Stephne Posted June 29, 2016 Report Share Posted June 29, 2016 Immigration has been a topic in my life since 2003, when my brother in-law left our sunny shores for the even sunnier Gold Coast. Since then many more close family and friends have done the same and I have been pretty adamant that I would stay in SA and be the one to put the lights off, seems like life does happen when you're making other plans! We have 2 boys of primary school going age and have been living in Boksburg, Gauteng all our lives. I have been blessed with a HUGE loving, supportive family contingent and this makes this new journey of ours extremely painful for me. I haven't been able to move towns never mind continents! One very positive aspect of moving to Australia is that I will be closer to my best friend that immigrated to Brisbane in November 2014. Tammy was a regular on this forum and I'm sure she still visits it now and again. It was her suggestion that I register immediately as it was such a great help for her. Thanks Best Friend. My husband spent the month of May in Brisbane on a LSD and one month later our 457 Visa application has been lodged. Needless to say my head is spinning and heart....well that's another story all together. My husband wrote the Pearson test last Thursday and had successful results sent to him on Friday morning, so I would definitely recommend it over the IELTS as far as availability and response time is concerned. We have 7-8 weeks before we know if our Visa submission was successful and in the meantime I have a mountain of paperwork and cardboard boxes to fill. I am new to this and not sure if I can ask question under the 'General Topics/discussions' banner but here goes anyway: Firstly, we have to have medical examinations and x-rays done by an approved Australian Immigration panel physician, I have been able to locate just one in the Johannesburg area and we are looking at approximately R4800 rand for the 4 of us (4 medicals and 2 x-rays). Is this the going rate and are there perhaps more than one of these approved panel physicians in the Gauteng area? Secondly, my husbands work is in Smithfield , Sydney, which I know is an industrial area. Could anyone recommend a good area to look into for accommodation and schooling? Some have suggested The Hills area? We are also Seventh Day Adventists and was hoping to be able to put the boys in an SDA school. Any advice would be VERY welcome. Steph Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mara Posted June 29, 2016 Report Share Posted June 29, 2016 (edited) Hi Steph, welcome to the forum, I trust it will all go smoothly for your family. With regard to the schools you are after, just Google "Seventh Day Adventist schools Sydney", there were quite a few of them. Edited June 29, 2016 by Mara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TammyP Posted June 29, 2016 Report Share Posted June 29, 2016 Hello fantastic forum, I'm back......?it's been a while.... We've been on the Sunny Coast, QLD for 18 months now, immigration isn't easy but we love it here, and are grateful every day that we took the plunge and made the move! This is a shout out to my BEST FRIEND, to say that we are here... Waiting with bated breath and open arms, and even though you'll be 987 Km's away its a lot closer than Johannesburg and I can't wait to show you this amazing life we have.? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stepchook Posted July 5, 2016 Report Share Posted July 5, 2016 Hi Steph, Just to echo what Tammy has said, we're here for you and will help you every step of the way. You're my cousin-in-law (is that a thing?) and so I know how important family is when it comes to such a life changing event. To quote John Lennon: Everything will be okay in the end. If it's not okay, it's not the end. Love, S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rozellem Posted July 5, 2016 Report Share Posted July 5, 2016 @Stephne, I live in Belrose, so very far from Smithfield. I have a local friend who is an active SDA (veggie and all). Her kids just goes to a local school here, but I know they drive quite a way to church on the weekends. I want to say its out West somewhere. Give me a shout if you would like her email address to ask her a few questions. She is Spanish and her husband German, so has done the immigration thing too and I am sure she would love to help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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