Newbie questions..help! :)

[almeltias]

Hello all! and thank you for reading!
I am new here and a few questions so any input would be greatly recieved with thanks
Just in the last 6 months starting to think about moving to Australia..It would be
me,my partner (in the near future to be my husband) and my daughter 11 years old (his step daughter) I am british and he is swedish and we all currently live in Sweden, our reasons for moving are wide and varied but some of the obvious-the better weather, lifestyle..having moved countries I am well aware of the challenges and the fun!
My questions are this..

1) Out of the two of us (my partner and I) who applies for the visa to live in australia? or do we both? as I did note it states you can bring your immediate family if you get a visa, right? so only one need apply?
I am confused and concerned as it seems quite hard to get into Australia..and even when you are in it can be temporary?? I have my own successful business but am not highly educated (besides finishing school and a short business course I did 18 years ago! which set me off in the business world) I have always worked iether for others or for myself and have savings. My partner is a qualified personal trainer..but at present works with autistic people as he also has a qualification in health care - it is like a nurse but here in Sweden it is not a nurse but a person who is just underneath a nurses level..and you can continue to study for one more year to become a nurse (in sweden) so its kind of hard to know where we would both stand on the skilled list?? if anywhere?? We are hard working and support ourselves but the visa thing confuses us.
It always seems that everything I read is iether people with an exact qualification in something so they get in under the 'needed' catorgory or then I read others who did not have much money or qualifications to offer so how did they get in? I have also been told (by those who have done it) its easier than it seems (than when you read at the immi pages) but not sure on that..

We are willing to put in the effort for this of course but we just would like to hear
some diiferent experiences of how it went for you and what you had to offer (you or your partner) in way of education or the job you were going for or if you went with the idea to start a business and how that went and what you had to provide.....

One last thing does it matter where you apply from?? as I said I am a british citizen living in Sweden for now..

Thank you greatly for any feedback you can give and answers to my many
questions..sorry

[kaz101]

Originally Posted by almeltias

1) Out of the two of us (my partner and I) who applies for the visa to live in australia? or do we both? as I did note it states you can bring your immediate family if you get a visa, right? so only one need apply?

Only one of you applies and the rest of the family is put on the visa too.

Originally Posted by almeltias

I am confused and concerned as it seems quite hard to get into Australia..and even when you are in it can be temporary??

That depends on the visa you apply for - we went for permanent residency. It took us longer but they can't get rid of us unless we commit a crime, so we're here for good!

Originally Posted by almeltias

I have my own successful business but am not highly educated (besides finishing school and a short business course I did 18 years ago! which set me off in the business world) I have always worked iether for others or for myself and have savings. My partner is a qualified personal trainer..but at present works with autistic people as he also has a qualification in health care - it is like a nurse but here in Sweden it is not a nurse but a person who is just underneath a nurses level..and you can continue to study for one more year to become a nurse (in sweden) so its kind of hard to know where we would both stand on the skilled list?? if anywhere?? We are hard working and support ourselves but the visa thing confuses us.

Have you been through the sticky posts towards the top of the forum? Especially the one thinking of emigrating? You can check whether your skills are on the critical skills list since then you get priority processing.

Originally Posted by almeltias

It always seems that everything I read is iether people with an exact qualification in something so they get in under the 'needed' catorgory or then I read others who did not have much money or qualifications to offer so how did they get in? I have also been told (by those who have done it) its easier than it seems (than when you read at the immi pages) but not sure on that..

It's easier than it seems IF you fit the requirements that Oz are looking for. Usually they need to be a combination of education and experience that they are looking for and these change (especially in the current economic climate). Skills that were required a few weeks ago are no longer required....

Originally Posted by almeltias

We are willing to put in the effort for this of course but we just would like to hear
some diiferent experiences of how it went for you and what you had to offer (you or your partner) in way of education or the job you were going for or if you went with the idea to start a business and how that went and what you had to provide.....

One last thing does it matter where you apply from?? as I said I am a british citizen living in Sweden for now..

Have you had a look at the visa wizard? There is a link under the DIAC info in the 'PLEASE READ....' post.

I'm not sure if the rules are different for Swedish citizens, but myself (UK) and my husband (Irish) didn't have any issues about where we came from.

I was in IT at the time and worked as an IT contractor with my own company for 8 years (at the time of visa application) and my husband was a maintenance gardener. Since it was hard to prove my skill set as primary applicant and since I didn't have a degree my husband was primary applicant and I was added as spouse.

We applied for permanent residency through skilled independent route and it was granted in 2004. We didn't move to Oz until July 2007 since we wanted to make sure that our businesses and investments were running smoothly before we moved.

I did soooo much research you wouldn't believe it! We also visited Oz several times to make sure that we were doing the right thing for us.

We've been here almost 2 years now and not regretted it at all.

Regards,
Karen

[almeltias]

Thank you so much for your help to my questions we will keep doing researching on this..just a quick couple of other questions..
Now you actually live there have you found it easy to make friends? a life in general..
Is there anything you discovered that Australia just doesnt have or is lacking? whether it be a food/product/ a store/a tradition...silly question I know but sometimes it the little things that you forget to ask..Is there anything you feel you have dicovered that suprised you but was still ok..about the people/weather/shops..
We are interested to move to somewhere like Melbourne ( I like to be near a city but not in it) and so any info on Melbourne would be good too..or any other places anyone can recommend for a family life..
again thank you for the information.
all you lucky ones in the sun...

[kaz101]

Originally Posted by almeltias

Now you actually live there have you found it easy to make friends? a life in general..

Before we moved over I investigated the clubs in the area so that we knew we could go out and become part of the community and that's what we've done. I work from home so it was very important for me to get out. We've joined a lot of clubs and have made a few friends. You do have to commit to being the ones who go out there and find what you want since it won't come to you

Originally Posted by almeltias

Is there anything you discovered that Australia just doesnt have or is lacking? whether it be a food/product/ a store/a tradition...silly question I know but sometimes it the little things that you forget to ask..

We focus on what we've gained - more time, sunshine, the ability to walk around (day or night), great people, creating a life that we love.

If you focus on what's lacking you won't be happy here because it's different to where you come from.

Originally Posted by almeltias

Is there anything you feel you have dicovered that suprised you but was still ok..about the people/weather/shops..

The language - Manchester is bed linen and towels for example.
We had been here about 4 times before the move so we had a good idea of what the people were like, weather etc.

Originally Posted by almeltias

We are interested to move to somewhere like Melbourne ( I like to be near a city but not in it) and so any info on Melbourne would be good too..or any other places anyone can recommend for a family life..

Some other members can tell you more about Melbourne since we only go there if we have to since we're not into big cities any more (years of living near London ), so we are in SE South Australia in Mount Gambier.

Regards,
Karen