[WillowSara]

Hi everyone!

I am Sara and my husband and I have finally decided to start the ball rolling for our new life in Australia with our baby girl who is 9 months!

Hubby's family are all living in Australia (just outside Brisbane) and we have done 3 reccy trips now, the most recent being in July with our baby girl, we came back and decided that we like the Australian way of life and are going to apply to move to Brisbane. We have chosen the Visa Bureau as our Migration Agents although we haven't yet paid the first deposit so that could be subject to change.

We are going out on the Family sponsored skills class visa (176?) as my husband is a College Lecturer (Vocational, non trades) and I am a Finance Officer.

Could anyone pass on any tips on Migration Agents etc? Are Visa Bureau good or are there any better ones?

Looking forward to hearing from you

Sara xx

 

[ellisa]

Hi Sara

We are off to Brisbane on 06/12/09 on a visa 176. We used visa-go immigration Ltd as our agents and i highly recommend them. My cousin and a few friends used them also and they are sound-no worries there. Anything you want to know, just ask.

How did you like Brisbane, we have two children 12 and 9 and are heading to Belmont initially and are staying in redcliffe for 1 week when we arrive in a furnished cottage. I would be grateful if you could let me know your thoughts on anything to do with Brisbane.

Thanks ellisa

 

[kaz101]

Welcome Sara,

If you do a search on agents you'll find that the subject of agents has come up many times I used Emigration group and another moderator (Dolly) used George Lombard.

With any agent:
Make sure that you know what you are paying for and when
That they are registered migration agents (MIA / MARA - links in the 'PLEASE READ...'sticky post towards the top of the forum.

Regards,
Karen

 

[WillowSara]

Hi Sara

We are off to Brisbane on 06/12/09 on a visa 176. We used visa-go immigration Ltd as our agents and i highly recommend them. My cousin and a few friends used them also and they are sound-no worries there. Anything you want to know, just ask.

How did you like Brisbane, we have two children 12 and 9 and are heading to Belmont initially and are staying in redcliffe for 1 week when we arrive in a furnished cottage. I would be grateful if you could let me know your thoughts on anything to do with Brisbane.

Thanks ellisa

Hi Ellisa,

Thanks for the reply We love Brisbane, I have been 3 times now, each time we have stayed for 3 weeks. All of OH's family live around the north west suburbs of Brisbane. Can I ask how long it's taken you to get your 176 visa and what Migration Agents you have used?

Brisbane is just so clean, Redcliffe is gorgeous too (we went whale watching from there when we were there in July and I would thoroughly recommend it). There is a huge shopping centre just outside Brisbane called Chermside and you can pretty much get anything there (its like the Trafford Centre/Bluewater).

If you have any questions, please let me know and I'll be happy to help

Sara xx

 

[WillowSara]

Welcome Sara,

If you do a search on agents you'll find that the subject of agents has come up many times I used Emigration group and another moderator (Dolly) used George Lombard.

With any agent:
Make sure that you know what you are paying for and when
That they are registered migration agents (MIA / MARA - links in the 'PLEASE READ...'sticky post towards the top of the forum.

Regards,
Karen

Thanks for your reply Karen, I will look into George Lombard & Emigration Group. Do you know how long roughly we are looking to get in on a family sponsored skills visa (176?) xx

 

[ellisa]

Hi Ellisa,

Thanks for the reply We love Brisbane, I have been 3 times now, each time we have stayed for 3 weeks. All of OH's family live around the north west suburbs of Brisbane. Can I ask how long it's taken you to get your 176 visa and what Migration Agents you have used?

Brisbane is just so clean, Redcliffe is gorgeous too (we went whale watching from there when we were there in July and I would thoroughly recommend it). There is a huge shopping centre just outside Brisbane called Chermside and you can pretty much get anything there (its like the Trafford Centre/Bluewater).

If you have any questions, please let me know and I'll be happy to help

Sara xx

Hi Sara

We lodged our visa on the 29th Jan 09 and were granted it on 2nd July 09, little wait but others have got theirs faster than us, so i think it depends. We used Visa-Go Ltd who are based in Edinburgh, but we did it all through email and phone. They were fab, have a word with Darren Chatt at visa-go, he's Australian and is just fantastic. Never felt like my money was at risk or anything like that, communication is A1, email a message and it is answered promptly etc etc!

Thanks for your reply about Brisbane, can't wait to get there now. ellisa

 

[WillowSara]

Hi Sara

We lodged our visa on the 29th Jan 09 and were granted it on 2nd July 09, little wait but others have got theirs faster than us, so i think it depends. We used Visa-Go Ltd who are based in Edinburgh, but we did it all through email and phone. They were fab, have a word with Darren Chatt at visa-go, he's Australian and is just fantastic. Never felt like my money was at risk or anything like that, communication is A1, email a message and it is answered promptly etc etc!

Thanks for your reply about Brisbane, can't wait to get there now. ellisa

Wow, that was really quick! We have been told by Visa Bureau it will take at least 2 years, this is sounding quite long now reading the other posts on the site.

Don't mind me asking but approx how much has it cost you? We have been told by Visa Bureau they charge 2 lots of £1370 for their fees plus all of the medicals etc will come to about £4k. We are quite lucky in that my Mother In Law has kindly offered to pay for our visa application (she wants us to move there so she can see more of us and our 9 month old baby).

Sorry if you think I am rude, I just don't have a clue!!

Sara xx

 

[kaz101]

Thanks for your reply Karen, I will look into George Lombard & Emigration Group. Do you know how long roughly we are looking to get in on a family sponsored skills visa (176?) xx

Take a look at the timeline thread (there's a link in the please read.... sticky post) to get an idea of time lines.

Regards,
Karen