Shari Posted May 9, 2007 Report Share Posted May 9, 2007 Firstly, HELLO to everyone! My name is Sharon...We are the Gerritsen Family from Durban. (We arrived in Perth in April 2006, so we have been here in Aus a year already! My time has flown...We came over on a 457 visa, my husband Frans is a qualified Refrigeration & Air Con. Mechanic. (Frans is an Afrikaans Boer & I am what was known as a "Soutie", but I am a happily converted Engelse Meisie!) We have 7, wow yes 7 children! (ok yes we did have TV's back in SA! Before you ask...) The good Lord just blessed us with a large, happy and healthy family! We have 4 boys (Kyle 21, Dean 16, Jason 10 & Luke 8) and 3 girls (Cindy 19, Nicole 14 and Beyanka 6). We brought 5 of the 7 children over with us! Obviously it was the hardest and most heart-breaking thing to do, leaving Kyle and Cindy back in SA. We were told that the 2 eldest children were not allowed to come over on the 457 visa as they were over 18, both working and supporting themselves and we not dependant on us! But we were also told that in the future once we have our PR, that we will be able to sponsor them over! (That's where your help, if you don't mind, comes in? We need your advice & help with ANY information that will assist us in bringing the 2 remaining children over!!!!!) As you can imagine we are a happy family, the lifestyle here is wonderful etc etc but we are a very torn family as we are not complete as a family unit should be! Anyway, getting back to the intro...We left EVERYTHING back in SA for the 2 kids to set them up, including what was left from our life savings, once we had paid for the airfares, apllication etc etc. I am sure I don't need to go on about how much that little lot cost the 7 of us that came over! So we landed in Perth with nothing and I mean nothing bar our 30Kg's of luggage each and $5000-00 in our back pocket! Having said that, we landed on the Thursday & Frans started work on the following Monday. We set about getting a house, a couple of vehicles & furniture etc. After this year that we have been here with the 5 children & building up our new lives, we have made it!!!!!!!! Yes it's been a hard road but we have a beautiful home, rented of course, but we have everything we need, & most of all we are safe and happy! (well nearly happy, we just need our other 2 kids then we will be 100% happy!)From the minute we landed we knew that we were HOME! We refer to Aus as home and back there as SA. None of us ever want to return to SA. Yes we do miss other family & friends, the greenery of SA, it's so dry here in Perth, & other little things from SA we miss, but this is where we want to make our home! We didn't find it difficult to fit into the lifestyle here & the children all slotted into the schools well. But we have found that we as adults & the children as well have had a difficult time trying to make FRIENDS! We found that as soon as people heard we had an accent we were almost "shunned". The other Mums at the schools are polite & smile but not friendly at all! So with that being said, we are pretty lonely at times & feel quite alienated! But apart from that we really love it here & don't for a minute regret the MOVE!We are presently in the process of applying for our PR, (of which any advice is most welcome!), we have just gone for our Medicals, AGAIN, as our original ones have expired. I have heard that we now need to sit an English test, (not sure about all the facts on that either????). But that is where we are at, at this present time. . . I don't work at present, as after care & before school care is just far too expensive! So I am a "Home Executive", commonly known as "Housewife"! So I would love to meet up with any other friendly souls, for a chat & coffee or even just a chat on the phone or net. Please feel free to email me at any time? Apart from that marathon introduction, I would like to say what a wonderful site this is, spent the last couple of days browsing & I have gained so much useful info. So a big thank you for that...Take care,Regards,Sharon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Parsons Family Posted May 9, 2007 Report Share Posted May 9, 2007 Hi ShariWelcome to the forum. You should be able to get loads of your questions answered here with regards to your PR application etc.PM me if you would like to meet for a coffee and a chat.CheersGaille Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Debra Posted May 10, 2007 Report Share Posted May 10, 2007 Firstly, HELLO to everyone! My name is Sharon...We are the Gerritsen Family from Durban. (We arrived in Perth in April 2006, so we have been here in Aus a year already! My time has flown...We came over on a 457 visa, my husband Frans is a qualified Refrigeration & Air Con. Mechanic. (Frans is an Afrikaans Boer & I am what was known as a "Soutie", but I am a happily converted Engelse Meisie!) We have 7, wow yes 7 children! (ok yes we did have TV's back in SA! Before you ask...) The good Lord just blessed us with a large, happy and healthy family! We have 4 boys (Kyle 21, Dean 16, Jason 10 & Luke 8) and 3 girls (Cindy 19, Nicole 14 and Beyanka 6). We brought 5 of the 7 children over with us! Obviously it was the hardest and most heart-breaking thing to do, leaving Kyle and Cindy back in SA. We were told that the 2 eldest children were not allowed to come over on the 457 visa as they were over 18, both working and supporting themselves and we not dependant on us! But we were also told that in the future once we have our PR, that we will be able to sponsor them over! (That's where your help, if you don't mind, comes in? We need your advice & help with ANY information that will assist us in bringing the 2 remaining children over!!!!!) As you can imagine we are a happy family, the lifestyle here is wonderful etc etc but we are a very torn family as we are not complete as a family unit should be! Anyway, getting back to the intro...We left EVERYTHING back in SA for the 2 kids to set them up, including what was left from our life savings, once