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Do you know when you have those ‘little’ jobs to do around the house that you’ll get around to doing eventually? Well, that’s pretty much what we’ve been doing for the last few weeks.

Having finally got over returning back to the UK to be faced with sub Zero temperatures and snow I’ve been hitting all the DIY jobs that I’ve been meaning to do for the past 7 years whilst the missus has become master packer / tidy uppa.

The house is looking half decent although there’s still a few jobs to do before we get the valuers round in preparation for putting the house on the market.

Anyway, back to the painting.

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The weather has been traditionally British recently, Lots of snow and very cold (averaging all of 2 – 3 decrees Celsius. However the 2006 Commonwealth games started in Melbourne yesterday and it was great to wake up to some live footage of some of the sports over there.

The weather appears to be pretty pleasant in Melbourne, averaging a very comfortable 75 Degrees Fahrenheit most days. Saying that, back on the other side of the country in Perth its forecast to be in the 90’s everyday for the rest of this week

As Melbourne is getting some good exposure at the moment, I thought you folks might be interested in a little more information about the city (clicking the images below to open a bigger version in a new window if your interested).
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Perhaps the UK government is scared of loosing to many of its citizens to the Aussie lifestyle

I remember seeing these ads on the news when we went on our Rekkie to Perth (what seems all of a lifetime ago now).

But alas, the country that gave the world such risque comic acts as Benny Hill, the Two Ronnies and Little Britain has banned Australia’s new “bloody hell” tourism ads from television because they are just a little too rude.
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Oh the irony, after 40 years the UK has finally decided to review its immigration policies by adopting a Australian-style points-based immigration system.

The system will be put in place to attract the “brightest and the best” from the developing world to work and settle in Britain.

A slightly flawed assumption however is that the workers from the newly enlarged European Union will mostly fill low-skilled labour shortages. The door will in future be closed to unskilled migrants from the developing world outside the EU, however any unskilled migrants from the EU can still pop into the UK whenever they please.

The white paper, Making Migration Work for Britain, published yesterday also proposed that financial bonds guaranteeing their return home should be demanded from migrants whose personal circumstances or route of migration suggest they may breach the immigration rules. Employers will also be expected to ensure that migrant workers comply with the rules of their visas.

The system will reward those with money to invest and the most highly skilled migrants who come to work in Britain with the right to bring their families and a faster route to citizenship than at present.

This contrasts sharply with provision for a very limited number of temporary low-skilled workers from the developing world who will be able to come for a maximum of 12 months, will have to leave their family at home, and may have their wages paid into their bank accounts back home to ensure they leave the country at the end of their contract.

The system will also include changes in the way overseas students come to Britain, and the working holidaymakers scheme, which has seen more than 70,000 Australians, New Zealanders and South Africans come to Britain, will be open to far more countries.

Hmmm, this all sounds somewhat familiar. A little too late for us but hopefully longer term the changes if implemented successfully will bring longer term benefits for the UK.

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Ever wondered how to go about emigrating to Australia and go about getting an Australian visa? Wondering what the various options were and how to go about the different schemes without too much red tape or expense? There are lots of ways to emigrate to Australia. This article spells it out in 9 easy stages.

1. The Australian economy has never been stronger and the Australian government are particularly looking out for skilled people with a specialization in many business and trade areas. In order to emigrate you could go the route of an expensive lawyer, or you could get the advice of specialist Australian immigration consultants to see if you qualify for Australian immigration eligibility.

2. If you are wondering about work skills needed to emigrate to Australia or qualifications needed to emigrate to Australia then it’s worth bearing in mind that there is a points system for applying for what is known as the Skilled Visa. You can fill in an online form to see if you satisfy the Australian immigration points system as set out by the Australian Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs (DIMIA).

