Marisawright

Did you ask them the right question though? Your mum won't be coming on a 804 visa. She'll be coming to Australia and applying for a 804 visa. She will go into the queue for the 804 and in the meantime, she'll get a bridging visa (BVA). She'll be living on that bridging visa for the rest of her life, since she'll be in the queue for 30 years. So the question to ask the insurance broker is, what health cover could she get on a BVA? I'm pretty sure it would be Overseas Visitor cover.

Question is, are waiting lists for elective surgeries on Medicare any worse than waiting lists for elective surgeries under the NHS? If Mike's mum isn't going private in the UK then why would she do any different in Australia?

Strictly speaking, the Reciprocal Health Care Agreement covers 'essential care only', so in theory, you would need private medical as well. However in practice, we're seeing people getting full treatment, the same as Australians do. So from that point of view, private medical isn't necessary. That's just as well, because while you're on the bridging visa, you're not eligible for any of the private health insurances available to Australians. The only one you can get is Overseas Visitors Cover, which would be too expensive to pay long-term. Note, you will see companies offering policies designed specially for people who are covered by the Reciprocal Health Agreement. They are usually worthless. They don't really cover you for anything, they're just for executives working temporarily in Australia, who want to avoid paying the Medicare levy. Do remember that Medicare isn't the same as the NHS. Treatment in hospital and hospital clinics is free here, but most things outside hospital are just subsidised, or not covered at all. You may be lucky and find a GP who 'bulk-bills' (i.e. free), but most charge $40-$80 a visit. You won't get the pensioner concession on prescriptions, so you'll be paying about $30 per prescription item. Dental and optical aren't covered at all -- you'll have to go private. Even ambulance transport isn't covered! https://www.nib.com.au/the-checkup/reciprocal-health-care-agreements-for-visitors-to-australia Not at this point, because they're not going to make any decisions about your visa for another 30 years or so.

Ken has explained the problem -- you'll have to choose between tax advice and financial advice. I would advise you to go for tax advice, because I don't think you need a financial adviser. A financial adviser advises on how to manage investments, but you haven't got any, except your house. A financial adviser won't help you with budgeting, or advise whether your income will be enough to live on in Australia. That's a budgeting question, not a finance question.

That's great news. We've always been told the GCSEs were basically not recognised here. My only concern would be how she'll cope, picking up Year 12 subjects when she hasn't done those subjects in Year 11. In most of Australia, I believe the curriculum in Years 11 and 12 isn't truly separate -- year 12 builds on the knowledge gained in Year 11. Has the school discussed that with you?

If you read the comments carefully, you'll see that it's the Australian person you are visiting that needs to contact their MP, not you. That person should know who their Federal MP is, or be able to find out easily.

Yes, I understand that. You will arrive in Australia on a tourist visa, then apply for the 804 visa. You will receive a bridging visa when the tourist visa expires, and you will stay on that bridging visa for the rest of your life (because the waiting time for the 804 visa is about 30 years). This is why you need expert advice. It's residency, not citizenship, that decides most things tax-wise. You won't be a resident of the UK any more, so I believe you'll pay UK tax on the rental income like a foreigner, which may mean different rates of tax -- but I'm not an expert, so you need to check that. It's possible foreign investors don't even get a tax-free threshold, so that needs to be checked too. Also, I'm not sure what Australian tax you're liable for on a bridging visa, so there's another question. You probably wouldn't have to pay Australian capital gains but I don't know what the British taxman would take -- again, important to check. If you are currently surviving on your husband's pensions, then I can understand why you're moving to live with your daughter. However, as stated, my concern is that your husband's state pension will be frozen at whatever rate it is now, and he'll never get an increase. Also whatever the amount you get when you start receiving your pension, that's the amount it will stay at for life. Obviously, the higher the amount is when you leave the UK, the better. So there would be an advantage to delaying your move, if you can afford to do so.

