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Candshow

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Hello from a thankfully wet Cape Town....

 

We have recently made the decision to leave SA for another country.  My husband currently works in Dubai & so we see him every 3 months.  We have thought long & hard but this is no longer the life we want - especially for our 5 year old.  So we did some research & found that Australia was the country we most hope to be able to live in.  

 

We are in the process of getting our unabridged birth certificates & making queries about how to get our dogs over.  Any suggestions would be most grateful 🙂  

 

My husband is currently working for a international company who has offices in both Sydney & Melbourne so we are seriously hoping for a sponsorship.  I am in law - an intellectual property attorney with 12 plus years experience.  I am not sure the likelihood will be of my finding a job but I am staying hopeful. 

 

Which is the better place to settle - Sydney or Melbourne?  

 

Lots to think about & the to do list is growing....

 

We know this is the right choice for our little family - now to make it a reality!!!  

 

Thanks for reading 🙂 

 

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Hello Candshow, 

 

We have also made the recent decision to relocate to Aus, and have literally just started the process.

It can be pretty daunting, but I've found some of the posts on this forum really helpful. 

To put my 2 cents worth in, my husband and I went to Melbourne on holiday in June. It was absolutely spectacular - clean, friendly, vibey ... all the good things. We then toured to Cairns and Port Douglas, and in comparison to these towns, Melbourne was quite pricey (but certainly not as pricey as Sydney, as reported by another friend who traveled with us). Other than cost though, I cannot fault Melbourne. I really found it to be spectacular, so much so that we are considering moving there when our visa's are approved. 

 

With regards to moving pets across, a friend of mine used Jetpet and really had such good things to say about their service. We'll probably use them to move our dog across too. I've had a look on their site and they certainly seem to know what they're doing when it comes to flying our beloved furbabies. 

 

I hope this has helped... Good luck with the process - I'm sure it is going to be well worth it in the end!  

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Hi Candshow,

 

I am not sure what your husband does but mine is an attorney specializing in competition law - which it turns out there are a shortage of in Aus - so we have just qualified for a 482 visa sponsored by a law firm in Sydney that have offered him a competition law job. Based on his experience I would recommend getting in touch with some legal recruiters - one we would recommend is: http://www.taylorroot.com/australia/about_us/meet_the_team_sydney/ - we found them completely different to dealing with SA recruiters - they were proactive and responsive. So you could get in touch to see what the demand might be for your type of law there... Otherwise if your husband can get sponsored by his firm then you would get a spousal visa which means you can work with fewer restrictions (your husband has to stay with his firm but you can change jobs as suits you). This is all based on our experience with the 482 visa - it is a temporary visa but as an attorney my husband did qualify for the medium term stream so we have this visa for the next 4 years... So it also depends on how permanent you want this move to be - but you can also look at PR once there - I believe if you were to qualify as a solicitor once in Aus a PR is quite possible to obtain - but I am not an expert on this yet so do stand to be corrected...

 

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Thanks AlfieLuca for the feedback.  I am busy having my CV "upstyled" before submitting it to any recruiting agencies.  I have seen a few jobs advertised on SEEK so I am really hoping that I can successfully qualify for a 482.  

 

My husband is a construction project manager (which is on the skills list) - he actually specializes in laser concrete flooring.  His company has offices in the UK, Dubai, Singapore, USA & Australia - we are hoping that he can be sponsored by the Australian branch as they have indicated a shortage of staff there with his skills.  

 

My only concern is that I have been acting as a consultant for my old firm since having our daughter - so am so stressed that I will not be able to find work as a result 😞  I haven't been formally employed by them.  

 

Perhaps we would need to wait for my job hunt until we are there & totally rely on his transfer from Dubai to Australia. 

 

This is certainly a daunting task as I wish I could see into the future & make the right decisions now as to how to proceed.  

 

PS - huge congrats on the visa 🙂 🙂 

 

 

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Thanks Roxanne - I was also chatting to a friend who had visited Australia & she was saying that Melbourne is more of a suburb feel while Sydney is more city life.  My only concern with Melbourne is the weather - eek - but I suppose we in the Cape should be used to winters being long & never ending - LOL!!!  

