Quoll

You expect sympathy from Government? Why should they? They have plenty of citizens to worry about without worrying about the citizens of other countries who may want to visit.

Fees rather depend on the state - NSW, ACT, WA and, I believe, SA all have fees for temporary visa holders and they can be around the $5k-10k per child pa, again depending on the state. If you are not coming from UK or one of the other countries with reciprocal medical care then you will need private health insurance - could be around $500pm give or take. All other insurances - home, contents, car etc you will, of course, be liable for

That’s the one! Secret City, yes that’s it!

It was actually quite a good series - statutory transgender, female hero, corrupt politicians etc etc but from a Canberran's point of view it was quite a nice travelogue and I must admit to a smidgen of homesickness as I saw it in UK 2 or 3 years ago. BTW, Canberra isnt boring just because it doesnt have a beach LOL

Thats about right a large round unpalatable one.

Havent watched it yet - is there a mixed marriage in there too, that's usually a necessary tick.

If a child has a diagnosed disability with associated deficient functioning then it is much easier to access additional support through disability programs but those programs are targeted at the lowest 2-5% of the population - not just any slow learner and you definitely have to jump through copious hoops to get there. Funding for the support of disabilities is finite, unfortunately and faced with a child who needs feeding, toileting, repositioning, intense therapies augmented language etc, they are going to require more of that funding pie than a child who can essentially manage in a mainstream environment. The dilemma you have in the first instance is the real Catch 22 that if your child needs additional support and is diagnosed as such - autism is the usual biggie - then you really reduce your chances of getting a visa. Otherwise, it really will be how much the school can manage within their own resources and all schools are different. If they have a cohort of needy kids then they may allocate their resources differently from a school where most kids are puddling along in the middle. Schools will generally do their best because it is not in their interests to have kids who arent learning or behaving in the mainstream class group but they arent miracle workers. You will generally find though that there is less support in Australian schools than UK ones and the criteria for accessing additional support is far more stringent. If ADHD and focus is the issue for your young fella then you may find that medication will be offered and go some way to helping him focus (that shouldn't be a big issue, visa wise)

I agree with Marisa, a really nice option is the several month visit each year. My parents did that for 16 years - 6 months here, 6 months there - house there, granny flat on our block here. Car here, car there, golf here, golf there. It worked really well for them and though they could easily have come and stayed they made the decision that they were better off back in UK for the end of their days and they were right, it was, medically, socially, financially - and they ended up having a grandson living in UK for the last almost 20 years of their lives so they got the best of both worlds.

Why wait, get them on the offshore CPV list asap - you never know, they might not be able to get onshore and then apply, who knows what might change - it only takes a "no further stay" on whatever visa they may plan on getting to Australia on (then fibbing about their intentions, obviously) and they will be on the plane back home. If you apply now they can still visit while waiting.

Talk to a registered agent but crocodile tears aren't going to get you anywhere if you don't fit the criteria. You can't justify being a carer as that requires there to be no other possible support and of course there are plenty of paid support options around for child care. And even if you are allowed to stay until your grandchildren no longer needed you, are you really saying you would go home then? It might be better for you to go home and apply for a CPV but talk to Wesley or one of the other agents to see what your options may be.

Dyslexia isn't big in Australia and it very much depends on the school as to what they can offer from school resources - not all schools have multiple adults in each classroom all the time so in class support can be minimal beyond what a class teacher can provide. Many schools do have an early intervention for reading difficulties but beyond year 1 there's not much targeted intervention and is very school dependent. If you think he's going to need additional tutoring then you may well decide that you want to do it privately. There may be some minor accommodations like extra time in assessments but not until later in the school career. Challenging behaviour is a whole other issue and, again, that depends on the school and the state as to what resources there may be - but they're generally not ADHD impulsiveness, rather more malicious challenges.

Have you got a visa? If not, then be aware that a diagnosis of anything which may require additional funding in Australian schools could lead you to having a visa declined. However, if it's only ADHD and Dyslexia then they aren't well supported in Australian schools as they don't fall into the disability category which does attract extra funding. It'll be very much what the school can provide from within mainstream allowances and that generally amounts to diddly squat. So, expect no additional support and anything he does get will be a bonus. If you can get a good full psycho-educational assessment in UK then do it, it could take you a long time to get one in Australia and could cost a lot of money - and as your son is 7 you'll want to get in with as much early intervention as you can, so sooner rather than later.

What about a prospective marriage visa? That'd give you 9 months but you'd have to get married at the end of it if you want to stay or if you've gone, you've gone.

Oh dear, I suspect you're stuck! That tends to be what happens when your kids get to that slightly independent age. If your DH won't leave him then you're faced with either going alone and hoping that one or both of them decide that being with you is the best option on life or you decide that you can only go as a family. Your son is going to do a zillion things with his life from now on and either you adjust your life to accommodate him - you could find yourself trekking around the country after him or even around the world - or you decide that you need to do what is best for you and trust that you have raised him to be independent and let him live his life while you live yours. I know a couple of families who have left their quite young kids and moved on and it's worked out fine. One of them now has a young family of his own and whilst missing grandkids hasn't been easy there have been nice long visits. I have one son in UK - he was older when he left to go on holiday but he's been there almost 20 years now and had his own life. Is it easy? Yes and no. The distance thing is terrifying, just as it is when you worry about your olds but you get used to it. If you can leave your son with some sort of safety network - reliable family friends who can keep an eye - then I suspect that's probably the best you can do. Perhaps get him to move out ASAP so he can taste an independent life and you can see that he's doing OK before you leave him. He may decide in a few months that the responsibility isn't all its cracked up to be and he will want to move on with you. My heart goes out to you as I suspect you are stuck but given your anxiety is now through the roof, May I suggest that the first person you need to worry about us yourself and take yourself off to your GP to get your own mental health back on a more even keel! All the best!