3. An Australia working visa. Managers, qualified professionals and skilled tradespeople are especially in demand under the Skilled Visa program. Schemes are available for skilled visas on a permanent or temporary basis, and are all based on points needed to emigrate to Australia as set out by the Australian Immigration Department. With the Australian job market advertising over 150,000 jobs each week and unemployment at its lowest in 10 years, being eligible for an Australia work visa has never been more possible. There is a huge demand in the plumbing, security, printing and the building trades in particular. However, despite the huge demand across the board there was a shortage of candidates for jobs in 2004.

4. An Australia working holiday visa. These are exactly what they sound like. There are many people who dream of being able to emigrate to Western Australia or, more specifically, emigrate to Perth Australia for the amazing weather and facilities there. If you are between 18 and 30 and are looking to spend 12 months in Australia then you may qualify for one of the many Australian working holiday visas that are available every year.

5. Family Visa. If you have an Australian partner, or members of your immediate family are permanently based in Australia then you may qualify for one of several family stream visas. Your application to emigrate to Australia can be done online. The Government of Australia encourages emigration in order to bring families together. Under the Family Visa Emigration Programme, migrants considering emigration must be sponsored by a close family member or fiancé(e) living in Australia. There are 4 schemes to choose from in order to find out if you are eligible for emigration. Select the one that best describes your situation. The sponsor must be either an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen, and would usually be 18 years of age or older.

6. Visitors and tourists. All travelers, except New Zealand citizens, must obtain a visa or travel authority before they travel to Australia. But now there is no need to worry about visiting the Australian Embassy or High Commission to get your visa. You can now get your visa online. If you are planning to travel to Australia as a visitor or even on a business trip then you may need either a visa or an ETA (Electronic Travel Authority). An ETA will allow you to spend up to 3 months in Australia and you are free to travel anywhere you like.

7. Business and investment visas. If you have had a successful business career either at a senior executive level or as an owner of your own business you may qualify for one of several visas under the Australian business visa program. Under the two-stage arrangements introduced on 1 March 2003, business migrants are granted a Business Skills (Provisional) visa for four years and, after establishing the requisite level of business presence required by the DIMIA or maintaining their minimum investment, are eligible to make an application for a Business Skills (Residence) visa.

8. If you are an employee who is headhunted or moved to your company’s Australia office then you can apply under the Australia sponsored work visa. Your employer can effectively sponsor you for this by becoming your Australia Immigration Sponsor. Under this system, if you are an established professional, you can emigrate to Australia without a degree.

9. Retirement visas. If you wish to emigrate to Australia on retirement then you may be eligible for an Australia retirement visa given each year. If you are financially secure and would like to spend some of your retirement years in the warmer climates of Australia, find out if you qualify with our free online assessment.

There has never been a better time to emigrate to Australia or to apply for an Australia Work Permit or Australia visa application.

About the Author

Gordon Goodfellow is a writer and Internet technologist. Amongst other things he advises on emigrating to Australia.

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Australia has led the worldwide real estate boom and enjoyed record price increases over the past three years, but as 2006 gets underway many fear that the recent success of the Australian real estate market is not sustainable.

While the Australian housing market may well face a short period of economic adjustment, there are still ways to profit from the real estate sector in Australia. Real estate investors examining the market just need to look a little further afield than Sydney!

Perth in Western Australia is one city where real estate prices remain affordable and where demand for quality accommodation to buy and rent is increasing which is creating an exciting micro property investment market opportunity ripe for exploration in 2006.

The reason for Perth’s sudden popularity from a real estate perspective springs from the fact that the city is enjoying a period of economic advancement led by a vast improvement in employment prospects. Local residents in Perth are benefiting from better paying employment and an abundance of opportunity, and the city is attracting a steady flow of inward migration as job seekers move to the city to take up offers of employment.

Historically Perth’s real estate prices have lagged well behind those of Sydney and Melbourne for example, and the average home finance sought to purchase in Perth is around 30,000 Australian dollars less than the average mortgage taken out elsewhere in Australia. The lower priced accommodation is attracting more interest from investors from across Australia as well who are all seeking a housing market with legs left to run. Furthermore the real estate sector in and around Perth is enjoying interest from international real estate investors who can see the long term prospects available.