I see on another thread that you're coming to apply for the 804, which means you'll be on a bridging visa for the rest of your lives. You need a professional adviser who can work out what the most tax-effective option will be. It's too risky to rely on advice from a forum. For instance, keeping the house sounds like a good idea, because interest rates on savings accounts aren't keeping pace with inflation. However when you sell the house, you may be liable for capital gains tax and that could wipe out the benefits. You could end up paying a lot of tax if you get it wrong! You need someone who understands both British and Australian tax, which can be hard to find. As Paul says, Alan Collett from BDH Tax would be a good person to talk to. Alan will be able to give you a quote for a consultation. It won't be cheap but it could save you thousands in the long run. I am concerned about your income level. Australia is not a cheap place to live. Are you aware that your UK state pensions will be frozen on the day you leave the UK, and you will never receive any of the increases you'd receive if you stayed in the UK? That means your income will buy less and less every year as inflation rises. Consider what a pound buys now compared to ten years ago -- what will your state pension buy in ten years? This article is written for Australian pensioners but it talks about how much you need to live in Australia in retirement: https://www.gesb.wa.gov.au/members/retirement/how-retirement-works/cost-of-living-in-retirement You will be covered by Medicare (our equivalent of the NHS) but unlike the NHS, it's not completely free. Australian pensioners get concessionary pricing, but as you're on the 804 visa, you won't be eligible for those benefits. You'll pay the same prices as your daughter, i.e. around $30 for every prescription item, and $40 to $80 to visit your GP. If you are on a few medications that can really mount up and eat into your income. I'm curious why you're not paying tax until 2028?

It's probably another question everyone should ask before signing up, I guess.

Agree 100%. As Cheery said, they do straightforward applications very well. The thing is, if someone doesn't know whether they have a straightforward application or not, then it's safer to deal with a company where your application will be reviewed by a MARA agent.

You can't count experience twice. If you use 3 years of experience to substitute for formal qualifications, you can't count those years towards work experience. So the answer is, you would need 5 years' experience (3 to substitute + 2 for experience)

What kind of visa is a dependant's visa?

@King Charles, I just saw Raul's post, which clarified what happened with your girlfriend's application. I think you still have a problem. I think you need to imagine how it looks to an Immigration official (and remember when reading the following, I'm not writing as me, I'm pretending I'm an Immi officer): "We rejected her initial partner visa application, because we discovered they were no longer together -- which means she failed to notify us when the relationship broke up. That's a black mark on her record. She doesn't deny she failed to notify, but she then appealed to try to get PR on the grounds of domestic violence. However she couldn't provide proof. Suspicious. Then she went for a Federal appeal, which she's now withdrawn, which makes one wonder if she knew it wouldn't succeed. Clever. Using these (possibly bogus) appeals, she's managed to turn a 3 year ban into an 8 year stay in Australia. Now she's met a new partner. How can we believe this new relationship is genuine? It looks suspiciously as though she persisted with her appeals just long enough to find someone who would agree to sponsor her. We will have to scrutinise this new relationship with a fine tooth comb." You need a really good agent!

Absolutely true. They are very proficient at those. The snag is that not everyone does their own research as you did, so they go into the visa process with no clue whether their application is 'vanilla' or not. That's what happened with the couple who got rejected due to DUC's error. The couple had no idea their application wasn't 'vanilla'. The DUC consultant didn't notice. At DUC, straightforward applcations aren't seen by a MARA agent at all, so it wasn't picked up. Result -- visa rejected, money and time wasted, and they had to start all over again.

If you've already had two paid consultations and they've got no reservations about what you propose, then forget what I said. I'm no expert. It's always a bit tougher to get a partner visa when you're not living together but it sounds as though you've got a good list of evidence. I would just get on with it.

Were those general enquiries or did you have for an in-depth, one-off consultation? Unless you paid for the advice, it's probably not to be relied on. If you did pay for advice, then follow it.

I agree. We did have one case a couple of years ago where a member was badly advised by DUC. It turned out that their case had never been reviewed by a MARA registered person, they had only dealt with a consultant, who had made a fundamental mistake. As a result their visa was rejected and they had to start again from scratch. I guess that bad experience has stuck with a few of us and made us hesitant about DUC.

So she applied for a partner visa with someone else and it was refused, on the grounds they had supplied false information. She appealed, and got a bridging visa while the appeal was being considered. She didn't withdraw that appeal until March this year, though presumably she broke up with her first partner at least a year ago? I think you may have a problem. I'm no expert but this is how I understand it: When you are on a bridging visa, you are obliged to tell Immigration if your circumstances change. If that change means you're no longer eligible for the visa you applied for, your visa application is cancelled and so is your bridging visa. In your girlfriend's case, she should've told them when the relationship broke up, and that would've made the appeal null and void and ditto her bridging visa. Presumably she knew that, so she kept quiet, and she got away with it. Now you're proposing to apply for a new partner visa together, stating that your relationship became de facto in 2023, (and presumably you were dating for a while before that). Immigration is going to notice that you're claiming your relationship started when she was while she was supposedly in a relationship with her first partner, so someone is lying. And lying to Immigration is a serious offence. Tread carefully and get professional advice.

