Quoll

Hmm, my last remaining uncle died on Saturday and it feels crap not to be there with my family. He had no kids but he had a bevy of nephews and nieces who all did their bit (as did we when we lived there) - I should be there with them helping send him on his way but I can't. The distances suck at times like these!

You'll just have to be prepared to travel to London if you arent already there for interviews when getting your child's passport and once registered as an Australian citizen they will have to travel on an Australian passport. Assuming you are an Australian born citizen or a citizen by descent who has lived for a while in Australia, it should be straightforward. Just having an Aussie partner and being mother to an Australian child is no guarantee but it sounds like you have a load of data to support the longevity of your relationship and she should get a partner visa without issue but, as the others have said, she will have to do the time to get her own citizenship. If she is with you on a permanent resident visa then she wont be disadvantaged. Get it all under way right now then you will have time to consider when you might leave.

What makes you think I don't make an effort? I am trapped because I love the Australian man in my life (and I've had him for so long and I would hate to have to train up a new one!) I do get in with it, I've worked, volunteered, worked for government and NGOs, I'd like to think I've done my bit but it doesn't mean that the place has to resonate with my soul. When I moved here over 4 decades ago, the first rule was leave your baggage at the door, don't hang on to your heritage, be Australian, so I did that. It's only recently that the "multi culti" thing has flourished and every man and his dog is getting in on the "my heritage" act. Actually, I think it was probably easier back in the day - knuckle down and get on with it, don't bring your baggage and everyone was doing the same - common cause and all that. I do think you have to be aware, though, and not disparaging of people for whom the country does not resonate and its quite OK that they may think that. What they may choose to do with their lives is up to them but don't denigrate them for making the choice to go or stay. There is nothing in the rule book that days you have to like Australia, even if you live here. Covid has definitely made it worse because you can't get your sanity hits which is how many of us cope (whilst still being good and valuable Australian citizens!).

Yup, boring as bath!t here! I'm reduced to watching re-runs of Masterchef!

Had to get citizenship for the employment I wanted back in the day. So yes, basically, like millions of others I wanted citizenship and I behave like a good citizen but, unfortunately I cannot "be" pure Australian in my heart. It's ok for everyone else to be a Chinese Australian, Greek Australian, Italian Australian etc etc, so, I am an English Australian, and to all intents and purposes being as Australian as anyone else and probably more Australian than most - hell, I even have the accent! So if the OP wants to hedge their bets and become Australian (and they do love the lifestyle) but their life takes a different turn for the moment for whatever reason then they would be silly not to take the opportunity which would ensure they could return if they wanted to. Flexibility is key.

Assume your children have citizenship? If not then international student fees could conceivably apply, depending on which visa they would be entering on. If citizens then they will be entitled to Commonwealth Supported places and might even be able to apply for HECS Help. Most Aussie kids stay home for Uni - not sure that that is a bonus really, some of them are still pretty immature and not able to leave home for ages afterwards. They may be up to a year younger in Aus of course as there is one less year of school. That catches up by the end of Uni though as Honours degrees are 4 years in Aus and generally only 3 in UK. I think it rather depends on the course they want to do and where they will get the best course with the best longer term benefits.

No, we did it in reverse (parents in U.K.) but didn’t need to work and had no kids. My sympathies, being an only child with parental ageing is no picnic. My olds would not countenance going into supported accommodation though I think, had they done so, we wouldn’t have needed to do the caring thing to quite the same degree. It gets more difficult the frailer (and in my mums case, the more demented)they get and you find it’s not just picking them up when they fall but it’s all the other little things like medical appointments, financial dealings, protecting them from scammers etc. I think you could find it hard to get work - Australia is essentially ageist and although some folk are lucky and/or have niche skill sets, employers like younger (more dynamic???) cheaper folk. I guess the only way is to put out feelers and see what floats. Moving kids is fine as long as they arrive before the start of year 11 although year 9, especially for girls, can be something of a bear pit. They tend to be more human around year 11. Are your parents British? Another option could be for them to sell up and move back to be near you if they don’t have that much of a support network. Not something I would usually suggest but movers in the opposite direction have no compunction about moving olds to a country they’ve never even lived in before. OTOH, I am lurching quickly towards your parents’ age and I would be utterly horrified if either of my sons thought they had to uproot and move to support us! My parents didn’t expect it of us, though dad was grateful, mum hated it. Good luck, unenviable decision and there are times you wish you had siblings to share the load!

I've had my UK number for years and used to be PAYG but now on the cheapest Virgin package I can find that way I wont lose it if I forget to use it for a few months. No idea about the e-sim, I've got 2 phones and put the Aussie sim in the older phone and use the UK sim in the new one and vice versa when I am in Aus. I find that I dont use the "foreign" one at all and it goes for days/weeks without being checked.

