# Not to sound alarmist, I want to Emigrate to Australia, please help **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 24, 2016, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-to-sound-alarmist-i-want-to-emigrate-to-australia-please-help/758234 "2016-06-24T14:20:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ryan\_Liam](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ryan_liam/32/3965_2.png) [@Ryan\_Liam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ryan_Liam)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2016, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-to-sound-alarmist-i-want-to-emigrate-to-australia-please-help/758234/1 "2016-06-24T14:20:48Z")
I’ve been Googling, but the websites I’ve been on don’t seem trustworthy, so I just want a second opinion before I send an application for a work visa. I’ve decided on the vote there’s not really much of a future in the UK now, so I want to start planning to pack my things and go to Australia. How much money do I need, I’ll pretty much work in any job offered to establish myself, and what are the rules of citizenship? Any Aussie help for this Pom would be greatly appreciated. Thanks guys. ---
**Author:** ![Whiskey\_Dickens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9fc348/32.png) [@Whiskey\_Dickens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whiskey_Dickens)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2016, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-to-sound-alarmist-i-want-to-emigrate-to-australia-please-help/758234/2 "2016-06-24T15:01:59Z")
I don’t have any advice specific to Australia, but if you’re open to other commonwealth countries, I’d consider expanding your scope to include Canada. Pretty easy to get a residency visa and ultimately citizenship. I know of lots of British ex-pats, one has married into my immediate family, my boss is an ex-pat, my friend circle includes one, etc. etc. I guess we are a popular destination for Brits. Also, don’t believe the stereotype that we’re an arctic wasteland. I live about 1 degree north of northern California in latitude and my weather isn’t terribly different. ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2016, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-to-sound-alarmist-i-want-to-emigrate-to-australia-please-help/758234/3 "2016-06-24T15:04:37Z")
There’s an online points test for skilled-migrant visas [here](https://assessments.visabureau.com/australia/assessment/skilled/default.aspx), if that helps. ---
**Author:** ![Ryan\_Liam](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ryan_liam/32/3965_2.png) [@Ryan\_Liam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ryan_Liam)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2016, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-to-sound-alarmist-i-want-to-emigrate-to-australia-please-help/758234/4 "2016-06-24T16:19:44Z")
Thanks guys, I’ll definitely consider Canada as well. The UK isn’t exactly going to be the land of opportunity for the next couple of years for sure. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2016, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-to-sound-alarmist-i-want-to-emigrate-to-australia-please-help/758234/5 "2016-06-24T17:02:49Z")
Didn’t you already have a thread like this only about Canada? Maybe I’m misremembering and it wasn’t you? And it turned out to be harder than you thought to get in? Was that you? I understand many disappointed people I the UK are joking about moving to Canada today! ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2016, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-to-sound-alarmist-i-want-to-emigrate-to-australia-please-help/758234/6 "2016-06-24T17:05:22Z")
You could move to France. I hear they are still in the EU, at least for now. ---
**Author:** ![Ryan\_Liam](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ryan_liam/32/3965_2.png) [@Ryan\_Liam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ryan_Liam)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2016, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-to-sound-alarmist-i-want-to-emigrate-to-australia-please-help/758234/7 "2016-06-24T18:26:12Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > Didn’t you already have a thread like this only about Canada? Maybe I’m misremembering and it wasn’t you? And it turned out to be harder than you thought to get in? Was that you? > > I understand many disappointed people I the UK are joking about moving to Canada today! That was about NYC, but circumstances have now pushed my motivation forward to get this rolling, and Canada and Australia are good bets. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2016, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-to-sound-alarmist-i-want-to-emigrate-to-australia-please-help/758234/8 "2016-06-24T18:53:19Z")
> [@Whiskey\_Dickens](#): > > Also, don’t believe the stereotype that we’re an arctic wasteland. I live about 1 degree north of northern California in latitude and my weather isn’t terribly different. Gee, ignorance fought. I started this post to ask: Where in Canada is the latitude just about 1 degree north of northern California, but then I LMGTFM (Let Me Google That For Myself) and found it. Northern California border: 42° or so. Vancouver, British Columbia: 49.2° or so. Windsor, Ontario: 42.3, SOUTH of Detroit and most of Michigan! (Well, I already knew about Canada being south of Michigan.) Okay, you _are_ just across the creek from an industrial wasteland. (But my geography isn’t all _that_ bad. After all, I _did_ know the names of all five Great Lakes!) ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2016, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-to-sound-alarmist-i-want-to-emigrate-to-australia-please-help/758234/9 "2016-06-24T20:41:13Z")
Americans are widely seen as health-care refugees, and most countries are making it very difficult to get a residence visa, unless you buy private market health insurance while in the country, which is very pricey. In other words, you are not welcome, unless you bring an essential job skill or a very large investment portfolio. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2016, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-to-sound-alarmist-i-want-to-emigrate-to-australia-please-help/758234/10 "2016-06-24T20:47:40Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > Americans are widely seen as health-care refugees, and most countries are making it very difficult to get a residence visa, unless you buy private market health insurance while in the country, which is very pricey. In other words, you are not welcome, unless you bring an essential job skill or a very large investment portfolio. The op is clearly from the uk. ---
**Author:** ![si\_blakely](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@si\_blakely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/si_blakely)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2016, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-to-sound-alarmist-i-want-to-emigrate-to-australia-please-help/758234/11 "2016-06-25T13:36:39Z")
You need to look very closely at your rights in Australia while waiting for your permanent residence (if they let you in to start with) - you may not have access to subsidised health care or unemployment benefits until that point. And if you collect a criminal conviction while you are there, they may very well cancel your status and deport you back to your country of origin. The “lucky country” isn’t as “lucky” to those who were not born there as it used to be. Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2016, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-to-sound-alarmist-i-want-to-emigrate-to-australia-please-help/758234/12 "2016-06-25T14:04:26Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Gee, ignorance fought. I started this post to ask: Where in Canada is the latitude just about 1 degree north of northern California, but then I LMGTFM (Let Me Google That For Myself) and found it. > > Northern California border: 42° or so. > Vancouver, British Columbia: 49.2° or so. > Windsor, Ontario: 42.3, SOUTH of Detroit and most of Michigan! (Well, I already knew about Canada being south of Michigan.) Okay, you _are_ just across the creek from an industrial wasteland. > > (But my geography isn’t all _that_ bad. After all, I _did_ know the names of all five Great Lakes!) There is a spot in Minnesota where you can look South into Canada. Kettle Falls in Voyageurs. Not to be confused with Devil’s Kettle Falls on the Brule River, which is also fascinating, but for a completely different reason - they can’t figure out where the water goes. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2016, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-to-sound-alarmist-i-want-to-emigrate-to-australia-please-help/758234/13 "2016-06-25T14:24:45Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > (But my geography isn’t all _that_ bad. After all, I _did_ know the names of all five Great Lakes!) Let’s see… Huron. Michigan. Superior. Um… Ontario? Er… Er… Oh, Erie! ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2016, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-to-sound-alarmist-i-want-to-emigrate-to-australia-please-help/758234/14 "2016-06-25T14:43:28Z")
Don’t try bringing your dog. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2016, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-to-sound-alarmist-i-want-to-emigrate-to-australia-please-help/758234/15 "2016-06-25T15:00:00Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > There is a spot in Minnesota where you can look South into Canada. … There’s a better known spot in Michigan where you can look south into Canada: Detroit. As far as migrating to Australia goes, it’s pretty difficult, even if you’re not trying to come here as a refugee. I managed to migrate to the US about 17 years ago, but I don’t think I would have qualified to migrate back to Australia if I hadn’t been already an Australian citizen. ---