 

Yup, we have 3 furries to move with us - I am petrified to get the quote but they are family so we will do what we must to get them over with us 🙂  

 

I am hoping that we are both hugely successful with our journey to Australia 🙂 🙂 

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First of all Australia is fantastic, just come, don't wonder, RSA is going down the drain, which can be debated for ages but why bother. You are planning to leave for the same reasons most of us have in recent times - safety, children's future, etc. Let me tell you that you will not be disappointed,  Oz has so much to offer so do not let concerns about finding a job become an obstacle. If your husband get's a sponsorship then great, if not then also remember that other skilled visas are even better.  Also do not limit yourselves to the 2 big cities, there may be opportunities in many other places. For instance, we live in Coffs Harbour on the East Cost of NSW, we are in heaven and still pinching ourselves.

 

I am sure there are many agents who will give you advice and a head start on what is required, including vias type, documents, skills assessments, English tests. Most of it requires energy and commitment from yourself

 

Good luck and I am sure the members and agents on this forum will be of great help.

Edited by TakeItOnTheChin
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Hi Candshow

 

Regarding being overwhelmed and where to start:

 

I think we did it the wrong way around.  I looked for a job and went with the job that sounded the most fun. (I had 2 offers, one fun, one good money but terribly stressed).  So the job determined where we went, etc.  I did not even consider the path from the working visa to permanent residence.  We have permanent residence now, but that is due more to good luck than good planning. 

 

In hindsight I think the way you should start the process is as follows:

1.  Apply for everything you need from home affairs.  (Birth certificates, etc.)  And probably a police clearance certificate as well.

2.  Ask yourself:  Am I planning on leaving South Africa for good?   

If yes, then find out how you will qualify for permanent residence.  It is more important than having sponsorship, a job or knowing where you want to move to.   

If no, then get your husband's company to sponsor him for a work visa and go and live in the city that sounds like most fun - you might as well enjoy your temporary excursion to Australia. ( I work in Melbourne, but think I would have liked Sydney more.  I miss the beach.  Although it looks like Melbourne is on the coast when you look at a map, there is not really an ocean you can swim in.  I know I will get criticised for this, but Melbourne is not really a beach city. )  Skip Step 3. 

3.  If you want permanent residence then find out how you will get there.  There is not necessarily a direct path from a work visa to permanent residence (especially now).  But there might be depending on your job.  The employer can also sponsor you directly for permanent residence (best case scenario, I think).  

4.  Read the requirements for the visa you need and start getting everything you need.  This includes references from previous employers, skills assessment, English test, a CV, birth certificates, police clearance certificates, university transcripts, etc.  This is about a 6 month process.

5.  Worry about things like pets, cities to live in, rent etc etc etc after all of the above.

 

You need a strong believe that everything will work out fine in the end.  You will make some mistakes along the way, but if you have number 3 sorted out, the rest can fall into place one by one.

 

 

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Yup, I think @FromDurbs has good advice.

WRT Melbourne vs Sydney... We picked Melbourne, it wasn't even a close contest. What we love about Melbourne is its more relaxed feeling, the people are kind to strangers. We prefer cooler weather, but if grey skies get you down you will struggle in Melbourne. I guess it's overcast in a vague grey kind of way for about half the year. I concede Melbourne does not have swimming beaches. There are swimming beaches around Melbourne, but you'll have a drive a bit to get there. Instead we have really good national parks with my favourite tree: Mountain Ash. It can grow over 100m tall. It's not as expensive as Sydney, and people say the work environment is less high pressure. Melbourne also has a lot going for anyone who likes theatre and art galleries. Also, TRAMS! Come on guys...trams!? :ilikeit: We think Melbourne is cleaner than Sydney, but granted this is based on our LSD trip 4 years ago.

I would say, try to read up as much as you can about the cities, and watch a few YouTube videos. If you can see them before you need to decide, that's obviously the best, but if you can't...even if you get the city wrong, remember that once you are here you can always move.  I know it's not ideal, but it does mean that your choice is not really final as you might think.

We didn't like that Sydney just goes on for miles and miles in all directions. It also means that people often can't afford to live close to where they work and spend a lot of time commuting. Or they buy a really small place in the city. Walking in the Sydney crowd, nobody would look up and smile at us. We didn't like this.

