Quoll

Which state? The kids may love it or they may hate it, you never know. Some kids hate not being with their extended family and friends but as it's only a temporary visa you'll be coming on, you can treat it like a big adventure. What the kids miss out on in school, we hear from returnees that the UK system is generally pretty good at helping them get back on track.

I've answered the same question on another thread - usually you only need to ask the same Austin once.

It's a foreign country with different rules. Yes you're over thinking things. Schools are obliged to find a place for a child in their catchment area. Theoretically, once you have your rental agreement you rock up to the school with your visa, your rental agreement and the kids vaccination record and they could start there and then but generally the school may ask you to give them a couple of days to get things organised. Kids move all the time so there's no need for them to start at the beginning of a new year and I agree with the point above, arriving Dec/Jan isn't a great idea for finding jobs or rentals! Yes, some visas require you to pay for schooling in some states. That can be upwards of $5k per child per year, so which visa are you talking about and which state? And in some states a fee paying child may not be entitled to a place in the local school if it's oversubscribed (they usually do get into the local school though). If you're on a permanent visa you won't have to pay other than The usual things that everyone pays - books, stationery, excursions, visiting teachers, voluntary contributions etc. If you're on a temporary visa though in NSW, ACT, WA, SA then yes you will have to pay at the moment but there's no telling when other states may also decide to charge.

Get your long term rental and the local school is required to find a place for your child. All gov schools have catchment areas so if you are in the catchment area they have to take you. Most people choose rentals based on where they work, what other amenities they require, what accommodation is available and what they can afford. Nobody gets their knickers in a knot if you don't put a kid in school for several weeks /months while you're getting settled.

He may not want to move back to UK but this might be your best option at least for the short term. Then you will be able to prove the longevity of your relationship.

Don't bring your child on a tourist visa, wait for the child visa. If he's there as a tourist he could have trouble with medical care especially if his child visa takes a while. Where will you be working? That usually has more influence on where you choose to live. Is your $2kpm budget just for childcare? That'd be budget rates - for little kids you're looking at $120-150 per day. But if your child has a PR visa you could be eligible for some child care benefits. There are loads of good child care centres, you'd need to be more specific about the area you might want to live in - Melbourne is a huge place. However, good child care centres often have very long waiting lists. Most of them are pretty good at dealing with a wide range of kids - if you're worried that your child may be annoying I'm sure they will talk to you about how you and they should manage that.

That sounds sensible but you may find that arriving in November the job market will be very flat. Aus tends to shut down Dec/Jan for long term jobs and they always reckon that finding your first job can potentially take you several months (increase that if Christmas falls in the middle) so you may just need to take a punt on accommodation and 4 weeks should give you enough time to find somewhere you'll not mind living in. Hopefully, if you haven't got work at that point, where you choose will give you reasonable access to wherever the job may eventuate.

Your son should be registered as an Australian citizen by descent then you get his Australian passport. Your partner applies for an off shore partner visa 309/100 - given the length is your relationship and the fact you have a child together he would probably get the permanent visa straight off. You will need to pass new regulations in order to become a sponsor. Meanwhile you should get your British citizenship, you never know when you might need it.

The PMV seems to be the way to go for you in your situation or could he get a visa to come and live here with you? The cohabiting and evidence of a stable relationship is for a spouse visa. If he came here you could work on that as an alternative.

Sadly, it’s Immigration, nothing is quick! If you have applied for the PMV when you first thought about it, you’d have been good to go. So, if you have to wait a few months, what’s the problem? At least you would be arriving on the appropriate visa. I didn’t know that your OH had to be in UK 60 days before you could be married. Mine arrived one Sunday, we got married the next Saturday and flew out on the Wednesday - but that was nearly half a century ago. You know that rules have changed and there are more stringent requirements for sponsoring a partner - he will have to be approved as a sponsor first.

We havent but my DH's cousin did run a country motel and it damned near killed him. He was fortunate enough to own the motel outright but the tie of having to be there 24/7 ran them into the ground and they eventually decided they needed a life and put in managers but he's struggling with the manager he has at the moment. A motel owner we spoke to in Clunes was very disparaging about the whole thing but, then, Clunes is hardly the centre of the tourist world. On our recent trip we encountered a number of Chinese/East Asian motel owner/managers, they generally don't mind hard work I guess. It isn't something I would be doing but you've got the experience under your belt I guess.

You should talk to a registered agent about this but as you have left the country (and you can't leave on a BVA, you'd have needed a BVB) and the visa you have applied for is an onshore visa, your 804 application may have lapsed so you wouldn't have anything to bridge to. Not certain about that but an agent should be able to advise you.

