The idea started 4 weeks ago

[WillemPrinsloo]

Hi all,

 

Firstly I want to thank the people on the forum for the great responses on all topics. It really helped us allot over the last 4 weeks.

It was only a crazy idea at the start of this year and due to something I read on this forum we decided to start the process of going to Australia. Someone said on one of the topics that if he doesn’t leave South Africa now he’s kid will leave South Africa once he is old enough. That changed my entire though process in making this life changing decision. As in allot of the posts on this site the pressure from the family when mentioning you might move is immense. Especially in a close Afrikaans family like ours.

I contacted one of the agents yesterday and he sent the quote through and our initial points looks good (75). My wife is the one with the degree (CA) and I am the “handbag”. I am going to be open because I need some straight answers before we make the first payment. At the moment I get a better salary then my wife and we are doing well for ourselves in Cape Town. I work for a well-known mining engineering company and is seen as qualified by experience. I do not have a degree so my question is how difficult will it be to get a job once I am in Australia without a degree. We are looking at Brisbane. Maybe someone in an EPCM engineering company can assist me with this question.

Some other questions;

If both of us work will we be able to send our boy to a daycare. At the moment we have a stay in nanny. Is a nanny a possibility in Australia?

How long do you need live in Australia before you can purchase property?

High level budget for my family (Wife, me and a 2 year old)?

Is public transport good enough to use or will we need two cars if both of us work.

Recommendations for good suburbs in Brisbane.

What is the common crimes in Brisbane (I know it is nothing like Cape Town).

The reading on google indicates that there is not really good beaches in Brisbane. Is this true. (We love the ocean).

How difficult is it to do your own visas? The agent charges R35k without VAT. If we can save this money I will rather do it myself.

 

The idea is to get the visas in the next 6 months and then move over in February next year.

 

Looking forward to sharing this experience with everyone and asking questions as we go along. To say that we are nervous is an understatement!

[JackoFam]

Welcome @WillemPrinsloo. I cant answer all of your questions as we are also still in the process of applying for our visa but I can answer your question about the agent.

 

I am assuming you have also approached Migrate2Oz as that is the exact fee we are paying them. We are very happy with their services but it seems you have quite a simple application so you could perhaps do it yourself. Many on the forum have gone it alone and I know many are in the midst of applying on the Account(general) skill so you should get lots of help.

 

Our application was slightly complicated by age and my husbands occupation so for us Migrate2Oz was a big help.

 

Good luck with the journey ahead

[Chips]

Welcome WillemPrinsloo, we did the application ourselves like JackoFam said if it's straight forward it's doable. Matt @AFreshStart  he can answer most of your questions, good luck with the journey ahead.

Edited February 4, 2016 by Chips

[Annalisa]

Hi Willem your reasoning is sound. Id say that was my thought process. My kids would do what i was about to do to my parents. Hardest thing ever and noone can prepare you for it.

 

I am a CA and so was the applicant. Your wife  will be fine. Is she in commerce or audit? 

 

If you want to pm me we can chat details. I jave a budget. We have two small kids. I can tell you cost of daycare.

 

I can tell you i did the perm res visa myself  with no agent. Personally think you can avoid that cost. 

 

Regards

Annalisa

[Mara]

Willem, let me start by recommending to you that if you are going to use an agent you use one of those that participate on this forum and that come highly recommended. If you tell us who the agent is that you approached, we can tell you if they are known to us.

 

Regarding your decision to go to Brisbane... nothing wrong with that BUT when coming to Australia, you need to go where the greatest number of job opportunities will be for you both.... without a job, all the sunshine in the world will not put food on the table. All I suggest is that you be flexible about the city you end up in, because it may not be Brisbane where the jobs are. Do a search on www.seek.com.au that may give you a good idea.

 

Good luck with your journey and a big welcome to the forum.

 

[WillemPrinsloo]

Brisbane is the best place for us job wise. I had a look on www.see.com.au   The agent is Migrate 2 Oz.

