Marisawright

You need at least 90 points for the 189 visa. When you say you hope to be sponsored by the Victorian govt, are you sure you mean a 189? Don’t you mean a 190?

Ah, I thought you meant renters got a choice

No, nothing you can do.

No, you won't get to choose and I'm surprised you get the choice in the UK - how does that work? Here, if a home has cable installed, that's what you get. If it has satellite installed, that's what you get. Some places will have neither.

So you have a family member who is a New Zealand citizen, who is coming to live in Australia?

There is no need to use an agent to apply for citizenship.

It's reassuring to hear that your husband also wants to move back. I know four years seems like a long time, but if you know that light is there at the end of the tunnel, perhaps you could deal with it, if you get a counsellor to help you? It may help if you don't think of it as "waiting four years". Think of it as "spending the next four years saving and planning for the move". A sense of purpose can help carry you through. Tell your parents and all your friends and family that you'll be back in 2024. That makes it feel more real, which will help you and them, and give you all something to look forward to. It also makes it easier to stick to the date, if your husband starts having second thoughts when the time comes. I do think it's vitally important to make sure he understands what a huge sacrifice it is for you to wait even four years. Don't downplay your unhappiness - tell him that you're absolutely dreading the thought of another four years, but you agree it's the best thing for the family, so you're going to get some professional help to help you survive it. Otherwise, if his job is still going well when the four years is up, he may be tempted to stay on "just a bit longer" to take advantage of a pay rise or a promotion or to pick the best time to sell the house...and before you know it, you're facing another four or five or more years because he might as well stay to get his next long service leave, and then...and so on. The reality is that you'll probably have to move without jobs when the time comes. One scenario, since you can live with your folks, is for you to move back first with the kids, then once you're settled and have found work, he can follow. Or vice versa. That means you've got at least one wage coming in throughout the move.

Yes, that's right - except that the Royal Commission showed that the big Australian banks hadn't been reporting properly for years. However, no one is suggesting that someone should try to get away with it. It was just offered as an explanation of why someone was able to get their pension without paying tax on it in the past.

@sh aron, the 143 is a "permanent" visa, which means that once you settle in Australia, you can stay there permanently. However that doesn't mean you can travel in and out of the country forever, and if you leave the country for too long, you may not be allowed to return. When you get a permanent visa, you get a 5-year "travel facility" with it. That means you are free to travel in and out as often as you like. Every 5 years, you must apply to renew the travel facility (it's called a RRV). To be eligible for the RRV, you must have lived in Australia for at least 2 years out of the previous 5 years (every time). So yes, there is a 2 year condition, which never goes away. If you don't want to go through that rigmarole then the solution is to apply for citizenship as soon as you're eligible to do so.

Just to clarify: You don't need 12months of evidence of living together (de-facto) to apply for the PMV, you just need the above mentioned criteria to be met before applying. CORRECT You get engaged to each other, then apply for the PMV, then YOU (not your partner) wait for the visa to be granted offshore, then YOU travel to Australia and get married to her. You can't (and must not) be on Aus soil when the visa is applied for OR granted. CORRECT Does your partner (Aus citizen) have to be offshore with you also at this time? - NO, she never needs to be offshore at all. Another question is, when we're on the PMV and have married, if we then after the marriage don't have the "12 months living together" evidence, which we wouldn't as we'd only have been living together about 8/9 months, will that be seen as negative when applying for the de facto visa? YOU DO NOT APPLY FOR A DE FACTO VISA AFTER YOU'RE MARRIED. A DE FACTO VISA IS ONLY FOR A COUPLE WHO ARE LIVING TOGETHER BUT UNMARRIED. As far as the idea of "registering your relationship with the QLD Govt."...again, this applies to de facto (living together unmarried) couples only.

