Best way to migrate to Aus?

[gary_tholl]

Hey all,

I'm considering moving down to Australia as I feel it's time for a change.

I'm an Electronics Systems Engineer, and I am eligible to get a visa as a 'skilled worker'. Now, what I'm wondering is, what is the best way to do this??

Do I take a holiday down there and look around for a job in person? Do I try applying over the net? Do I pay up for the Visa first (~$2000)?

Guess what I'm saying is: are there any Aussie PH'ers who run a successful business that needs an engineer??

I've never moved out of country before, so some stories on what to do/not do would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Gary

[gary_tholl]

Thanks guys!

I'm thinking the working holiday may be the way to go. If I find something suitable, I'll get a temp visa. As well, it's $170 compared to $1845 for the permanent visa.

One thing I don't quite understand though, is with a working holiday visa, you're not supposed to work with one employer for more than 3 consecutive months, yet to get a visa can take longer than that... How does that work then? Do you have to stop working for them after the 3 months until your visa is successful?

And to top this off, most job search sites require that you have a 'right to work' in Australia before you can register with them.

Confusing. Maybe I'll check in with the Aussie embassy in Canada, see what they suggest.

Gary

[gary_tholl]

Thanks Stin,

I've spent the last couple days at work going through the gov site, looking at regulations, exemptions, clauses... I was getting a little confused. I think that once I sat down and looked at it in a more controlled manner, it makes much more sense now.

Gary

[gary_tholl]

Cool, thanks for the info. I am under 30, and I am a skilled worker (Electronics Engineer). I was looking at the Live in Australia site, I filled out most of the forms, but I couldn't really see what they were going to do for me for the $299US (it's just gone up). I do pass the current points check, so I think I should be ok.

I guess I'll have to watch the gov sites after the election, hopefully they don't make it too much harder to get in, although, it doesn't really seem that bad.

YVT, when you did the permanent res visa, did you have a job lined up, or did you just go and find one when you got there?

That's my dilemma, I don't want to shell out for the visa, then discover I can't find a decent job there or don't like it. On the other hand, it's hard to find a decent job without some type of visa.

In any case, thanks for the ideas guys. I just have to decide that it is definately what I want to do, then I'll make it happen.

Gary