Finally made up our minds, full steam ahead.

[Melvin2705]

Good day all and thank you for having us as part of this forum.

 

I recently came across this forum and what a blessing it has been since, thank you everyone. I am a Civil Engineering Technologist (Pr Tech Eng - ECSA) and a Project Management Professional (PMP - Project Management Institute). My wife is working as the PA for an estate agency company. We have three kids (11 son, 10 daughter and 3 years old daughter) We are going over with the 189 (Permanent Residency visa) using myself as the main applicant. I received my VETASSESS Skills assessment back, and are now preparing for our English IELTS Test early November 2017. I am planning to arrive in Australia with my complete family by June 2018 latest, GODS will. I have family ( older sister) in Bunburry, Perth. I am leaving my folks, brother and sister and my rest of my family behind. We are Afrikaans speaking family and very much anxious about the impending English TEST in November. My main motivation for this move is my kids future. Based on what other's have experienced on their way to their VISA's, we feel very fortunate and lucky to go over with a 189 VISA. 

 

• The English test are of a real concern to me and my wife, and my strategy for preparation is to do as many sample test as possible. The problem is that i have limited amount of these example papers and would need more. It would have been of great help if i can find more about these somewhere?
• Based on previous post, it seems a reasonable/livable amount in terms of salary, given permanent residency VISA advantages, is in the region of about AUS 80 000 dollars per annum? I also do not want to move over and find ourselves strained because of financial situation so i am not sure what to expect in terms of salary. Many has advised that 1.7 and 2 times your current salary seem to be a good figure to work with?
• I also would like to find out more about minimum qualifications, the Registering boards (eg: ECSA for South Africans) and experience when it comes to practicing as an Estate Agent and as an Civil Engineer in Australia, not sure if i must request for this on a separate Topic to this forum.

 

I am looking forward to add value to this forum and also for the expert opinions and advice that are being shared so un-selfishly to this forum.

 

Once again that you for having me and all the best for everyone. Also hoping to meet up with people in CAPE TOWN that share similar journey to us. 

 

Much love

Melvin

 

 

 

 

 

[Mara]

Hi @Melvin2705 I just wanted to welcome you to our corner of the cyber world! I trust you will find many answers to the plenty of questions you have and will have. Unfortunately I cannot answer any of them, but hang in there, the forum members will respond... it can just be a bit quiet over weekends!

[Husky]

Welcome @Melvin2705

This forum is a wonderful source of information and support.

With regards to the English test, what score are you aiming for in relation to the points you need? If you're going for superior, then I would recommend getting a tutor. There are a few IELTS tutors you can google. If you don't need superior points, the practice tests should be sufficient.

With regards to salary, it depends a lot on where you live and the standard of living you expect. For a family of 5 in PA with a 189, I would think that $80k is just enough. In Sydney or Melbourne, that may be a stretch. Best way to know what you can expect is to keep looking at roles on Seek and compare salaries. 

Hope all goes well.

Edited August 26, 2017 by Husky
Grammar

[Shellfish]

All I can say is that your written English is far better than your average English speaking Australian - if you aren't successful in the English test, that would be a crying shame! 

 

With regard to earnings, it really depends on where you are planning on settling. As previously mentioned, Melbourne and Sydney are the most expensive cities to live in but are also where most of the work is. 

 

All the best on your endeavours 

[RedPanda]

Hi  
I see that you are aiming at arriving in Australia by June 2018, but you are only going to submit your visa EOI after writing the IELTS test in November? If you go loot at the threads on visas submitted this year about February to May, you will see that the Border people are currently estimating that 189 visas take 11-15 months to process. So unless you are lucky or the processing times change (which they could very well do, they fluctuate quite a lot) then you are realistically looking at November2018-March2019. I'm not saying this to discourage you, but as a prompt to get more accurate information about the potential processing times, so that you can do better preparation planning before you go. Like when to sell property, or when to tell your boss you're leaving.

 

Maar baie stertke vir die hele visa/immigrasie proses, dis nogal 'n groot ding om in te neem en te verwerk. Ek hoop julle alle voorspoed toe!  ...en skree as julle vrae het. Julle kan selfs in Afrikaans vra, die antwoorde gaan dan net beperk wees tot die Afrikaanssprekende lede  

[Melvin2705]

Good day all, and thank you @RedPanda @Shellfish @Husky @Mara so much for your responses to my post. 

 

@Mara, thank you for the welcome greetings.@Husky i need to get a minimum of 7.0 overall, and 7.0  in each category. So i guess a lot of practice test should suffice? Thank you for pointing out the Seek website, i will definately make use of it. In terms of salary, i guess as soon as i am in a position to start applying for work i can look into this further.  It is however very satisfying to know that minimum salary needs can be met by employers. 