**Author:** ![Mangosteen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mangosteen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangosteen)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2016, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-to-sound-alarmist-i-want-to-emigrate-to-australia-please-help/758234/16 "2016-06-25T16:09:50Z")
> [@Whiskey\_Dickens](#): > > I don’t have any advice specific to Australia, but if you’re open to other commonwealth countries, I’d consider expanding your scope to include Canada. Pretty easy to get a residency visa and ultimately citizenship. I know of lots of British ex-pats, one has married into my immediate family, my boss is an ex-pat, my friend circle includes one, etc. etc. I guess we are a popular destination for Brits. > > Also, don’t believe the stereotype that we’re an arctic wasteland. I live about 1 degree north of northern California in latitude and my weather isn’t terribly different. A location’s latitude often has little to do with climate. The weather in cities and towns along the coast in northern California are heavily influenced by the Pacific Ocean. Let’s look at the city of Eureka ( 40°48′07″N 124°09′49″). January average high 55.6 F (13.1 C), average low 41.1 (5.1C). Windsor ( 42°17′N 83°00′W). January average high 32.7 F (0.4 C) low -6.4 F (20.5 C). During the winter Eureka’s average high is almost 23 F degrees warmer than Windsor’s. The average low is over _47 F_ degrees colder. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2016, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-to-sound-alarmist-i-want-to-emigrate-to-australia-please-help/758234/17 "2016-06-25T17:31:48Z")
Keep in mind that southwestern Ontario doesn’t have very cold winters; instead it has a lot of near-freezing-with-rain, which is arguably _much_ more miserable than a brisk dry -15C or so. Only when you get a little further north and higher up, say north of a line through Peterborough and parallel to the north shore of Lake Ontario, does the typical late fall/early spring temperature drop consistently below freezing. ---
**Author:** ![JacobSwan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@JacobSwan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JacobSwan)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2016, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-to-sound-alarmist-i-want-to-emigrate-to-australia-please-help/758234/18 "2016-06-26T10:47:40Z")
A couple of anecdotes from friends who have done this in the last few years, They are quite strict on medical issues. One friend got his application turned down initially due to high chlorestrol. He had to get it lower before they would take him. If you haven’t got a job lined up before you head there you may be assigned a location. They don’t want all the jobseekers to be in Sydney or Melbourne, so you will be sent to somewhere else. I think you have to live in that location for 5 years before you can move. It’s usually somewhere with low unemployment, but also probably miles from airports and culture. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2016, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-to-sound-alarmist-i-want-to-emigrate-to-australia-please-help/758234/19 "2016-06-26T13:13:47Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Gee, ignorance fought. I started this post to ask: Where in Canada is the latitude just about 1 degree north of northern California, but then I LMGTFM (Let Me Google That For Myself) and found it. > > Northern California border: 42° or so. > Vancouver, British Columbia: 49.2° or so. > Windsor, Ontario: 42.3, SOUTH of Detroit and most of Michigan! (Well, I already knew about Canada being south of Michigan.) Okay, you _are_ just across the creek from an industrial wasteland. > > (But my geography isn’t all _that_ bad. After all, I _did_ know the names of all five Great Lakes!) Not so fast. How many of the Pretty Good Lakes do you know the names of? ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2016, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-to-sound-alarmist-i-want-to-emigrate-to-australia-please-help/758234/20 "2016-06-26T14:16:00Z")
> [@Giles](#): > > There’s a better known spot in Michigan where you can look south into Canada: Detroit. > > As far as migrating to Australia goes, it’s pretty difficult, even if you’re not trying to come here as a refugee. I managed to migrate to the US about 17 years ago, but I don’t think I would have qualified to migrate back to Australia if I hadn’t been already an Australian citizen. The view is prettier at Kettle Falls 🙂 (It really is beautiful up there. If the ubiquitous mosquitoes weren’t the size of sparrows…) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-to-sound-alarmist-i-want-to-emigrate-to-australia-please-help/758234.md?page=2)