Look at the end of the day, both cities are really good. It depends what you like. If the job opportunities in both are about the same for you, then sit down and think hard about what it is that you want from a city, and then find out how the two compare on those specific items, eg the weather, beaches, wine estates, crowd feeling, 'buzz'... Also find out what childcare costs, if that is applicable to you. It's very high in Australia.

That said: Good luck!!!

 

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I haven't been to Sydney yet, but for what it's worth - we've found Melbourne to be very similar to Cape Town. Melbourne is what Cape Town would be if it had working public transport, general safety, and friendly people 😆 Cape Town has more natural beauty, but Melbourne is still a beautiful place.

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Thank you all so much for your replies & input.   The more I look at Melbourne, the more I like it.....there are more opportunities for me in Melbourne funnily enough 😄 

 

@FromDurbs, we definitely want permanent residency so I don't think the sponsored employment would be our best option - I have been researching it some more & believe the visa is able to be renewed only if your skills are still on the short list which we know changes all the time....so I would panic about being there for 4 years & then having his skills no longer be on the list so we would have to leave - am I right?

 

I think we need to grit our teeth & do 189 visas.  My only concern is that I have been working in a consultant capacity with my firm so have not had a set salary for the past 5 years since having our daughter - I am so stressed that I cannot provide proof of earnings for a 189 visa 😞

 

So hard to chat about this with my husband in a different country 😞 

 

I am so worried about taking that first step......anyone else had this?  Right now, I live in the illusion that we COULD move to Australia - too scared we can't & then what??  

 

 

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3 hours ago, Candshow said:

I think we need to grit our teeth & do 189 visas. 

If your husband's company is happy to they could also sponsor him for a 186 direct entry visa.  It is employer sponsored but gives permanent residence.  Only some jobs qualify.  I think this is faster than the 189. 

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6 hours ago, Candshow said:

 

I think we need to grit our teeth & do 189 visas.  My only concern is that I have been working in a consultant capacity with my firm so have not had a set salary for the past 5 years since having our daughter - I am so stressed that I cannot provide proof of earnings for a 189 visa 😞

 


Ok, maybe it varies by profession, but for a 198 visa they never asked me anything about earnings. The only place this might feature is in your skills assessment by the body that does your profession's assessments.

Wait, who will be the main applicant? Yourself, or your husband? When we did it 3 years (4 years?) ago, I was the main applicant and I did the application myself, as an engineer. They asked for my: age, English skills (IELTS), qualification and skills assessment through Engineers Australia. We got the visa. I had zero years work experience, and obviously didn't earn a cent at that stage. My husband's skills were on the list, but his assessing authority wanted more years experience before they would give him a positive assessment so we didn't include that in our application. They also didn't ask us anything about how much money we have in the bank. And a 198 visa does not come with the condition that you have to work in Australia in the occupation that you got the visa in.

So, are you sure you have your information straight?

Perhaps you would benefit from an initial consultation with a migration agent, to discuss all your options and what the pros and cons of each would be. I suggest this, because unlike migration agents us forumites don't keep up to date with changes the government makes to their visa requirements, so it is possible that things have recently changed and I wouldn't know it.

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On 8/9/2018 at 8:30 PM, RedPanda said:

WRT Melbourne vs Sydney... We picked Melbourne, it wasn't even a close contest.

The age old debate. Both great places but there is a reason that Sydney is more expensive and busier.

 

We lived for 3 years in a Melbourne and go there quite a bit for business. We moved to Sydney 21 years ago and we’re now home. We like braaivleis, sunny skies, rugby and Holdens (with apologies to old Chevrolet ad). Simply put, it’s closer to what we had in Johannesburg growing up.

 

I did a lot of outdoor stuff in Melbourne- cycling, hiking, triathlons, sailing, swimming in the bay (only a few times in ocean). With the right equipment you stay warm and dry (except swimming). Our house was very warm with ducted heating and workplaces and cars are always heated (over heated).

 

I just find that waking up on a cold Winter morning in Sydney (and our house is cold, stand-alone heaters just don’t cope) with bright blue sky outside knowing that I’ll be in a t-shirt at lunch time outside, my heart soars. Grey skies in Melbourne got to me after a while.

Edited by SimpleSimon
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@RedPanda will definitely chat to an agent 🙂  My husband & I still have a lot to chat about - him being in a different country makes this process slightly harder 😞

 

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