So you have received your visa grant and you must be elated at the thought of moving to Australia soon. Congratulations! The difficult part of applying for the visa and getting through the process is now behind you. You now need to look ahead and plan your move to Australia. Planning this move can prove to be a nerve-wracking and stressful experience. Most of the stress is because of fear of the unknown.
Moving permanently to Australia is a giant step indeed. There are a lot of things that you need to do in a very short period of time.You would normally get around 6 to 9 months to plan your move to Australia, depending on your application status. Although 6 to 9 months seems like a long time, you need to be cautious and plan meticulously, since this time goes away very quickly!
But do not panic! We have smoothed out the further steps and prepared a checklist for you. We believe that if you prepare well, it will be smooth sailing for you after you land in Australia.
Nine Months To Go
Decide on a Date to Travel To Australia
This will be the biggest question before you. When you wish to land in Australia, will depend entirely on the initial entry date that is specified on your visa grant. Here’s a quick guide to help you decide When To Travel to Australia.
Decide Which Australian City You Want To Move To
Six Months To Go
Book Your Air Tickets
It is advisable that you book your air tickets at least 6 months before your travel date so that you can avail the lowest airfares. Here’s a quick guide on How To Book Air Tickets to Australia.
Book Your Post-landing Stay In Australia
Three Months To Go
Termination of Employment –
Resign from your current workplace and provide notice.
Depending on the notice period at your organisation, you should resign at your workplace so that you can serve the notice period before leaving for Australia.
- While leaving your organisation, make sure that you get your experience letter, service certificate, tax statements and other documents issued by your employer.
- You might also want to consider closing your Employee Provident Fund account and get the amount credited to your savings account.
- If you are planning to travel around the end of the financial year, you might need to file Income Tax returns before you move to Australia.
Get Transfer Documents For Your Driver’s Licence
If you are coming to Australia from a non-recognised country, you will need to produce additional documents when you apply to transfer your overseas driver’s licence in Australia. If you have a “paper” licence, you will have to contact your local Motor Licencing Authority and get a chip card licence issued by them. You will also need an “Extract of Driving Licence” so that you can easily transfer your existing driver’s licence in Australia without any hassles.
2 months to go
Cancel your child’s school enrollment
Cancel your child’s school enrollment and get a Transfer Certificate issued from the school.
Get your child’s Immunisation Card signed and stamped from your pediatrician.
Your pediatrician will issue you a card that displays the schedule of when each vaccine is due for your child. Make sure that this schedule is correctly updated with dates on which each vaccination was given. Please note that if the immunisation card is not in English, please get it translated to English by an authorised translator before moving to Australia. This is extremely important because you might be asked to produce this immunisation card while seeking admission to a school or a child care facility.
One Month to Go
Dim the Lights – Other important things to do
- Close all unnecessary Bank Accounts
- Review Life Insurances and Health Insurances.
- Sell your car/ bike and other things.
- If you are renting, inform your house owner.
- Cancel your utility connections like phone, gas, broadband and cable TV etc.
- Cancel your credit card(s).
- Open an Overseas Bank Account in Australia and Transfer Money Into It.
- Buy Travel Insurance.
- Scan all important documents and keep them handy. It also advisable to back them up online.
- Book temporary accommodation for your first few weeks in Australia. Contact your friendly Chalo Australia buddy to know more about this, today!
- Get prescriptions for any medication that is not available over-the-counter. It is recommended to get your doctor to prescribe the chemical name of the drug.
- Create a list of items to take on your journey.
- Buy FOREX. Read here about Here is –Everything That You Need to Know About FOREX before Traveling To Australia.
One Week To Go – Gear up For Australia!
- If you have bought a travel card, make sure you activate it and load currency on it.
- Ship your extra luggage to Australia so that it will reach Australia by the time you are there.
- Pack your bags and weight them to make sure that you have not exceeded the permitted limit.
- Do a web check-in up to 48 hours before your flight time so that you can avoid long queues at the airport.
Click here to download the checklist of tasks to do before migrating to Australia.
These are only a few of the most important things which we thought would help you in planning your move to Australia more efficiently. If you have any queries, feel free to contact us today and we will be happy to help you!