Theoretically you can but you run the risk of being turned around at the border if they suspect you are not being a bone fide tourist. Is there any reason why you haven't applied for a Prospective Marriage Visa (that would be the most sensible thing to have done) and then, once you are married, applying for a spouse visa which will allow you to work in the interim. You will definitely need a visa to enter the country. If you are under 30 and havent had a WHV, that might be a reasonable option otherwise, run the risk of being deemed not to be a proper tourist.

Did you see the report recently on the British woman who was about to be deported because she failed the medical? All sorts of crocodile tears in the newspapers (she died shortly after the sob stories hit the news). He would probably be much better staying at home, having the support of the NHS and social care when his funds run out. He’d really struggle in Australia unless he is incredibly well off - and if he can’t afford the CPV to begin with, he sounds like he is far from that!

Ah so!

Original post was over 4 years ago so their wages would probably have risen quite a bit since then too.

There was no option for us but to stay with them. My DH - who hated UK with a passion and who would never live here ever again - on our last holiday took one look at them and said "we can't leave them here like this ". So we haven't. We are one of the "can't win" family types - one son here and one son there! Our eldest came for a years holiday in 2002! He's now happily married to a woman who won't move outside the M25 let alone move countries! TBH we are past the point of no return to be able to move back to UK permanently. Financially it would sting us significantly but this far we've been visiting for 8 years (at the end of next month) and we have been able to do that. Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans, after all and sometimes you just need to grab the next adventure by the trail and run with it. You'll be fine!!!

Hope you have an amazing time! I'm in Wales this week (you won't get the coast path done in 3 weeks in winter LOL!) and having a ball! We've done Cardiff so far and St David's, today. Tomorrow we head to North Pembrokeshire to see the place that my husband's gt grandfather was born. He's never felt Welsh before but this time he's really getting into the swing of it and is proudly proclaiming his Welsh heritage when asked. I hope you can reclaim your spark with just a sanity hit and that will allow you to keep your family together (its what saved me from wrist slitting for my last 10 years in Australia!). It may be that your compromise situation with your OH is that the family budget has to include a trip home for you every 1-2 years. I always found that having the next sanity hit planned helped me in the intervening period. You need to educate Bella, she should be tail wagging for you!!!!

Yup, lots of folk feel the same way and, unfortunately, lots more of their other halves feel like your DH. The trick will be to see if you can both get on the same page and agree one way or the other. So often one just digs their heels in and refuses to leave in which case you, as the potential leaver, basically have no choice any longer. For me, the loneliness and displacement peaked at the time that my aged parents began to struggle and, being an only child, the guilt factor kicked in big time. But honestly, I never "belonged" in Australia, I lived there and my head said it was home for several decades but my heart never got the message. I've been back in UK now for almost 8 years and just have the one aged parent left and caring for him is a 24/7 job that is getting rather beyond us unfortunately. The day will soon come when we have to put him in care and return to Australia (Aussie DH, house, son and granddaughters still there). I'm dreading it, especially after this last week of hot weather. You two will have to talk about it and reach some sort of compromise situation otherwise it's just going to fester for you. You may feel different when you return to work after mat leave but, alternatively, that might make you feel even more lonely as you juggle motherhood without extended family. Keep talking about it until you get to a decision you can both live with. It's not easy though so good luck!

Your employer is still liable to fund your return home on the 457, you need to be sure they will do this and not claim their liquidation status makes it impossible.

Hi Helz! I remember your dilemma - golly has it been 4 years already! Good to know that things are going great for you, you deserve it!

I'd agree with Marisawright, don't worry about getting the kids into school, wait until you've got the best home settled. No one gets their knickers in a knot if kids are out of school while you get sorted, even if it takes you a couple of months. Nothing beats the eyeball test for choosing suburbs and usually the areas people choose are more to do with where they are working than anything else.

You're too old. If your daughters occupation is in the wanted list then she may be able to apply but I would think your chances are slim. Talk to an agent and see what they can suggest.

DH is Aussie He was offered a PhD sholarship Housing included It seemed like a good idea at the time Struggling to find half a dozen reasons though.

Only your UK age pension is frozen at the rate at which you leave UK. Private pensions are treated however they are treated in UK. You will need to have been resident in Australia for at least 10 years of which at least 5 must be continuous. Your income from UK pensions may well put you beyond the means test threshold. The Australian Age benefit isn't an entitlement but a welfare payment, quite different from UK age pension. If you have any working years left you can maximise any superannuation by putting more into the pot than the minimum, and if you salary sacrifice you can make it worth even more.