just received my PR visa, a few questions.

[jus]

Hi everyone,

 

Well finally received my state sponsored PR visa after a couple of years with an expression of interest in and a lot of ups and downs wondering if it would ever happen. I'm initially flying over late may to activate the visa and I'm looking forward to making the move.

 

Even though I've been a few times I'm now starting to realize there's a lot I need to know and a lot of questions I need to answer. This is just the start of the journey hey

 

I was hoping you guys on here could help me out ?

 

for example, how long can I drive on a UK licence ? and how and where do I go about getting it changed to an Australian one ?

 

can I just buy a car and register it ?

 

I would like to find work before I make the big jump, so whats the best site (or sites) to search for jobs on ?

 

which bring me to my next question, I had my skills assessed for the visa. How do I go about getting my qualifications converted or recognized when searching for work? the only thing they sent me was an email saying:

 

your Level 3 Certificate in Teaching in the Lifelong Learning Sector qualification was assessed for the purpose of a migration skills assessment as comparable to at least an AQF certificate IV relevant for the occupation of Vocational Education Teacher [242211];

 

all my other Qualifications are IMI (institute of motor industry) how do I find out what they convert to ?

 

and I believe I have to register for medicare? how would I go about that ? would I be able to do that in May ?

 

and finally bank account, I was hoping to open one when I come over to activate the visa. Would I be able to do this without a residential address at the moment?

 

 

see, lots of questions

[Rammygirl]

Hello and welcome to the forum. Your first post needs to be approved before it appears so sorry for the slight delay.

 

You can drive on your UK license for three months before changing it. This is fairly simple but you need to go into a gov office to do it. Just google and you will find your nearest. You might want to do it sooner than later as it is useful for ID required for rentals etc.

 

We bought a car on arrival and it was registered to our temp address and we just changed it on line later.

 

No idea about jobs in your area.

 

Banking, you can open an account with several of the major banks before you leave the UK, you just then go into a branch with ID to activate the account when you are here. Westpac and NAB both do this but there will be others too. If you are planning to send money use a forex company rather than your bank. Oh and keep your UK account open, it is just about impossible to open or move a UK account once you are no longer resident. Talk to them ours were fine and have our Aus address and send new cards etc, I just manage on line.

 

Do you have anywhere in particular you are heading?

 

Seek has jobs but I'm afraid that in Adelaide making links and meeting people is the way to go as many jobs never seem to be advertised at all! I would contact TAFE centres direct.

[snifter]

Hello and welcome

 

You don't sign up for Medicare until you are actually living here. Don't sign up for it while on a holiday. When you do move over its a simple process and a visit to the local office or Centrelink to get it all sorted.

 

You can open a bank account online from the UK. Have it all set up and pick up your bank cards once you move over. Just check out the main banks online and read up on it. We opened one with Commonwealth from the UK without issue and picked up our cards etc the day after we arrived.

 

What jobs exactly are you applying for? TBH most people have to make the move without a job lined up. The job market can be tough going here and employers may overlook applications from overseas if they have plenty of suitable applicants to choose from locally.

 

Cannot help on the conversion q's.

[jus]

Thanks for the reply's that's cleared a couple of things up and been very helpful actually.

 

as for what Jobs I've applied for, at the minute just one teaching job (obviously teaching automotive) but i'm willing to do anything to get started. I was thinking of applying for a couple of mechanic positions but I agree that that would probably be best to do when I move over.

Any advice or anything you think it might be helpful to know would be appreciated.

[Curly]

Hi the other guys have pretty much answered the questions about banks, Medicare and drivers licence. If you buy a car I had to put my Aussie licence number on the change of ownership documents not sure if this has to be done but like the others said it's not difficult to get changed over. I know a teacher who moved over and they had to do some extra training to meet the requirements over here so might be something to look in to. If you need to do any extra work get in contact with skills SA the can help with the money for any extra work. Look on seek for work or indeed they will give you an idea of what's out there

[suzy]

Hi jus, I arrived end of Jan and have managed to sort all the same things you need to, basically as already answered by the others just go to the offices, although I would say get there early as they get busy, I was in Medicare for 2 hours waiting! Take as much ID as possible. Your uk license is ok for 90 days and you can register a car without a SA license you will just need a client number which car sales person can do or you can get from same place you get license (I stupidly had my uk license still in maiden name so had a small issue sorting that out). It is all fairly straightforward. I did the bank account once here, you need to take id in to active the account so might as well do it all at once, go to a branch where you're living, I'm with ANZ and they've been quite helpful. PM me if you've questions it's all still fairly fresh in my mind! Good luck with the move. Cheers Suzy

[path2aus]

Hi Jus, I moved here in Jan as well. Most of the questions have been already answered. The bank accounts though, you can if you want do it overseas as well. I did it while I was still in the US. It is simple and straightforward. You would be able to activate your account only after you land here though. The SA license is a simple process. Just walk in with the required documents (Proof of address, Passport, Visa Grant Notice, Your UK license) and fill out a form there and you should get the license within 10 days. The medicare is a also simple to enrol once you are here, I would suggest you only do that when you have an address where you are going to stay at least for a month. The other thing you would need to get paid is the TFN (Even though this is not an immediate requirement, I would just get it out of the way once you are here). It is simple to apply online, again needs to be done when you have a place to stay at least for a month. Since medicare and TFN can take up to a month to arrive, it is better to have an address where you would stay for a good amount of time.

 

Regarding jobs, I am not that sure about your line of work. I would just tell about my experience. Try to build some contacts while you are in UK if you can. You would here lots of rejection from overseas as it is very difficult to find work if you are not physically present in SA. It can happen but is extremely rare. Try to create a network via linked in or so. Once you are here, call them and ask to meet them in person. I did the same once I landed here. I got my first contract in about a month. So best of luck with your move. Cheers!!