hello all i am new to this site, i was given the website address by a friend who lives in brisbane. me, my wife and 4 kids are moving to the brisbane area in september, my wife has been offered a nursing post and with this comes sponsership to get us all over there. As i am a full time dad my wife has left it to me to sort out shipping, flights and monies, what i would like to know is what is included in a sponsership? and how much easier is it with a sponsership than without? plus if anyone could advise me of any hidden costs that may arise!!!!

 

Hi there. By sponsorship do you mean a relocation package? She should have had all the info regarding this through the employer. I have a job offer at the mater mothers hospital in Brisbane (starting in may) and will get a relocation package of $8000, which can be used for quite a broad range of items including flights, shipping, accommodation for 1st 4 weeks, car hire, taxi from airport, visa, medicals, crb checks the list goes on..
I know with the mater it is $15000 for a family though. The only downside is that you are tied in for 2 years, and if you leave within those 2 years you pay a percentage of it back.
Hidden costs.... We only found with shipping the quote we were given didn't include insurance which is actually quite expensive, and there is also a fee for immigration to check your goods when your container arrives in the port, so our £1900 quote actually ended up being £2350. You obviously don't have to have insurance but it is probably wise to incase your goods are damaged in transit, or if for some freakish incident the entire container sunk!
Hope this helps a little bit... But really depends on where your wife will be working as each hospital will have it's own stipulations regarding relocation packages..

X

 

we are just in the process of getting the information, but as far as shipping goes we are only sending a few bits over such as tv's washing machine, tumble dryer and fridge, apart from that we have decided that it will be a completely new start for all of us, and to send all this out is costing us in the region of £550, the biggest expense is the flights if these are covered we are happy. do you know if they sort out the paperwork when it comes to visas, immigration etc etc. as i hear that this can hold you up and mess you around.

 

As far as I know there aren't any hospitals which will sort out the paperwork for you regarding visas. You can use and agency and pay them to do all that for you, but that's really an individual decision you'll have to make. It also depends on the visa you will be coming on. If the hospital is sponsoring you on a 457 visa (lots of nurses and health workers do it this way) the hospital do their bit of nominating you etc and then you submit the visa once you have the trn number and the relevant documentation. Your wife will need health checks, including an x Ray as a nurse, evidence of registration, maybe a crb check, again whatever immigration request. We did it this way and found the whole process straightforward enough, and saved ££'s in the process, but if you can afford not to deal with the hassle then an agency is your best bet.
If it's another type of visa then I cant really comment having not done it myself.
Length of getting the visa again depends on which one it is. Our 457 visa took 10 days but we more or less had all the documentation ready to upload.
If you do a search relating to whatever visa you are coming on and I'm sure you'll find a more relevant answer.

X

 

Hi svenie

Have you not considered applying for a Permanent Residency visa and then when its granted approaching the hospital for a job? I know a few familys who have migrated this way as there are less 'ties'.

As stated above , with sponsership ,yes you can get some financial support for your relocation costs but once you are here you are void from any Centrelink help and also should you lose your job and not be able to find an alternative sponser in 4 weeks you may have to leave Australia.
With a PR visa, you are totally unrestricted. You are not tied to an employer, you qualify for centrelink assistance / family assistance and goverment schooling without extra charges, private healthcare is an 'option' not compulsary , all up it gives you more security and freedom, especially if you have children.

Cal x

 

we have given the permenent residency visa, but my wife would need to start work more or less as soon as we get there, as we dont have the money to have too much time off, plus we are wanting to move this year and i hear with a sponser it normally makes the move that much quicker! i dont think the two years in the same job will bother us that much as when we move down there it will take a good while to settle in, and i think the last thing on our mind will be to change jobs. We will however look at what we are offered and make sure it is good for all of us, my wife is extremely well trained in different aspects of nursing and she has been told by the agency she will have the pick of many posts so we will look into what is best for her. Thanks for the advice though we will look into it further!!!

 

The familys i know who have arrived on a PR visa, start the ball rolling in relation to Nursing registration and job applications prior to their move. Most seem to start work 3 weeks after arrival as there is lots to do in the first few weeks, not to mention jet lag ,lol so not always ideal to start work immediately.
The PR visa does take longer to process though.

Cal x