As demand for accommodation in Perth increases as the city welcomes new residents, so the prices being charged for rental housing are on the up as well. Anyone who purchases real estate to let out in Perth right now can cash in on this boom in rental rate rises and retain their property while the predicted period of property price growth develops.

Across the rest of Australia many first time home buyers have been temporarily priced out of the housing market as property prices have exceeded affordable levels. While the market readjusts over the short term there are fears that a rental accommodation crisis is looming in some of Australia’s most popular cities such as Brisbane and Sydney. This concern is of course leading to sharp increases in rental rates being charged by landlords who are well aware of how valuable a commodity they own.

While this is an unfortunate situation for those caught in the rental trap it is a perfect situation for an investor seeking immediate returns on real estate investments in Australia. Anyone who makes a real estate investment purchase in Australia with the intention to let out that property will not only make a strong income currently but they will continue to enjoy property price growth over the longer term as the market readjusts and begins to grow again in Australia in the medium term.

And finally, if you’re interested in the real estate market down under and are not an Australian citizen, overseas buyers are free to own real estate in Australia that has been granted permission for sale to foreign purchasers; and you can rest assured that the purchase process will be straightforward because it is so well regulated in Australia.

About the Author

Rhiannon Williamson writes about overseas real estate investment and specialises in the analysis of property market trends and opportunities. To read more information about real estate investment in Australia click here.

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I know that getting down under is a relatively new site and the stats that I’m seeing indicate only a handful of visitors to the site every single day. However I’ve been thinking about adding a discussion forum to the site to enable folks with similar interests to ask questions and network with each other where appropriate.

At the end of the day I’m only giving you guys my version of events, I’m sure there are plenty of folks out there who have already made the successful move down under and may have some great advice, hints and tips to share.
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We have two cats which we’ll be taking with us to Australia. In reality it would be a thousand times cheaper to buy two new cats when we get out there but the cats have been part of the family for a number of years now so they’ll be making the trip down under with us.

A government department called AQIS which stands for Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service, are the folks in Australia that deal with animal imports.

They have some really useful information and forms which need to be completed if your taking your dog or cat with you to Australia. The more applicable sections of the site can be found by clicking here (page opens in new window) however I thought it’d be useful to document the main steps associated with taking your dog or cat to Australia with you.

Cats and dogs may only be imported to Australia from approved countries. Conditions for importing cats and dogs from approved countries vary depending on the country of export. These conditions may involve a longer quarantine period, restricted breeds or similar.

Fortunately for us, the UK is seen as a pretty ‘clean’ country from a pet perspective with only New Zealand being viewed better where no quarantine periods are required at all.

The UK is classed as a Category 2 country so and dogs and cats being brought into Australia need to spend 30 days quarantine in Australia before you can pick them up and take them to your new home.

Other Category two countries include (long list this): Bahrain, Barbados, Cyprus, Falkland Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia (includes Tahiti, Society Islands, Marquesas Islands, Austral Islands, Tuamotu Islands, Gambier Islands), Guam, Hawaii, the Republic of Ireland, Japan, Malta, Mauritius, New Caledonia, Norway, Singapore, Sweden, Taiwan and Vanuatu.

I’ll cover both cats and dogs as I think these will be the animals that you’ll most likely want to take with you if your going to emigrate into Australia. There are a number of steps that you’ll need to go through prior to sending your beloved pet to the other side of the world.

Step one, you need to make sure that your dog or cat is eligible for export to Australia:

Your Dog or cats must have been continuously living in the UK or similar for a minimum of 6 months immediately prior to shipment. Your pet must not have been under quarantine restrictions in the 30 days prior to export and your pet must be at least 12 weeks old at time of export.