No, I'm not in Newcastle but used to visit a lot for work when I lived in Sydney. I know a few people who moved up there from Sydney and felt it was a much, much better place to bring up kids with a more laid-back lifestyle (plus of course houses are about half the price of Sydney). There are still large areas which show its industrial past - but it's like most cities, you need to know which are the good areas. I always remember arriving at the airport in Sydney and going to my hotel in a taxi, thinking how industrial and rundown the place was. Then of course, we eventually got to the harbour and it was totally different! If your wife is a musician, though, it's more difficult. I'm a dancer and I've known musicians who've moved from Europe to Australia and been shocked at the lack of opportunities and the difficulty of making a decent income. I'd say Melbourne would be her best bet but of course, you're not going to get classic Aussie weather here...

Yes, it should be quicker, but if you take a half-empty container, your stuff is going to racket around and get damaged.

If you're going to take up a whole 20-foot container then I doubt movecubes are even worth considering. However, I'd expect a 2-bedroom house wouldn't fill a whole container, especially once you've got rid of clutter. In that case, one or two Movecubes become much more attractive. People move using shared containers all the time without problems, but the fact remains that your stuff is in a container with other people's stuff. The container may get unpacked and repacked in transit, too. So a shared container always has a greater risk of things getting lost or damaged than a Movecube, which is sealed. I'd say it's a no-brainer to take all the small stuff - crockery, cutlery, glassware, utensils, pots and pans, kitchen appliances, towels, cushions, bedlinen etc., as well as toys, sports gear and surplus clothing. It's not just the cost of replacing it - thought that does mount up scarily fast - it's having to go shopping for all those bits and pieces when you arrive. It's not something you want to worry about when you've got so much else on your plate. Also, toys and small familiar things help children settle in better. One of the things that really annoyed me, was that I'd collected some good kitchen stuff over time, which I left behind - and then I had to rush round the shops to replace it when we arrived in the UK, which meant I had to settle for what was there, rather than wait for just the right make or model. All of that stuff will fit in a Movecube, and if you choose a large one, there will be room to take larger items too. The challenge is working out how much will fit! If you want to take really big items like a sofa or beds, then a Movecube probably isn't practical. Big pieces of furniture don't fit efficiently inside the cube (and sometimes won't fit at all) so that may be your deal-breaker.

Sorry, I skimmed over the original post and didn't notice your mention of needing 12 months evidence for the PMV. As MaggieMay says, you don't need it. You need the 12 months evidence if you're applying for a de facto visa. You also seem to be very confused about the whole onshore/offshore thing. If you're going for the PMV - which looks like your only option - then you've got to apply for it while you're still in the UK, and then wait in the UK for it to be granted. It doesn't matter where your girlfriend is at the time. I understand that means a longish separation while you wait - but if your love can't survive that, then it's not going to last a lifetime either, is it?

Two experienced agents have answered you so take their advice seriously. Forget applying for a de facto partner visa, because Immigration doesn't care about your reasons why you've got no evidence - the fact is, you've got almost no evidence. So that's off the table. The Prospective Marriage Visa is an option BUT as the agents point out, it's a Prospective marriage visa - which means you're planning to marry in Australia and that's why you want the visa. So you need to get engaged, then apply for the visa, then wait for the visa to be granted, then travel to Australia and get married. If you get married before the visa is granted, you lose the visa. Sadly, the reason it's all so difficult is that so many people have faked relationships so they can use the partner visa as a way of fraudulently getting a visa - Australia isn't the only country that has that problem, it's a global thing.

One of the things I disliked about England was the cost of eating out. In Sydney, it was possible to eat at some great places very cheaply, and British prices were a shock. However that doesn't necessarily apply Australia-wide. We're in Melbourne now, and the restaurants here are noticeably more expensive than Sydney, even though Melbourne has a reputation as a "foodie" place. I didn't do much shopping when I was in the UK last year but I did shop in the hypermarkets in Europe. Just yesterday I was thinking it would almost be worth heading back to Spain to do some shopping, because I bought some cheap towels and knickers there (long story). The towels are still soft after repeated washings, unlike my Aussie ones, and the knickers haven't shrunk at all (ditto). Much better quality than equivalent prices in Oz.