[Mara]

Well done for checking on jobs and Migrate 2 Oz is well known on the forum.... Trust this journey for you will be without problems!

[Shellfish]

You can have a nanny in Australia - I have friends who do that. 

Depending on what you are after - you can have a 'live in' au pair, who are usually young, foreign girls who are travelling (my friends au pair is Swedish, so all the stereotypes you imagine for an au pair ;)) You provide accommodation, a car and food and a basic salary (depends but I have heard of $250 pw) and in exchange they look after children, do school drops, homework, cook meals and will probably very basic cleaning). You pay for care outside of normal living hours - ie. for a night out. 

 

or you get an agency to provide a nanny for the day but they will be qualified and trained nannies - this is much more expensive however you don't provide living arrangement. 

 

I would say that the most common crimes in Australia would be drunk and disorderly and pretty theft due to drugs. 

 

Most people I know make do with one car and public transport but this is in Melbourne and is very much dependent on the family. You will in all likelyhood need at least one car - Australia is enormous and relying on public transport in each city would be extremely tiresome although I do know people who do it. 

 

You can purchase property in Australia without being resident however there are different laws which you would need to look into. 

 

We did our own visa application which was easy but time consuming. This was however, 15 years ago so things have likely changed. 

 

Brisbane is a lovely city although I have only been in winter and believe the humidity in summer is very tiresome.

 

[RYLC]

Re humidity in Brisbane:. If you are from Durban, you'll feel right at home. If not (like me) you will wilt like a flower in Summer.  We found it too hot (gave it a 7 year go) and moved to Adelaide hc have has more of a Cape Town climate. Agree with Mara though. You need to go where the jobs are. 

Edited February 5, 2016 by RYLC

[RYLC]

To give advice on engineering, you'll need to tell us what you do and in which discipline of engineering. Also if your wife will be working, is she in audit or not?

[WillemPrinsloo]

I am a project planning manager. My wife is a CA and a Audit manager at the moment. It seems like most project engineering houses are either in Brisbane or Perth. I woke up this morning and already had a tear in my eye because South Africa has now gone so far down the drain that we have to leave our entire life and go somewhere else. At least we are fortunate enough to do something about it.

[Chrissieb27]

On 05 February 2016 at 6:34 AM, WillemPrinsloo said:

I woke up this morning and already had a tear in my eye because South Africa has now gone so far down the drain that we have to leave our entire life and go somewhere else. At least we are fortunate enough to do something about it.

 

I feel exactly the same Willem.. Sometimes even angry..

 

But think of it this way, we are by nature resilient, and we will make a success of it wherever we go.

 

Good luck!

 

 

[Sunnyskies]

Willem

Brisbane does have humidity, worst from November to February, but having spoken to friends who come from Durban they say it is no worse than Durban.  We lived for 6 years in Melbourne, so our first year here I fully expected to melt in summer.  2nd summer has been better.

 

Brisbane is not on the coast, it is a river city, and the sea is about 45 minutes to an hour away depending on where you live.  Many people who can't bear to be away from the sea during the week live on the Gold Coast and commute into the city. You can also live north of the city and be closer to the beach (although I think most surfer types prefer the Gold Coast).  We live quite close to the river and have started cycling on the river loop - I'm quite happy living closer to work and making the effort to drive to the beach when I want to swim in the sea.  

 

From a day care perspective, yes you can get day care.  You may struggle to get a day care that will take him 5 days a week full time, as many families have the primary child carer only working part time, but I do know that you can get full time day care with a bit of persistance.  We did use an au pair for a year with our children, they are quite good but they often work in a house with a parent that is around - I would be hesitant to leave a young child with them the whole day. If you hire an au pair through one of the agencies you are given a list of rules as to what they can and can't be asked to do.  They generally only work for 5 to 6 hours a day, they are not to be treated as a cleaner (although you can ask them to help with dishes - not do all the dishes all the time - and to help with keeping things tidy that relate to the children), you can ask them to the children's washing (but not yours) and they are not supposed to be treated as a cook (although you can ask them to make lunch for the children and occassionally to cook for the family).  I found it a bit like having a grown up child, they are handy but are not the same as another adult who treats looking after your child as their top priority.  

