Showing posts with label settling down. Show all posts
Showing posts with label settling down. Show all posts

Friday, November 18, 2011

My Experience with VisaSpring - Australian Migration

If I can summarise my entire experience of my dealing with Mr. Ranvir Sethi in a phrase, then I will describe it as ‘Highly Satisfactory’. I heard about Mr. Ranvir Sethi and his company VisaSpring from a colleague of mine (former satisfied client of Visaspring.com) who advised me to pursue my PR for Australia through this Consultancy. I was a bit hesitant and apprehensive about his proposal due to some bottlenecks. Firstly I had never met Ranvir or his team in person and secondly I had a travelling job in IT which made me incapable of doing any follow ups. But my friend finally convinced me that Ranvir is a person on whom I could trust, without any doubts, and that he would engage me in a deal, only if he felt that I have a good enough chance of getting the PR Visa. It was very true, since the next day I gave my resume, I got a positive feedback from him and thereafter all the events in my PR journey were positive result-driven in the shortest time. It took just 5 months for me and my family to get a Skilled PR visa. We were so surprised of each stage getting the results so fast that sometimes we could not believe if it was true :).  Finally, at the end of the journey, when we got the Grant Letter, we were absolutely delighted. It was really a dream come true for me and my family. 

Ranvir was easily approachable and suggested ways of getting things done correctly and in a short time whenever I had any problems. Over phone, email, skype etc. there were many ways he was available to help us out. Even though we never met each other, due to his efficient and modern ways to deal with his clients, all went smooth and without any hassle. There was never any kind of rejection for me or my family at any stage of the application process. He made sure that all the input was correct and thoroughly reviewed by him and Neeraj Lama before sending it to the immigration department or the case officer. I must admit that the things went fast also because of this professional way of dealing of Mr Sethi. He always guided us to be ready with the checklist of all the things needed before the start of the next stage itself, so that if there was any shortcoming on our side, we had ample time to make up for the same. He even helped us intelligently save a big sum of money for my wife’s application by showing her English skills during her college studies. Whenever there was any paperwork, where I had no idea of what to fill-in, he provided us with enough samples to be confident in filling them. At the end, I must generously thank Ranvir and Neeraj for getting us the Australian PR and their professional dealing with us. He is up-to-date with the changing rules and regulations of the Australian immigration system and is proactive in suggesting ways to get things done in the favour of his clients.

He listens carefully and attentively to his clients for their particular needs and situations. Based on his past experience, he guides them in the right way to meet their desired goals. He has vast knowledge and expertise in his field and so you can always be assured with him. He is a very practical person and I learned a lot from dealing with him. He provided us support even after the grant of the visa also for a special need. Although, we had fully paid our contractual fees for all the stages, and he could have easily denied when we asked him for help, since there was no obligation from his side after that. But he believes in the principle that clients are not just for momentary business, they are contacts for a lifetime and it’s because of this principle, that he carries such goodwill. Being from the same educational background as him, I always revered Mr Sethi as my senior and he turned out to be so by being our true and sincere guide in the whole process. I am definitely going to recommend his services to my aspiring friends. I wish all the best to Ranvir, his family, entire team and his future clients, in their efforts.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Indian Driving License in Australia

There are different rules in each of the Australian States/Territories. But basically, if you are coming from Overseas, specially if you have an Indian drivers license, then you will need to follow through with the below:

1. Before you leave India, get a letter from your RTO validating and verifying the drivers license and all the details on it. It needs to be in a format where all the details of the license as well as your details need to be mentioned in a paper, which is certified by an official at the RTO.

2. You need to go on-line and make a booking for getting verification of the License done by the VFS Indian Consulate Offices, which are located, in Sydney, at: 64, Clarence Street, Sydney 2000 (very near to the Wynyard Station on the York St side). The Licensing Authority might provide you with a letter stating the Actual Embassy/Consulate address, but it is no use going there, as they will redirect you to the VFS address, and the VFS people will ask you to fill the form on-line. So, save yourself the trouble :-)

a) Main Site: http://www.vfs-in-au.net/
b) Offices in the various Territories: http://www.vfs-in-au.net/submityourapplication.html
c) Instructions to get your License Verified: http://www.vfs-in-au.net/indiadriverslicence.html
d) The Online Application: https://www.vfsglobalonline.com/IHCAUSOnline/

Once you have booked an appointment with them and submitted the required documents, they will "Again" provide you with "another" document which verifies that the document and license that you have is authentic and can be used by the Roads & Transport department to provide you with a Permanent Drivers License. (The VFS Site has a good step-by-step guide to take you through the process, given at the above link)

The caveat in the above is that your existing license should be more than 3 years old, else you are back to getting a Provisional or even a Learners License from the Roads Department.

