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Moving to Australia: How?
Aegeri
Tiny wee bacteriumsPlateau of LengRegistered User regular
Tiny wee bacteriumsPlateau of LengRegistered User regular
Well life has worked itself out, I'm finishing my studies and then early next year marrying a lovely Australian woman 
Unfortunately I have absolutely no clue how I proceed with the moving to Australia part - great opportunities there in Australia and I loved it when I visted. I currently live in New Zealand and I have literally been out of NZ once, ironically enough the visit to Australia I just mentioned. So second time I leave NZ it's to actually move entirely to another country! Kind of an odd way of doing things I know.
So I'm utterly clueless as to what I need to do, I imagine I need the following:
A work visa or something, so I can stay in the country and get a job etc. I have a solid science degree here, so there isn't much of a problem in that regard thankfully!
How do I get my stuff to Australia? Should I even be trying to bring all my stuff to Australia? How much will a bunch of DnD books and my vidja game consoles cost to move over?
Who do I need to contact and such forth? Is there an easy way of doing this?
Applying for citizenship or similar?
Basically I don't have a clue how to do this, what I can do and just how pheasible things are to bring (like my books, video game consoles and such. Should I just be selling these?). Any advice is appreciated, especially just knowing where to begin.
Unfortunately I have absolutely no clue how I proceed with the moving to Australia part - great opportunities there in Australia and I loved it when I visted. I currently live in New Zealand and I have literally been out of NZ once, ironically enough the visit to Australia I just mentioned. So second time I leave NZ it's to actually move entirely to another country! Kind of an odd way of doing things I know.So I'm utterly clueless as to what I need to do, I imagine I need the following:
A work visa or something, so I can stay in the country and get a job etc. I have a solid science degree here, so there isn't much of a problem in that regard thankfully!
How do I get my stuff to Australia? Should I even be trying to bring all my stuff to Australia? How much will a bunch of DnD books and my vidja game consoles cost to move over?
Who do I need to contact and such forth? Is there an easy way of doing this?
Applying for citizenship or similar?
Basically I don't have a clue how to do this, what I can do and just how pheasible things are to bring (like my books, video game consoles and such. Should I just be selling these?). Any advice is appreciated, especially just knowing where to begin.
Aegeri on
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This is where I'd start.
http://www.immi.gov.au/
so basically it's going to be no problem. read that page anyway to get the down-low
i've moved internationally a couple of times, and it's going to get easier the more you're willing to shed. books are hard because they're heavy. consoles are okay, but you might want to choose one and get rid of the rest. seafreight is an option - you can usually get a big crate and fill it up to whatever weight you need, but if you can manage to squeeze into a couple of suitcases you're going to save yourself a hell of a lot of time and money
what city are you moving to?
i'd start scoping out jobs at seek.com.au before you move over, even just to give you an idea of the job market. and if you see the perfect role i don't think it would be out of the question to apply for it from abroad
in terms of citizenship / permanent residency, in most cases i'd recommend making sure your relationship with your partner is well documented - but since theoretically you can live and work in australia as long as you want anyway, all you need to do is stay here for a certain length (i think it's four or five years?) before applying for citizenship. that said, it's probably worthwhile making sure you keep and use a joint bank account, and register all your bills and major investments in both of your names anyway. if you have a demonstrable, legitemate relationship with an australian you've got your arse covered
other than that, get ready, get excited! if you need more advice on sydney specifically let me know
Being married to an Australian is not enough. You need Friends there. You need financial ties there. You need work there.
Friends you can arrange through your spouse. When you visit, take photos. Take lots of photos. Make sure they've got dates in their metadata, etc, you want to be able to show a history of contacts and relationships in Australia. This helps show that your marriage isn't a sham
Open a bank account ASAP (you'll need to be physically present). Move some money there. Move more money there over time (your initial goal should be around 10K AUD). Open up other accounts, like superannuation (retirement) funds (simple super, keep the fees low), and move some money into it. This can get messy, however, since there are tax implications here. Talk to an accountant.
Don't bother taking a single thing with you to Australia. Shipping them is difficult, and the transition for hardware can be a pain. You'll find it's cheaper to rebuild new computers and buy new consoles once you get there, and you won't have to deal with the NTSC => PAL conversion (not a big problem if you're using HDTV). Also note that there are some games with region coding.
Other things like books are simply not cost effective to ship. They don't bother to do it commercially (books get manufacturered in Australia for the australian market), and you shouldn't either. Buy secondhand copies when you get there for essentials. Expect a price hike, however, as australia's smaller market means smaller margins, and higher prices.
edit: oh you might find that with the budget carriers like virgin blue and jetstar popping up, your allowance might be much lower. make sure you look into that when booking the flight - if you go for the cheapest flight available you'll be looking at coming over with the clothes you're wearing and a backpack
Sending things like books and games consoles (at your own risk) is worth it but furniture isn't. You're better off selling all your big stuff and buying new stuff over there.
For reference, my mother is a New Zealander married to an Australian, and she has been living and working here since 1987, so you shouldn't have any problems.
Okay, i have to admit here, that i missed the part about it being NZ -> AU, i assumed US -> AU. Some of the advice still stands (bank accounts, proof of connections, etc). The weight limits might be less of a problem, if you can make multiple trips, or send stuff via regular old post in a box (books will be heavy, still, however)
You might want to look into trying to sell them and buy new ones when you get here and comparing whether that is cheaper that shipping them. Also look into how much baggage you are allowed on your flight (and what extra weight or bags cost)
Personally, i'd try and bring as little as possible. If you're not sure you'll need it, leave it and you can always ship it later. Consoles are light enough that you could probably pad them with clothes and pack in a large suitcase.
Also you're right there is alot of money in science right now. I'd have a look at the universities in Sydney and contact prospective research group supervisors about available post-docs (UNSW and USyd are the two big ones).
Immigration should be a non-issue. Citizenship is optional as you can just get permanent residency.
But anyway, you're like an extra state. The legals are no problem, just the shipping costs. I'd ebay anything that's both replaceable and heavy. Just remember that the exchange rate doesn't run in your favour, so re-buying things might need to wait until you're established and employed.
Have you looked at this yet?
I used these guys to move from Austrailia to the UK and they were great.