If you have mates to stay with I Aussie, jump at it! That can save you a tonn off that R100 000 figure.Cheers Edited June 24, 2015 by monsta Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazinga Posted June 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 24, 2015 Thank you all for the feedback! With regards to the unabridged birth certificate, I already have a vault copy of my birth certificate and that also has all my parents' details on it so can I use that or would I still need to get my unabridged? I'm studying a Bcom in Financial Management so my intended career would either be in the finance or banking fields. I've looked around online and seen there is quite a few ads regarding jobs in the finance field but like you said, that could change in the next 18 months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedPanda Posted July 15, 2015 Report Share Posted July 15, 2015 It's likely you will need to contact Vetassess. It's a good idea to read up what their requirements are for a positive skills assessment. And if you can't find the information on their website or you think it is unclear, email them. All of the Australian service providers that we have dealt with are happy to reply to queries "in person". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedPanda Posted July 15, 2015 Report Share Posted July 15, 2015 And regarding Australia being "just like South Africa", like Mara said, it depends how you see South Africa. We were fortunate enough to have seen some of America, the UK (England and Scotland), and a month roadtrip in a rented car through Europe(France, Italy, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands) before we set foot in Australia. Our verdict is this: Compared to the rest of the world(that we saw) Australia is the closest to South Africa you will find in another country. But if you have never left SA then landing in Australia you will be astonished by the 1st World-ness of it. Things work, they are clean, 'the public' can be trusted, trains run on time, trains are a viable option for commuting to work, lots of things like parks are free, law and order prevail (esp on the roads), public property is well maintained, the CBD is a safe place to walk, it is safe to walk around after dark, people actually use the 'smart' of their smart phones because they are not afraid of being mugged. But, if there is a rule describing some action, and it applies to you, then it will be applied, no getting around it. And there are many, many rules....most of which make perfect sense.An LSD trip is the best way to answer this question, but I know it's not always possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazinga Posted July 16, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2015 @RedPanda thanks very much for your replies. You've just convinced me more to move Australia. I think the whole 1st world-ness is one of the reasons I want to emigrate (among others). Having considered other countries to emigrate to, I've decided Australia is the one. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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