What if this was your normal life?

Most single movers budget £6,000-£10,000 to land safely: visa fees (£2,000-£5,500 depending on the subclass), one-way flights, a bond plus a few weeks' rent in advance, and a buffer while you find work. Families moving with belongings by sea container should budget more. Our cost-of-living tool lets you build a real household budget from your own numbers rather than a rule of thumb.

It depends almost entirely on your occupation. Nurses, tradespeople, teachers and engineers on the skilled occupation list can often get employer-sponsored or state-nominated visas; other professions may need a points-tested independent visa or a working holiday route first. Start with your job, not the visa category — our visas guide maps occupations to the routes that actually work for them.

Groceries, fuel and eating out are usually a little more expensive in Australian dollars, but wages are meaningfully higher for most skilled occupations, and income tax is broadly comparable once you account for the Medicare levy. Rent varies hugely by city — Perth and Adelaide are cheaper than most UK cities, while Sydney rivals London. The honest answer is: it depends on your job and your city, which is exactly what this page helps you work out.

For a skilled, sponsored move, expect 9-18 months from first skills assessment to landing, with visa processing itself typically taking 6-12 months once lodged. Registration bodies (nursing, teaching, trades licensing) are often the slowest step, so starting that assessment early matters more than anything else. Our roadmap breaks the whole journey into stages with realistic timings for each.