May I suggest you get your mother to talk to a solicitor. It is her house and should be her decision. She may be frail, but unless she has dementia, she still has her marbles! The reality is you are planning to hand most of your mother's life savings to your sister. Your mother may be reluctant to object, for fear of upsetting you both. It's important that she has an impartial adviser who can ensure her views are respected and her future is safeguarded. Even if you trust your sister implicitly, there are all kinds of things that can go wrong. You owe it to your mother to ensure she is protected and does not lose the right to reclaim the money she worked so hard for, if need be. In the meantime, make sure your mother has taken advantage of all the support services that are available to her (see below). https://www.myagedcare.gov.au/

I notice you asked the same question on another thread. Just to clarify. The recruitment officer is someone who's hired to to manage that particular sponsorship program. She wouldn't know anything about other visa options, so it's not surprising you didn't get an answer from her. Have you had an in-depth, one-off consultation with a migration agent to find out what visas you might be eligible for? Some agents still offer a free consult, but it's always going to be a general overview and not specific enough to let you know where you really stand. Two agents have replied to your post -- why not ask them for a quote. Yes, it costs money, but how important is this dream to you? It may be that you'll have to go a roundabout way to get your dream -- you might have to settle for living in another state for a few years, for instance, before you can move to Perth. You need an expert to help you work out the best way.

You're right, you can 'open' an account with them in the UK but all you can do is give them money -- you can't access your money or get cards until you go into a branch to activate it. I wouldn't bank with any of them anyway. The four major banks in Australia have a terrible reputation. There was a Royal Commission some years ago which uncovered huge mistreatment of their customers. I'm sure someone will pop in to say, "I'm very happy with Westpac" or whatever, but that's not the point -- most people who were ripped off by the big four banks, had no idea it was happening. I was amazed when I got two sizeable 'refunds' from the Commonwealth Bank a year or two after the Royal Commission, relating to my previous mortgages with them. At the time, I would've said I was pleased with their service, but it turns out they were overcharging me all along. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Commission_into_Misconduct_in_the_Banking,_Superannuation_and_Financial_Services_Industry I suggest taking a look at HSBC. If you open an account with them in the UK before you go, you'll then be able to transfer between your UK and Aussie accounts easily (you'll find you need to keep a UK account even after you're settled in Australia, it's handy for all kinds of things). @FirstWorldProblems has HSBC accounts and can tell you how it works. Alternatively, you could look at Bank of Queensland or Suncorp, as you'll be in Queensland.

You were scammed by a scam agency. It doesn't mean all agencies are bad.

It doesn't change the fact that he's already had 35 years of his preferred location, whatever the reason he got it. You're equal partners so you're entitled to equal time! The time to move is, as Ramot mentions, when you feel as though your backup is diminishing. Right now you're still actively involved, coping well and enjoying your community. I don't see a strong reason to give all that up just yet.

A holiday visa is your only choice as far as I know, but whether you'd be able to renew it is another question.

I'm over 70 myself. I don't think you're too old to make the move. However it concerns me that you know you won't feel at home in Australia. It is nice to be near family, but day-to-day, most of us spend more time with our friends. After all, our children and grandchildren have their own lives to lead. I worry that you'll be lonely if you make the move. You say your husband misses the lifestyle and the weather, but he had 35 whole years of it. You've only had 13 years of the lifestyle and friends you prefer. How come he got 35 years but you only get 13? It's your turn! If you don't want to move, don't. If you're thinking you need to move before you get too infirm, don't. Worry about that if the time comes, because you'll still be able to get on the plane in your 80s, even if they have to wheel you on in a wheelchair. If you decide to move anyway, there is a ballet school on the Mornington Peninsula which my friend (also 70) attends, though it is only one class a week and they don't do pointe work. There are some ballet schools in the inner suburbs but they would be a long haul. https://janellesschoolofdance.com.au/ballet-lessons-mornington/ https://dancestruck.com.au/dance-programs/dance-for-adults/