 

From a jobs perspective, yes Brisbane is probably the city for your career, but the job market in that sector is very tight at the moment.  Not to say don't come over, but you may struggle to get a job that is completely on point with your skills set. 

[Mara]

Willem, I am not sure when you checked, but I found on Seek that the best two cities regarding number of jobs, for both you and your wife would be (1) Sydney and (2) Melbourne, by far.

Here are the figures I got, 1st figure is for you, 2nd figure is for your wife. All I put in for the search was "project planning manager" for you and "chartered accountant" for your wife.

 

Brisbane : 569  123

Perth : 238  61

Sydney : 2353 365

Melbourne : 1246  164

Adelaide : 119  39

 

I am not for a moment suggesting that you should change your mind about Brisbane, I just wanted to point out to you that to find that elusive first job in Australia, you honestly need to go where the most availability in your field is.

That does not mean you need to stay there forever.

1. You need to have around 2 years "Australian experience" to write behind your name.

2. During those two years you have had the opportunity to travel and see and stay in some of the other cities.

3. THEN, if you are wise, is the time when you decide to go where you would rather love to be!

4. Of course, it is always possible that the first place you go to may be the place where you love being!

 

There are many of us that have moved cities, some even more than once, this is a big country and there are quite a lot of differences between the cities and states.

 

We started in Brisbane and ended up in Melbourne, for not other reason, except the weather....

[WillemPrinsloo]

My wife needs to her IELTS tests. Is it the same score that is needed across the board for an 189 Visa? Can I just follow the steps on the net to book the test. How do you prepare for this tests?

[DavePE]

Hi Willem,

 

Once you've paid for the test you'll receive a link to free practice material from IELTS. There is also a huge amount of free stuff online, including YouTube. I would spend more time on practicing the writing section of the test as this seems to be where most people slip up.

 

To get maximum points for immigration purposes you need to score an 8 in each component of the test, (Reading, Writing, Listening, Speaking). Just to emphasize it's an 8 in each section, not an average over the four sections. If you're wife is a CA I believe she would need to write the Academic version of the test. So just double check that before you book.

[Sweepea]

She needs to do the Academic IELTs and get 7s for the assessment by ICAA. However, to get the scores for 8 on all bands for IELTs to get the 20 points for Superior English, she only need do the General IELTs test. see links below. Also if scores are not high enough, a remark can be requested for a fee within a certain time frame. People have been known to often get an extra 0.5 on the IELTs for writing.

 

 

http://www.border.gov.au/Lega/Lega/Form/Immi-FAQs/how-can-i-prove-i-have-superior-english

http://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Visa-1/189-

You can receive 10 points for proficient English or 20 points for superior English.

The results of one of the following English language tests, undertaken not more than 36 months prior to the time you were invited to apply for this visa, can be used to evidence your English language ability:

• International English Language Testing System (IELTS)
• Occupational English Test (OET)
• Test of English as a Foreign Language internet-Based Test (TOEFL iBT)
• Pearson Test of English (PTE) Academic

Cambridge Advanced English (CAE) test results will only be considered if the test was undertaken on or after 1 January 2015. A CAE test undertaken before 1 January 2015 cannot be accepted.

IELTS has an academic test and a general training test. You need only take the general training test unless your assessing authority tells you otherwise. You are only required to provide the test report form (TRF) number or the test registration number that is on your English language test certificate

[WillemPrinsloo]

Thanks for the replies. My wife will be the "main" visa applicant. Will I also have to do the IELTS test?

Edited February 18, 2016 by WillemPrinsloo

[Chips]

I didn't write ielts test my husband was the main applicant l only submitted a letter from school that stated that all my subjects were conducted in English.

[WillemPrinsloo]

My subjects were all in Afrikaans

[BrendanH]

6 hours ago, WillemPrinsloo said:

My subjects were all in Afrikaans

You will need to write an English test then.