Where do I start??!!

[luciekate]

My husband, myself and my sister in law are all looking to relocate to Australia in the next 12-18 months.

We have been researching the idea & have decided that we are definately going to do it. I have a property to sell but other than that, i dont know what to do first

If we apply for a Visa sooner rather than later, does it have an expiry date where we have to be in the country within a certain time?? I will be transferring within my company so employment for me is not an issue, but my husband will also need to secure a job. My sister in law has enough points to secure a visa but will also need to find a job either before or upon arrival.

Also, regarding accommodation, do we just book into a hotel and then look for an appropriate property in the area we like, or is it better to research the area and secure a rental property prior to arrival.

Pets - We currently have a cat who we would like to bring, but i am unsure about the whole process. Is it very costly? How cat friendly is Australia as a whole.

Sorry for lots of questions, but i hope you can help

With Thanks

Lucie xx

[kaz101]

Hi LucieKate,

Welcome to the forum.

Originally Posted by luciekate

We have been researching the idea & have decided that we are definately going to do it. I have a property to sell but other than that, i dont know what to do first

Have you been through the sticky posts at the top of the forum? That has loads of information that covers this sort of thing.

Originally Posted by luciekate

If we apply for a Visa sooner rather than later, does it have an expiry date where we have to be in the country within a certain time??

I think may depend on the visa. We came in through a skilled independent visa and had a year to validate the visa (dated from the medical or police check - I can't quite remember which), and then 4 more years from then to move. I'm not sure if it's the same for all visas.

Originally Posted by luciekate

I will be transferring within my company so employment for me is not an issue, but my husband will also need to secure a job. My sister in law has enough points to secure a visa but will also need to find a job either before or upon arrival.

Depending on what your sister in law does she may be able to find a job beforehand if she's in demand, otherwise most people find jobs when they get here. Are you coming in on a sponsored visa then?

Originally Posted by luciekate

Also, regarding accommodation, do we just book into a hotel and then look for an appropriate property in the area we like, or is it better to research the area and secure a rental property prior to arrival.

If you search through the posts you'll find varying answers to this question. We came out here on a trip first and bought a house since we were sure of the area. If your not sure of the area then rental accommodation is the way to go. You can contact agents but be aware that phoning is often better than email.

Originally Posted by luciekate

Pets - We currently have a cat who we would like to bring, but i am unsure about the whole process. Is it very costly? How cat friendly is Australia as a whole.

Around here (I'm in a more rural area) there are definitely more dogs than cats since the dogs are for working more than just pets. There are a few threads that talk about moving animals to Australia. We didn't go through that.

Hope that helps,
Karen

[Dolly]

Hi there Lucie,

People's experiences of moving over vary quite a bit - through personal choice and circumstances.

We moved over on the old subclass 139 (designated area sponsored). We'd got our visas and booked a validation trip. Between those 2 things happening husband got a job so we ended up putting the house up for sale on the day we left for the validation trip (nightmare!!) and permanently moved over 4 weeks after returning from the validation trip. Not ideal! We've only just sold our house.

We managed to secure a rental on our validation trip and we'd set up utilities back in the UK. Or so we thought! Luckily we'd booked into the local Big4 for a week on arrival so we could get things sorted in the rental (and we certainly needed that week).

Generally, people get their visas, move over without a job, book into short term rental for 2-4 weeks and look for a rental in that time.

As far as your husband and sister-in-law is concerned, most companies won't consider candidates for jobs until they have their Permanent Residency.

Not sure about cat fees but to ship our dog over cost around £2,500.

Dolly

[luciekate]

Thanks so much for all the helpful advice.....

Will keep you posted on how it all goes.