No idea but they accept movement records to verify residence for health insurance purposes so it's a good start. If you call the ATO they should be able to tell your TFN - assume you will have done a tax return in that time. Edited to say, in response to your last question above, spouse visa have recently been issued quite quickly - around the 4-6 month mark so it all depends on when you think you might want to be moving as to when you want to apply for it - assume it will take 12 months and anything less well be a bonus and anything more a pain in the bum.

You can get them here https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/entering-and-leaving-australia/request-movement-records If you arrived before 1981 you'll have to go to the national archives

Have you a TFN and can give details of your employment? You can actually apply to ask for details of your residence - we did this when proving that we had been out of Australia for a period for health insurance. I'm sure you can Google it but I will check and see if I still have a copy of the form

Only if she is an Australian citizen by birth or, if by descent, has lived in the country for more than 3? Years before the birth of the child.

Partner visas through London are being processed in about 4-5 months at the moment apparently so if you get onto it now, chances are you'll get the visa well before you want to leave. ASAP isn't really a phrase in the lexicon at the moment - nobody is moving to Australia "ASAP" at all because of the restrictions imposes by governments and airlines, those of us who are here aren't allowed out yet! Talk to an agent "ASAP" to keep your best options going.

Hate to say it but in some ways it is easier now - if the government wont let you out then you cant go. My dad died last year and tbh no point in returning for a funeral - he always said not to bother anyway. At least this way you have a legit reason for not going.

Welcome to the world of the mixed marriage! It is what it is and you’re stuck now and probably for the rest of your days will look out of the window and say “is this it?” Sadly, there isn’t going to be an easy answer and, to a degree, I felt very much as you did for the first 20 years - apart from the weight, I packed it on here, big time. Having a workaholic DH and two sporty kids didn’t do much for the family time either. But we got to the point that it was easier to stay here than move on. In hindsight I regret not making the decision to move on while we were younger - have another adventure - but it didn’t work out that way. Are you going to be ok to spend the rest of your days and pop your clogs in Australia? If not then perhaps you need to have just one more adventure. I will say you are very lucky to have a DH who is prepared to give it a go and move - mine wasn’t ever going to live in U.K. again (he’s Aussie) until 10 years ago yesterday when we arrived in U.K. on holiday and decided pretty much on the spot that we couldn’t leave and needed to stay and support my parents. Best thing we ever did, I lost about 50kg, got fit, saw the country, spent a lot of wonderful time together and cared for a pair of nonagenarian parents. We came back last year at the start of COVID, and it’s “is this all there is?” Again. Could your DH take a career break, rent out your house and see what happens? Have one last adventure. Then you’d know where you want to be. Either way your kids are going to have grandparents and whichever grandparent doesn’t have them around is going to feel like sh!t but that’s the way it goes, you can't live your life for the grandparents. Good luck, whatever you decide isn’t going to be easy.

Your husband's age isn't going to help much - at 45 people are thinking about enhancing their super as they know they're going to need a decent size super pot for a comfortable retirement. If you're working on getting rid of a million dollar mortgage you're going to struggle to put away just that little bit more in super. If the salary they are going to be offering him is around the $200-250k pa then you might be able to do it all and be comfortable but you aren't going to be able to bring in much with no qualifications. Not going to be an easy decision is it - but I do tend to be of the mind that if it ain't broke don't fix it and unless you have a stupendous offer, not to be missed, then think carefully. The other thing you said was that you thought you might live on the outskirts like you would do if the work was in London - probably not! Sydney is much more spread out and even the outskirts aren't friendly little bucolic places. It's similar to London in many ways - the busy frenetic built up city - but quite dissimilar in others, the countryside is not on the edge.

Nope, unless you are on a very high salary Sydney is beyond most pockets - ask Marisawright she went through all this before deciding on Melbourne! Most properties are sold at auction these days and in Sydney, any place you’d actually want to live in is going to start at several million - there are going to be a load of places you won’t want to live in too. It’s nothing like any village in Lincolnshire that’s for sure!

And then whinge when things don't go their way and maybe they have to leave!

Yup the one way is fine but be sure to take all documentation you may need to renew your UK passport (bc, old passport etc) and if you have time and can get a UK size passport photograph and have it verified by someone who has known you for years and isnt a family member that might be something you can do to start the process. Be prepared for a very long wait to get a return though, you only have to look on here to see the difficulty people are having at getting a flight. I think there may be repatriation flights but they go faster than hot cakes. If you can get yourself established as ordinarily resident there (get something with your address on it etc etc), you should also be covered by the NHS because otherwise you are going to struggle to get indefinite travel insurance. Assume that you are going to stay then if you dont that's in the lap of the Gods.