Immigrating

My story revolves around a family from the United States who immigrate to Australia. Basically what I'm wondering about what specifically the process of immigrating from one country to another is, how long it takes, and also about what happens to a person's possessions when they move to a new country (what do they take with them and what do they leave behind?)

 

When I was working on my citizenship for the US you needed a lawyer, but basically they filled out various forms for you, you gave them copies of various types of paperwork from your home country, like criminal records and birth certificates, health records and whatnot. You also need a sponsor in the US that not only vouches for you, but takes on the financial responsibility of having you in the country for I think it was 10 years. Canada has very similar immigration requirements, but you don't actually need a lawyer as all the forms and information are available on the Government of Canada website along with a guide on how to fill them out. I'm sure the Australian Visa Bureau would have similar information.

 

This is what I can mention about immigrating to Australia, since I researched it years ago.
Going from any first world nation to Aus & trying to gain citizenship takes years and you may not be granted citizenship. Australia has a ton of unused space. What Australia wants are second & third world immigrants that will work the land & make it useable. People from first world nations are seen as 'lazy' physically. They don't need more white collar, vehicle mechanics, or anyone moving there to settle where populations are already dense. Australia wants people in the sticks converting land for use in the future.
When I looked into it- it will take a US citizen an average of 10 years to find out if they can become a citizen, then begin the process. Where a farmer from Vietnam can be approved in several months, then fasttrack to citizenship, in less than a year.
It comes down to showing your worth (whatever the country wants now & in the future).

 

It's a terrible process. I moved from Europe to the US for the happiest reason possible (got married to a great guy) and every step of the process was a nightmare. The first two years of my marriage I wasn't even allowed to live in the same country as my husband. We're four years and many thousands of dollars into the process now and I still haven't gotten my 10-year green card. But that's the US. I don't know about Australia.

Psychologically speaking it's the little things that get you. You're prepared for the big stuff like labor laws and politics and big cultural events. It's the little stuff that sneaks up on you. Every time you think you've settled in and understand what's going on in the culture around you, boom, your employer makes you pee in a cup for the privilege of flipping burgers.

I'd be happy to be more specific if you think any of this can help. But short version: don't do it, it's terrible, you will feel like less than human when they're done with you and you may have nothing to show for it besides severely diminished self-worth and a noticeably slimmer bank account.

 

Is it a permanent immigration? I've "immigrated" to Korea for school and then later work (where you have to constantly renew your visa, I think every two years) and it was a very simple process. American's frequently have a simple process for that just because we are so powerful diplomatically (literally go to the Consulate, answer a couple questions, done in an hour, get the Visa a couple weeks later), but I'm not sure about expats, I think that might somewhat be a process once you are actually there. As for what they take with them and what they leave behind, honestly it's almost always to just buy new stuff in the new country. My parents lived in Italy a few years and I don't think they brought anything other than my step-dad's Vette (for fun). So the only stuff you would take with you would be for sentimental value, not anything big. Hope that helps.

 

My daughter has recently received her Aussie citizenship, having moved there about 8 years ago. She works in HR, so not exactly land-working, but she is (now - not at the time when she moved, although they were an item) married to an officer in the ADF. I wasn't too involved in her paperwork, but I get the impression it's fairly straightforward...jump through a few bureaucratic hoops, fill in forms, get your work permit, move, serve the time and apply for citizenship. What she took? Little more than a bloody big suitcase full of clothes...she left shedloads for us to dispose of! I think she could have taken more if she'd wanted to pay the freight...and deal with getting it past Aussie customs.

At the time she was moving, there was a series "Wanted Down Under"... It seemed that the one thing the Aussies needed above all others was a good hairdresser, with teachers as a strong second! We joked that all native-borne Aussies went into sport, so they needed immigrants to do the menial work!

Incidentally, an immigrant is somebody who moves into a country, somebody who leaves their own country is an emigrant; you'd emigrate from the US to Australia, you'd immigrate to Australia from the US.

 

The US process is certainly one of the tougher ones. The Aussies have fairly strict immigration controls but generally if you are someone who either is well qualified or have family connections there then you will be fine. Half my family emigrated to Oz and while there was lots of paperwork and it took a long time they never had any real problems. Especially if you are moving there right into a job (as my cousins did) then it's not that big of a deal, apparently.

 

Yeah the family in my story is immigrating permanently. I'd expect that the immigrating family would leave most of their things behind, but I wanted to be sure if there were cases in which larger items could be taken.

Yeah most people play some sort of sport at some point in their lives. Most boys do Aussie football or cricket and most girls do netball or basketball (although girls' football teams aren't uncommon).

 

Anything can be taken... just can cost a small fortune. My step-dad works for DoD so they helped move the Vette... chances are an average family would never do that.