If you left with a return ticket, the carrier will prioritise your return apparently. If you left on a one way ticket and are now booking from the beginning again, be prepared to pay for business or first class and they will be less likely to dump you off. The emotional impact of returning though - whole other ball game, be prepared to cry a lot (in private after you've left) and maybe ask the doctor for some Valium or something else to take the edge off the distress and guilt you may feel. Good luck, just dont transit via India and you should be OK

You are young enough to hang about and get citizenship then up sticks and move, safe in the knowledge that if it works you win and if it doesnt you can return to Australia. Think about moving somewhere in UK where you can do the coast thing. The countryside can be interesting and vast, depending on where you move back to and you really are spoiled for variety and choice. Much as I dislike Australia, I wouldnt be leaving after getting so close to getting citizenship, I'm a belt and braces kinda gal. Put a date on it and it will all seem so much more manageable

Happy, wife, son, own home, good career, likes to travel. Once said "having lived in London why would you want to live in Australia, it's so boring". Sad that my family will be forever separated but them's the breaks huh.

Quite easy I think. My son went to UK after Uni, having lived in Australia pretty much all his life. He was actually British born but education etc was all Australian. No worries, slotted right in and has no intention of returning.

Yup, point taken - it was done very quickly though as soon as we had his birth certificate - there is just one more step to go through for Aus citizenship than there is for UK citizenship by descent.

Born where? If in UK, then Parley is right, they are Australian through their dad and there is one extra step before getting passport. If in Australia then they are British by descent through their mum and all they have to do is apply for their passport.

British mother, Australian father. He was, and the paperwork followed immediately as we left shortly after his birth. Australian by descent admittedly.

Dual citizen but when push comes to shove I am English! The accent is Australian and my U.K. mates viewed me as Australian but I don’t feel in the least bit Australian despite having been a citizen for over half my life. If I could only be one, I’d be English which would be tricky because my dual citizen husband is definitely Australian. Have never really “belonged” even after 42 years. I must ask my UK son what he is - born in U.K., dual citizen at birth, lived in Aus from the age of 6 months until he left 19 years ago. When he was at Sandhurst his mates viewed him as Australian even though he was actually British born. No idea what he and they see him as now but he certainly copped it whenever England won the ashes!

With respect to heat, I’m always gobsmacked at how hot people keep their houses in winter in U.K. - our house in Aus was reasonably well insulated but we’ve recently replaced all windows with double glazing and it’s feeling even better. Our wood stove is brilliant - not only does it heat the whole house, the chimney which backs onto the kitchen acts as a heat bank for hours after the fire has died. Even so, the house doesn’t get as hot as my mum and dad wanted their central heating to be - when living in their house in U.K. I often had to close the door, turn our radiator off and open the window! Recently we had r/c air con put in here in Aus and thus far we have used that on a few days just to take the chill off. When my son first moved to U.K. he was bemused that people whinged about the cold yet wandered around in t shirts in overheated houses, he was used to wearing jumpers!

That's what I was told recently when I needed major dental which had a 12 month waiting period. I didnt know about it either.

Unlikely that you’ll find private insurance to cover it as you are already pregnant unless you already have private insurance in U.K. and when transferring from one insurance co to another, waiting times are waived. Medicare is only going to cover you for necessary medical intervention - that generally precludes elective procedures. Why the rush?

LOL do the polar bears do synchronised swimming? My son in London has a load of rosella type birds around his place which makes him feel at home!

Ah, were the pelicans swimming in formation? Last time I was in Bendigo, they were doing a synchronised swimming routine, it was hilarious! You’ll never get pelican formations in U.K. that’s for sure!

Bon Voyage! You’ll be heading into Spring then summer, perfect time to be going home!

Welcome Home!!! It can be a good trip when you have a load of space to yourselves!

@Huntersmummy had an interesting time there too - and with kids

Sure, it will give you a really different experience - as the others have said, the culture shock could be enormous. One of my brothers in law lived in Darwin for a few years and in the end he decided he couldnt hack it one minute more, got one his one speed, back pedal brake bike and rode south. He got almost as far as Alice Springs before the bike broke down and he hitched the rest of the way LOL. Seriously, you must be really prepared to spend a load of money on this short term adventure - do you really think that you might get let in permanently or is it really for the adventure? Your DH will be about retirement age here - age discrimination is rampant and at his age he is probably not going to enjoy doing work outside in the heat nor crawling around in small crawl spaces - tradies jobs are for young blokes. Darwin may offer your kids the sort of education you would probably rather they didnt have (some parts are rough as guts and we have had folk on here telling their stories). Are you sure you wouldnt get just as good a deal and some adventure from moving elsewhere in UK if you want the change and getting perhaps a better qualification at the end of it? Perth or Adelaide would be safer but neither of them are like the bucolic British countryside living - on balance maybe Adelaide would be more user friendly. I'm all for adventure though so if you have pots of money to burn on adventure then go for it.