 

@Selfish that you for the encouraging words, much appreciated. I thought it will be easier for me to go over initially, find work in Perth or surroundings, seeing that my sister can offer me some pointers to to settle in easier? I will take it from there, once we settled in? What you think?

 

@Redpanda, thank you for pointing that out, much appreciated it will definitely be incorporated into my planning. Agwat, met die tieppe mense op hierdie forum glo ek dat goeie advies sal kry. Almal is so verskriklik behulpsaam, ek voel regtig gelukkig en geseend om deel van hierdie forum the wees. 

 

Groete

Melvin

 

 

 

[Mara]

@Melvin2705 I have just done a search on www.seek.com.au for vacancies for civil engineers. This is what I found:

178 Perth

598 Melbourne

885 Sydney

336 Brisbane

 

My mantra is always to go where the jobs are, you can make new friends, family can visit, but neither of these two can put a roof over your head and food in your tummy! I understand that the idea of having your sister in Perth to give you some pointers, makes that idea the most welcoming, HOWEVER, looking at the job situation, I personally think you may be better off looking at either Melbourne or Sydney and winging it with the help of our lovely forum members.

 

178 jobs in Perth makes you think that it should be quite easy to find work, however, do not discount the fact that you are new to Australia, that unless, in your field you have high demand qualifications, it may be a bit more stressful, finding a position. That is why I suggest going for the higher availability of jobs, somewhere in the midst of those high numbers, you should find something fairly soon.

 

Obviously weather is better in Sydney than in Melbourne, BUT, the cost of accommodation is cheaper in Melbourne than in Sydney.

Then, if you are unable to find a job in Perth, the cost of moving across to the east coast, especially with a container, motor vehicles, etc... can be nearly as much as moving from RSA.

At least if you are on the east coast and you have to move between Melbourne, Sydney or Brisbane even, it will be cheaper, as the distance is not that great.

 

My apologies if I am throwing a spanner in the works....

[Melvin2705]

@Mara thank you, thank you, thank you!! so much. Thank you for taking the time to respond to my latest post and the research that you have done. 

 

As part of my planning i am trying to come up with a list of things that i need to take care while I'm in South Africa, vs things that i need to sort out when i arrive in Australia. I am not sure, but i think someone on this forum shared something similar to this previously?. I believe once i have defined these items carefully i should be in a position to ask more appropriate questions based on my 'planned' milestones. This list will obviously vary from family to family but i was looking at finding something general that could make me aware about possible risks in my planning. i.e. as soon as i receive my VISA i will be in position to come over and look for work, or should i just look for an opportunity from South Africa?. We have planned that should i not get an opportunity in Australia within two to three months from date of my visa, that i should go over and find work. For this reason i am not sure where in Sydney, for example, i can find cheap accommodation just for myself for a period of, lets say 6 weeks to look for work. So I'm basically looking at a budget (myself only) for this 6 weeks period. Eg: accommodation, food, public transport, internet connection  etc. 

 

Based on the advice that i have already received it seems that it would be more realistic to expect my VISA at the end of December 2018 to February 2019. Anything shorter, i guess i'll view as a bonus. 

 

Kind Regards

Melvin

 

 

[Mara]

@Melvin2705 temporary accommodation in Sydney/Melbourne would not be too difficult, if you are not too fussy.. you can try any of the Backpacker lodges, they are affordable, just google them.

Then also, if you go to https://www.realestate.com.au/share  they have share accommodation, which can also be affordable.

Here is a google search, there is a plethora of options https://www.google.com.au/search?q=share+accommodation+listings&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-b&gfe_rd=cr&ei=dOalWdL7IabM8gffnYlY

 

As for finding jobs from RSA, yes that has been done, but I think it is more likely to get a job from RSA if you are in a very high demand field, only you will know how scarce your qualifications are. If you are here, you may find it easier. I like your idea of the 2 - 3 month period of looking from RSA, and if that fails to come over.

 

There is a post, done by a fellow host, Jordy, that details 100 steps - trust this may be what you are looking for - here is a link

 

[Melvin2705]

Dear @Mara, thanks for your quick response, once again. Apologies for my late response, things quit hectic with our water crisis here in Cape Town. 

 

I visited all the above and the link to the 100 step process and must say that i feel less and less anxious about our move going forward, thank you!!. I will refine the 100 step process to suit my needs and then try and complete a formal WBS (work breakdown structure), which i am hoping to share with this forum once completed. 

 

To all that not commenting and taking the time reading these post, thank you also!!!

 

All the best to everyone and for those that recently received their VISA's, well done!! see you 'down under' shortly. 

 

Regards

Melvin

 

 

[Mara]

@Melvin2705 you are most welcome!