If your dog or cat is pregnant, they must not be more than 6 weeks pregnant nor be suckling young at time of export and finally certain breeds of dogs cannot be exported into Australia. These breeds tend to be the more fierce breeds such as:

Dogo Argentino, fila Brazileiro, Japanese tosa’s, Pit bull terrier, American pit bull or the Presa Canaria.

I know that many of these breeds make great and loving family pets but I’m afraid the Aussies don’t see it that way so If you have any of these breeds then unfortunately you’ll need to leave them at home.

In addition, under animal hybrids e.g. Bengal cats or wolf crosses are not eligible for import, unless they are proven to be 5th generation or more away from any pure-bred non-domestic ancestor.

Step two, your dog or cat has to be micro chipped for identification purposes.

The chip must be able to be read by an Avid, Trovan, Destron or other ISO compatible reader (your vet will be able to confirm this). Fortunately we’ve had both of our cats done. Pop over to your local vets to get this sorted. I think for our cats it cost about £25 each.

Step three, Get your permit.

Your pet will not be allowed to enter Australia without a valid AQIS permit to import. The AQIS import permits are only valid for 6 months from the day that AQIS receives your application so make sure you get your timing right and don’t apply years in advance. The AQIS import permit will be sent to you immediately following approval by AQIS of your application.

For those of you on a tighter timescale, you can ask for the import permit to be faxed, a copy of the import permit may be used. A permit will be sent to the person/company that you nominate as the “exporter” on your application form so if you’re using one of the companies specialising in pet export then make sure you provide their details on the form.

Keep in mind that even though you will have received your permit to import your pet into Australia, it does not guarantee a space at your preferred Quarantine Station so Bookings must be made for your pet/s at these stations. There are currently three main quarantine stations covering the whole of Australia:

Eastern Creek Quarantine Station which covers Sydney and the New South Wales regions, Spotswood Quarantine Station which covers Melbourne, Victoria and Byford Quarantine Station which covers Perth and the rest of Western Australia.

Step 4, Your pets health check

In a similar way to us humans, your pet also needs to undergo health checks by a government approved body before being allowed into the country.

An Official Veterinarian is a government officer usually employed by the government veterinarian administration (e.g. in the UK – Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs). These official Veterinarians generally do not work in private practice but are able to sign certificates on behalf of the government’s veterinary administration. Again, your local vet may be the best port of call for this. Although they may not be able to do all the checks themselves, they should be able to point you in the right direction

Step 5, make your pets travel arrangements.

You can only get your pet into Australia through the following airports, Mascot Airport in Sydney (New South Wales), Tullamarine Airport in Melbourne (Victoria) or Perth Airport in Perth (Western Australia).

AQIS does not place any restrictions or the airline you choose to use, however your pet must travel as “Manifested Cargo” (not in the cabin) and in an International Air Transport Association (IATA) approved container for dogs and cats.

Please note you will be charged an additional fee of $25 if your pet arrives in Australia outside business hours (8:00am – 4:00 PM). You are also required to seek the approval of the relevant quarantine station for after hours pick-ups prior to import.

Step 6 – Get your pet vaccinated.

Vaccinations must be valid for the entire period spent in quarantine in Australia. If vaccinations expire prior to your pet’s release from quarantine they may be re-vaccinated at the owner’s expense.

Dogs must be vaccinated against distemper, infectious hepatitis, canine parvovirus (parvo), para-influenza and Bordetella bronchiseptica (kennel cough).

If the Bordetella bronchiseptica (kennel cough) is not available in the country of origin, dogs may be vaccinated for kennel cough on arrival in Australia at the owner’s expense. Note: Vaccinations against Leptospira interrogans.var. canicola is not recommended within 6 months of export as your pet’s high antibody response will most likely result in it being ineligible for export to Australia.

Cats must have been vaccinated against feline enteritis (feline panleucopenia, feline distemper), rhinotracheitis and calicivirus.

Step 7 Final Vet Checks.

