It's really happening!
Well, it really is happening. Today we got that email that we have been waiting for "I am pleased to advise that your visa's have been processed and you and your family have been granted permanent residency to Australia"! What a feeling? Somewhere between shock and disbelief I think!
It's exciting hearing about others getting their grants, but when your own comes, well, words fail me really....Kevin had to print off the email incase it disappeared when we turned off the laptop!!
So, 10 weeks today we fly. At least now we can relax and enjoy our last few weeks here in the UK without the worry of whether the visa's will arrive in time or not. It's like a huge weight has been lifted from our shoulders. Relief!
Monday, September 26, 2005
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
Stress!!!
Despite the title of this entry, you'll be pleased to know that I am feeling a lot better this week. Those close to us will know all about the marathon phone calls to Singapore Airlines last week, and the stress of worrying about, and trying to change all our travel plans!
The hospital in Brisbane where Kevin will be working were very understanding and have given him a new start date.
We will now be flying to Brisbane on 5th December 2005. Things seem to be picking up in Adelaide where they process the visa's and many May applicants have had correspondence from The Department of Immigration regarding their applications, so hopefully it will be our turn soon!
We have re-booked accommodation and will be staying in a fully furnished house between 6th and 27th December.
In the meantime, things are less stressful, as there is not the pressure to have everything sorted quite as quickly. We will still be shipping all our furniture and wordly goods in just over 3 weeks time, so "YES PLEASE MUM", we will borrow your Dyson!
We went out and bought a lap top computer last week too. Can't bear the thought of no internet access!
It won't be long before we have a two week break abroad. Kevin and I both finish work in just 3 weeks time! Unemployed! How scary is that? Having said this, we have actually changed our contracts to "as & when" rather than terminating them completely, therefore we can still make a living while we wait for those visas.
There you have it, our latest blog. You'll be pleased to hear also, that we have bought the girls new school shoes!
Until next time...........
The hospital in Brisbane where Kevin will be working were very understanding and have given him a new start date.
We will now be flying to Brisbane on 5th December 2005. Things seem to be picking up in Adelaide where they process the visa's and many May applicants have had correspondence from The Department of Immigration regarding their applications, so hopefully it will be our turn soon!
We have re-booked accommodation and will be staying in a fully furnished house between 6th and 27th December.
In the meantime, things are less stressful, as there is not the pressure to have everything sorted quite as quickly. We will still be shipping all our furniture and wordly goods in just over 3 weeks time, so "YES PLEASE MUM", we will borrow your Dyson!
We went out and bought a lap top computer last week too. Can't bear the thought of no internet access!
It won't be long before we have a two week break abroad. Kevin and I both finish work in just 3 weeks time! Unemployed! How scary is that? Having said this, we have actually changed our contracts to "as & when" rather than terminating them completely, therefore we can still make a living while we wait for those visas.
There you have it, our latest blog. You'll be pleased to hear also, that we have bought the girls new school shoes!
Until next time...........
Thursday, September 8, 2005
Decisions
I thought that today would be a good day to start our diary on here because things don't seem to be moving as quick as we'd thought, thus we might not be leaving for Australia in November and this is a good way to let you all know!
The visa processing times for our category visa seem to be around the 5-6 months mark at present (it was approx 3-4 when we applied). We lodged our application at the end of May which means that five months for us is the end of October. Currently we have flights booked for November 9th, but we're starting to think what will happen if the visa hasn't been granted by then...well, quite simply, we won't be able to go! This means we'd have accommodation waiting for us that we won't be able to use and also Kevin won't be in the country to start his job on time!
We are contemplating moving everything back by approx one month to give ourselves that little bit of extra time and this will take the pressure off somewhat. I feel that it's much easier now to defer things for one month rather than try and rearrange everything last minute,and possibly not being able to travel until the new year if we can't get accommodation etc.
We were supposed to be having a leaving party at the end of this month, so that would have to be cancelled. We will also have to contact the hospital to make sure Kevins job will wait for him. Then we'll have to re-book the flights and find accommodation.
Our current plans are to move out of our house here in five weeks time on 13th October and ship our worldly goods to Australia. We are planning to rent our house from this day too and move in with family until we leave. Maybe we'll just stay here for a few weeks longer and have our furniture stored until the visa arrives? I'm sure there are a few of you out there prepared to lend us some essentials until we go? (hint hint). It would probably do us good to live "minimally" for a few weeks and appreciate our stuff when we meet up with it again on the other side of the world!
There is always the chance that our visa could arrive in good time, but that's a risk we are going to have to take. Another month is nothing when we've been waiting this long. There are benefits of sticking around here a bit longer: the girls can stay in school (and I can justify buying new school shoes if they are going to wear them until December!) So, how do you fancy having us here until early December? (that's approx 13 weeks as opposed to just 5).
Anyway, that's enough for a first entry....I will post again when we've made up our minds!
The visa processing times for our category visa seem to be around the 5-6 months mark at present (it was approx 3-4 when we applied). We lodged our application at the end of May which means that five months for us is the end of October. Currently we have flights booked for November 9th, but we're starting to think what will happen if the visa hasn't been granted by then...well, quite simply, we won't be able to go! This means we'd have accommodation waiting for us that we won't be able to use and also Kevin won't be in the country to start his job on time!
We are contemplating moving everything back by approx one month to give ourselves that little bit of extra time and this will take the pressure off somewhat. I feel that it's much easier now to defer things for one month rather than try and rearrange everything last minute,and possibly not being able to travel until the new year if we can't get accommodation etc.
We were supposed to be having a leaving party at the end of this month, so that would have to be cancelled. We will also have to contact the hospital to make sure Kevins job will wait for him. Then we'll have to re-book the flights and find accommodation.
Our current plans are to move out of our house here in five weeks time on 13th October and ship our worldly goods to Australia. We are planning to rent our house from this day too and move in with family until we leave. Maybe we'll just stay here for a few weeks longer and have our furniture stored until the visa arrives? I'm sure there are a few of you out there prepared to lend us some essentials until we go? (hint hint). It would probably do us good to live "minimally" for a few weeks and appreciate our stuff when we meet up with it again on the other side of the world!
There is always the chance that our visa could arrive in good time, but that's a risk we are going to have to take. Another month is nothing when we've been waiting this long. There are benefits of sticking around here a bit longer: the girls can stay in school (and I can justify buying new school shoes if they are going to wear them until December!) So, how do you fancy having us here until early December? (that's approx 13 weeks as opposed to just 5).
Anyway, that's enough for a first entry....I will post again when we've made up our minds!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)