3. Once you have this letter with you. Go ahead and book your initial Drivers Knowledge Test (or DKT) on the respective states transport site:

a) New South Wales: http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/licensing/tests/index.html (http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/)
b) Victoria: https://billing.vicroads.vic.gov.au/bookings# (http://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/Home/)
c) Queensland: http://www.tmr.qld.gov.au/Licensing/Getting-a-licence.aspx (http://www.tmr.qld.gov.au/)

4. Most of the territories will have practice tests on their online sites and these should be given before going for the actual tests:

a) New South Wales: http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/licensing/tests/driverknowledgetest/demonstrationdriverknowledgetest/index.html
b) Victoria: http://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/Home/Licences/GetYourLs/PracticeLearnerandLicenceTests.htm
c) Queensland: http://www.tmr.qld.gov.au/Licensing/Getting-a-licence/Licence-tests/Practical-driving-test.aspx


Most of the time getting your Drivers License authenticated, may not be required, as the Agency already has your License registered with them; and they just check that the License is in the correct format and allow you to give the DKT. But, it is a good thing to do the above in advance before approaching the Licensing Authority to provide you with an Australian License.

So, once you have your letter from the Embassy, stating that the Indian License is authentic, book your DKT on-line (links given above) and at the designated time and date, be sure to arrive atleast 15 minutes earlier with the following documents:

1. Passport Original
2. Original License
3. Original Authenticity letter
4. Proof of your address in Australia (Gas bill or Lease agreement)
5. The Printout of the Test booked Online
6. The Printout (details filled) of the RTA form, which has your details for giving the DKT

You could also get a Photo ID card created, which will save you the time and effort to carry most of the above documents. But, usually if you are sure of passing the DKT, it amounts to spending that amount extra, as it gets cancelled once you get a Learners, Provisional or Full License. (usually within a day of your passing the Tests).


Sunday, October 16, 2011

Settling in Australia

I have been making plans to write something about my Australia venture for sometime now. Just the issue being that I can't make up my time to go about it :-) . The thought for writing something on this topic came up soon after I recieved the final go ahead for my Australian PR, which materialized last year. So, here are a few things which helped me in settling down here (these experiences are mostly related to Sydney and may differ vastly across the other Cities). This is going to be a series of blog posts.

The first thing to work on when you get your PR Visa is the essentials being provided by the Australian Government for Citizens and PR Holders. There is not an integrated site, which provides information on all the essential services being provided:
http://www.australia.gov.au/

Register yourself on this site (you need to just provide some essential details). The next step is to check the job sites (read the next article on Australia Jobs). Once you have uploaded and applied for numerous job opportunities which suit you. You might be called for a face-to-face. This is the appropriate time to make a quick short trip to Aussie Land. (if you have a PR Visa, you need to make atleast one trip in the first year of getting the same). Convert this trip to a pleasure and recursion trip, then you enjoy and complete what you came to do, without feeling the pinch of just having to visit for fulfilling your PR Visa requirement. Best would be if you shift over permenently, but as many would have other commitments, it might not be possible.

When you get to Australia, either you need to have friends and family to stay with or book yourself into a Hotel. A good place to go for this is http://www.hotels.com/, who have a good collection of Hotels for Australia. The other thing is to go around sites such as http://www.domain.com.au/ or http://www.realestate.com.au/ and search for a furnished appartment initially. There are many, which are available in and around Milson's Point and North Sydney. These places are near to the City, where the maximum jobs are available and they have some good restaurants and grocery shops for every need. I would recommend these for a short term lease (1-3 Months), and meanwhile look around for something more permanent and suitable for your needs. It is best to look for a furnished apartment for the initial 3-6 months, if you are planning to shift with Family, and then later get something much cheaper and/or nearer to your workplace. It is also a good idea to make the booking before you arrive, as then the burden of that money is reduced and you have a fair idea of exactly how much you have with you.

More on Jobs and Driving around in the next few blogs :-)