Prior to sticking your pet on a plane (normally less then a week before) your pet needs to have some final health checks. The first step is normally a visual inspection; if everything’s OK then Veterinary Certificate A will be completed.

On the day of your pet’s departure, the final checks will be made by a vet, the result of which will be the completion Veterinary Certificate B.

The Official Veterinarian who signs Veterinary Certificate B records the identification number of the seal on Veterinary Certificate B, and physically seals your pet into the cage. After this has been completed your cat or dog would not be released from its cage until it gets to Australia.

A water container is fixed inside the cage with an external funnel with a hose leading into the water container to allow water to be replenished without opening the cage. Your pet would then be put onto the plane at which point its new adventure really begins.

Not that straight forward is it? Well, thankfully AQIS have all the information on their website which you can find by clicking here (link opens in new window). There are also numerous pet ‘migration agents’ who will manage the whole process for you (for a fee).

Shipping yourself, your cat and/or your dog to Australia was never going to be a straight forward process but I’m sure you’ll all appreciate being back together at the other side.

We have added a new forum which includes a forum specifically for folks looking at taking their pets with them to Australia. Click Here to view our Taking your Pets to Australia Forum

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Brrrrrrrrr. Oh I’m so happy to be back in the good old UK (insert tones of sarcasm here).

The trip back was pretty uneventful. Our little boy slept during the Singapore to London Leg of the trip for just over 8 hours so this made the 13-hour journey a little more bearable for all of us.

Landing in London at 5am UK time (1pm Perth time) to be met with cool crisp air and very low winter sun (great for driving with a dirty windscreen and no screen wash).

Three hour journey back ‘up north’ and then off to Asda to feed a craving for bacon and eggs that we’d all acquired followed by a few hours staring into space after the realisation that for two of us at least, it had been over 36 hours since we got out of bed.

Little boy in bed for approx 7pm, we were in bed (dead on our feet) for about 10.

They recon the best way to avoid jet lag is to spend plenty of time in direct sunlight to help readjust your own body clock whilst trying to stay awake as long as you can so that your going to bed at a normal time. Sounds good in practice doesn’t it?

Next morning – Bing! Wake up bright as a button at 4:30am can’t sleep so get up early to enjoy a freezing day. Snows forecast but nothing to be seen in Yorkshire, in bed for 10pm dead on my feet.

This morning – Bing! Wake up, bright as a button at 4am. First day back in the office today. Manage to force myself to remain in bed with my eyes open for 2 hours and then time to get back into work mode.

Get ready for work and go outside to find the car resembling an ice block. No de-icer. Scrape, scrape…. In the car, sit in traffic for 40 minutes driving all of a few miles.

So here I am, it’s coming up to 9pm Australia time and I’m taking a break for lunch. I have some software called weather watcher on my PC and the temperature displayed in my PC’s toolbar shows me that its 23 degrees in Perth at time of typing.

It’s actually forecast to be 33 degrees (91F) tomorrow. Damn I really do miss that sun! Weather watcher is a pretty cool software package and I highly recommend it. Its only small but if the sun and the hot weather is one of the things that attracts you to a life in Australia then its a nice thing to have to remind you of how nice and warm it can get over there.

You can find more information and download weather watcher by clicking here (link opens in new window)

I’ve just about managed to get through the 300 e-mails I’ve been sent and I’m seriously missing Australia and its lifestyle like mad! I know the sunshine isn’t everything but Australia, particularly Western Australia offers the full package in my opinion and I’m really glad that we took the time to visit our future home.

We still have so much to do. The house is the main focus now so we’ll be spending every opportunity we have making sure the house looks presentable in preparation for putting the house up for sale (hopefully in the next couple of months).

Sad though it sounds, were also in the process of pulling together a ‘project plan’. The enormity of this project is only just starting to become clear. What’s for sure is that we’ll be kept pretty busy for the months to come.

Also, I’ve not forgotten about the pictures, which I promised to upload to the site. I’ll aim to share these this weekend.

Cheers all

Mark

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