Hoping to emigrate to Australia

[Jockney Rebel]

mate i came here with 1200 quid a wife and kid no wife now ..lived in NSW and QLD but i dont really get on with the summers up here [I am a Scot after all lol] so im moving back sth to the snowies ..i concur with everything everyone here says i will add this do your own immigration stuff.. i did ...its a but involved but the immigration agents are just a rip off .
I met some wicked mates here and run my own business for about 3yrs doing bike recovery and transport so ive seen a fair bit of the eastern sea board ...4800 kms a week im back on the tools now ..but im looking to retire after 65 to the country and go off the grid ..mate do it you wont regret it ..this is the safest country on the planet [cept for all the beasties trying to eat you lol ]...any help i can give you just yell ..good luck matey

[Tony Nitrous]

For me using an Immigration Agent was 100% money well spent.

I had nothing on paper, no official qualifications at all.
Everything I had done for 20+ years after leaving school was hands on unofficial training and personal experiences.
The paperwork was overwhelming and would have been my nightmare,
I was close to 40 and not on the "desired skills" desired A-list.

I chucked everything I had at the agency and they returned a Permanent Residency Visa with no
conditions or strings attached.

The agency I used is now closed, but the beauty of it was the two women were both
ex-Australian Consulate staff with a life times experience and they had "been there-done that"
with every scenario you could have imagined.

I doubt I'd be sat here today without them.

For some folk the right agency is a god send.

[megawatt]

Thanks again Jockney Rebel and Tony. Got any contact details for those agents Tony?

[Tony Nitrous]

As I said the one I used is now closed (they retired in 2012) but if you can find
a good one it can be money well spent in some cases.

[megawatt]

Thanks Tony

[megawatt]

Sorry Gix, I can't seem to PM you anymore ??? I'll be free to meet up from July 19th until September 1st. I'm near Hastings until June 28th, so welcome to drop in or stay over when you visit?

[BillyWhizz888]

Marry an aussie chick bingo you get in,
look at like a prison sentence just do the hard yards for a few years get your PR then jump ship....

[megawatt]

Thanks mate, I may just do that.

[Gix11]

Sorry Gix, I can't seem to PM you anymore ??? I'll be free to meet up from July 19th until September 1st. I'm near Hastings until June 28th, so welcome to drop in or stay over when you visit?

Sorry mate, I did reply. It must have got lost. All good, keep this post alive and we'll get a group togerther in Brisbane for a few beers so you can meet a few guys in one hit.

[megawatt]

Thanks mate, was hoping I could meet some of you guys.

[Tony Nitrous]

I'm around up until the last week of August, them I'm overseas.

[ozzy1100]

If this goes ahead I'll try and be there....
Or prob sometime this yr I'm tring to have a asf beer time in the shed :-)

[megawatt]

That's great Tony and Ozzy. I'll be with my eldest daughter from July 18th until early September. We are thinking of flying to Cairns, if there's plenty to see, then on to Sydney to pick up a vehicle and do a road trip through NSW, Victoria and Tasmania. Driving back to Sydney and probably fly from there to New Zealand for a few months. I'll get in touch as soon as I can when in Brisbane, probably mid July.

[Tony Nitrous]

Heaps to see in Cairns. Lots of backpackers and Chinese but still OK.
Port Douglas a little further up is a quieter and more upmarket.

Steam Railway and Cable Car up to Karanda, Croc farms, the Great Barrier Reef,
Quad bike adventures, The Gillies Hwy (my favorite Rd) dozens of other stuff, heaps to do up there.
Cairns really is geared up for tourists.

[Tony Nitrous]

If you have the time, drive down from Cairns.
I've done it a few times. 2 days if you want to be sensible and legal,
2 weeks if you want to see the East Coast.
Airlie Beach is a Backpackers town but a good place to get a boat out to Hamilton Island
or the beautiful Whitehaven Beach. Heaps of other odd stuff to see like Paronella Park etc.
Cairns to Brisbane is about 1700K's and then its another 930 to Sydney.
No everyone's idea of fun but you'll get a better idea of the real Australia than you ever will
sitting in an airport or hotel.

[slingy88]

Have to agree with Tony. We used an agent and it was money well spent. They new exactly what aspect to push etc to make sure there was no doubt of us getting in. Very good, just followed their instructions and bingo, full residency visa. They were called Ian Harrop and associates. Don't know if they are still going. Anyway, do it. The only thing that sucks is how anal all the rules are about modding vehicles. Really annoying!
Other than that, great weather, great people, great opportunities

[megawatt]

Thanks for the tips gents, keep em coming. I'd sooner drive than fly and we do have loadsa time. Slingy, what sort of money did they charge you for their services?

[Tony Nitrous]

First time I ever came here as a tourist, I did 1 week in Sydney, 1 week Gold Coast / Brisbane
and I week in Cairns. All 3 have heaps to see and do, all 3 are very different.

[megawatt]

Yep, 3 weeks in July with both daughters. Brisbane, Barrier Reef and Sydney. Then once youngest goes home, Road Trip !!!

[K6Thou]

If you do decide to drive from cairns, I'm in rockhampton which is about 700ish klms north of brisbane I'd be more than happy to show you around here.....