No, I'm lucky that I settled happily in Australia from the start. However, some people, like your husband and me, are never bothered by the fact that our homeland and family are thousands of miles away. It's not a conscious decision, it's in our nature. That's why we make good migrants. However I think we're a minority in this world. Most people feel an attachment to the country they were born in, and an attachment to their family. They generally don't make good migrants, because their hankering to be back "home" tends to get worse over the years. The difficulty arises when those two different kinds of people get married to each other! It's hard for you to understand how your husband can be so unfeeling not to miss the land of his birth, while he thinks you're being a real wuss wanting your mama. It took me a long time to appreciate how deep homesickness can run and how desperate the yearning can get. Your husband doesn't get it and it may take a professional to explain it to him.

If you can't bear the thought of four years, then what's the point of putting it off for even one more day? If you're going to have to start again in the UK, then the sooner the better. Pardon me if I'm cynical, but I've seen your husband's reaction so many times before. Often, the "wait a few more years" idea is because he's hoping your feelings are "just" new mum's blues, and once you "get over it" and pull yourself together, you'll be delighted to stay in Australia for the rest of your life. If you'd never felt the tug to move back before the birth, I'd be suggesting you give it time. But if you've always felt that hankering, then I'd be doubtful it will go away. I suggest arranging some counselling for yourself as a first step. It gives you an impartial shoulder to cry on, if nothing else. Who knows, maybe it is just baby blues - but the counselling will help you work that out. Then, once you know your own mind, you can get your husband to come along - it will be easier to arrive at a decision with an impartial referee.

@belter, I think a lot of people make the mistake of thinking there's no jobs outside the capital cities. It's not true - it would be like saying you've got to live in London or Glasgow to get a job in the UK. There are people in Canterbury and Exeter and Stirling who find work, so why not in a regional Australian city? It does depend what you do for a living - the big corporate jobs are in the capitals, but other occupations can be in demand elsewhere too.

Yes and no. The company will have an overall policy on whether or not they sponsor overseas applicants. A partner can say they'd like to sponsor someone, but if the company policy is not to do so, then it can go no further. I've seen a few people have their hopes raised because their boss said yes, only to have their hopes dashed because the company policy meant it wasn't possible. So I'd check that first.

I would urge you not to delay applying for the visa. Once it's granted, you have a short window to "activate" the visa - however, that just means you all have to hop over to Oz for a short holiday. After that, you are usually allowed up to 5 years to make the permanent move (worth double-checking that for the 491, as it's a new visa and may have a different window). My concern is that the government is steadily reducing the number of occupations on the list and increasing the points required. The longer you delay, the less chance you have of success. So get the visa in your hot little hand first, and then you'll have time to get your ducks in a row before the permanent move. I think NSW would be a good choice for your 491 even if you have to stay within the state. Unlike some of the other states, there are several good-sized towns which would have a decent demand for vets. You could look at basing yourself somewhere like Newcastle which is a vibrant, family-friendly city with great beaches, on the doorstep of the wineries.

Have you thought of Newcastle? Used to be such a daggy place but it's changed out of sight in recent years.

As Ausvisitor says - go to your HR department and ask what their policy is. You are entitled to enquire, so there is no problem with asking them.

No, actually they are not. Parents who arrive on a 143 are eligible for Medicare, and the average person needs a lot more medication and treatment once over 60. At some point they may need aged care, which is expensive, and eventually will die in Australia, and death is often a slow decline involving a lot of very expensive medical care. That is why the visa fee is so high, to help cover those costs. In fact the government has calculated that parents cost the taxpayer more than the current visa fee - it's not a profitable exercise at all, so there's no incentive to speed up the queue. In fact, the trend is quite the opposite. Just look at the UK attitude to parent visas - an Australian wanting to bring their parent to the UK has virtually no chance. New Zealand has closed its parent visas completely in the past, too, although they're available again now. As you say, there isn't another choice, short of heading home yourself, so all you can do is try to be patient, and pray they don't follow the UK's lead and close things down even further.

There is provision to get credit for time spent as a stay at home mother. You can also claim something from your husband's entitlements. I'm not so clear what happens when someone has divorced.