we had paid for the airfares, apllication etc etc. I am sure I don't need to go on about how much that little lot cost the 7 of us that came over! So we landed in Perth with nothing and I mean nothing bar our 30Kg's of luggage each and $5000-00 in our back pocket! Having said that, we landed on the Thursday & Frans started work on the following Monday. We set about getting a house, a couple of vehicles & furniture etc. After this year that we have been here with the 5 children & building up our new lives, we have made it!!!!!!!! Yes it's been a hard road but we have a beautiful home, rented of course, but we have everything we need, & most of all we are safe and happy! (well nearly happy, we just need our other 2 kids then we will be 100% happy!)From the minute we landed we knew that we were HOME! We refer to Aus as home and back there as SA. None of us ever want to return to SA. Yes we do miss other family & friends, the greenery of SA, it's so dry here in Perth, & other little things from SA we miss, but this is where we want to make our home! We didn't find it difficult to fit into the lifestyle here & the children all slotted into the schools well. But we have found that we as adults & the children as well have had a difficult time trying to make FRIENDS! We found that as soon as people heard we had an accent we were almost "shunned". The other Mums at the schools are polite & smile but not friendly at all! So with that being said, we are pretty lonely at times & feel quite alienated! But apart from that we really love it here & don't for a minute regret the MOVE!We are presently in the process of applying for our PR, (of which any advice is most welcome!), we have just gone for our Medicals, AGAIN, as our original ones have expired. I have heard that we now need to sit an English test, (not sure about all the facts on that either????). But that is where we are at, at this present time. . . I don't work at present, as after care & before school care is just far too expensive! So I am a "Home Executive", commonly known as "Housewife"! So I would love to meet up with any other friendly souls, for a chat & coffee or even just a chat on the phone or net. Please feel free to email me at any time? Apart from that marathon introduction, I would like to say what a wonderful site this is, spent the last couple of days browsing & I have gained so much useful info. So a big thank you for that...Take care,Regards,Sharon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MannyT Posted May 11, 2007 Report Share Posted May 11, 2007 Hi SharonI am so pleased to "hear"that you are so positive about your move to Perth/Oz. I have to admire the "gees" and "voortrekker" spirit to not only to move with 5 children but to have to leave the other two behind.Must have been traumatic. We followed our middle son over and left our other two sons back in RSA. The younger one is a Chartered Accountant and has gone to Bermuda since then (but intends to eventually come to Oz). Our oldest son however only had partly completed an Institute of Marketing Management diploma (Two certificates) so he could not come in on a "skilled' visa. In fact after much research we established that the only way to get him into Oz was on a Student Visa. We enrolled him at the University of South Australia for a Batchelor of Management(Marketing) degree as they gave him a number of credits for his completed courses in RSA.Once he graduated(in Dec 2006) he was then able to apply for PR (881 parent sponsored visa) and we are hoping to hear this month if his application has been succesful.If his Pr comes through we will all be extactic. For ypur Pr application you will have to do an IELTS (English)test. But if you go onto their website you can access "sample" tests,formats etc and you can also buy guides to prepare for the test. Test not difficult but would suggest you prepare adequately especially if your home language is not English.Hope above of some help.Have fun in Perth. I am sure that you, hubby and the children will love it once you are settled.It is probably tough for everybody that leaves close family behind but I think that leaving some of your choldren behind must be tougher. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shari Posted May 11, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 11, 2007 Hi Manny T, Thank you so much for the "moral support"! It is most appreciated! Yes it has been traumatic indeed, but we are positve that we will one day be together again! Thank you as well for the tips about the English test! It is helpful...Take care and once again a big thank your for your help, it's wonderful to know that there are people out there who do "care"! RegardsSharon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle M Posted May 11, 2007 Report Share Posted May 11, 2007 Hi Sharon,Welcome to the forum It is so nice to hear from somebody who has made the move and is still so positive.We (Hubby, me and our 3 kids) are making the move in a month or two. It still feels so unreal. You are welcome to PM me. I'm sure you have lots of advice AND I would love to know how you convinced your "better halve" to have SEVEN kids, mine doesn't want to know anything about more kids - and I only want one more I hope the other 2 can join you real soon, I can't even imagine how hard it must have been for you.LoveMichelle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
celeste Posted May 11, 2007 Report Share Posted May 11, 2007 Hi ShariWelcome to the forum...you are so blessed to be there already. Thank you for taking the time to share your experiences honestly. It is great to hear that you are happy and settled and not looking back. We hope to get there soon...once all the waiting is over.I think people with trades are all laughing their way into Aus these days...funny because in SA people have always tended to look down on trades people in a certain way. Now look who's laughing!CheersC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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