Marisawright

I didn't say anything about logic. I said the government wants to avoid that kind of publicity - and they know that's what would happen, if they create a visa which allows people to come and stay in Australia in old age with absolutely no access to public medical, welfare or support services. That's why it ain't gonna happen, unfair or not.

Unless they have a lot of experience with sponsoring, the employer should hire their own agent to manage their side of the process - it's much too complicated to attempt on their own and there's a high risk of failure. They pay for that agent's fees. It's up to you whether you want to hire your own agent to do your side, and you'd pay for that.

@Hippityoputous - yes, it is a pain in the neck. That's why I tried to say, ask your bank "how much would it cost me to transfer this money today?", then compare that with what Moneycorp or Transferwise would cost on the same day - it's the closest you'll get to a comparison. But the bottom line is that those companies will always cost you less in fees than the banks and they aren't hard to use at all, so you might as well.

"Welfare benefits' includes Medicare (which you are entitled to, and which you will certainly claim, even if you have health insurance). That's the single biggest cost to the taxpayer. Like I said, one hip replacement costs $30,000. Every time you visit the doctor, the taxpayer pays the bulk of that cost, and as we age, we visit far more often. Not to mention the cost of prescriptions which are not covered by private health insurance at all. Many migrant parents do claim the Australian aged pension. We've had parents on this forum asking how soon they can claim it. You don't bring your wealth to Australia. Your Australian children will inherit your wealth whether or not you move to Australia, after all. I have nothing against parents joining their children but I an fully understand how the government reaches that $250K figure, especially as I am now in that age brakcet and can see how medical costs mount up in older age.

@GeeTee, I feel for you, as it seems she's one of those people who's got so caught up in the "Aussie dream", she's refusing to face reality. It's not uncommon. I met many such WHV'ers people when I was working. The WHV community is full of tales of people who managed to get sponsorship and then PR - most of them complete myths - and they get sucked into that. They would badger their manager to sponsor them and if they were a good employee, the manager would agree - probably thinking it couldn't be that hard. Usually, I was the one who had to tell them it wasn't possible because the occupation wasn't eligible or they didn't have the necessary qualifications, and then I got accused of being a nasty bitch who was out to get them. Usually they just couldn't accept they weren't eligible. I can see that it's a tough situation. If you don't pay for childcare, that will enrage her even further and loses you any chance of her cooperating with you - so maybe you should consider paying for it. At the same time, if she's on a tourist visa then she shouldn't be working at all. An anonymous phone call to Immigration would result in her being deported and she need never know you initiated it...

...but after 10 years you are eligible. And taking out private health insurance is not compulsory and I would question whether most parents take out private health insurance. Some do, as do some Australians, but it's slowly becoming less common to do so.

The easiest way is to ring or drop into your bank and ask them to work out what figure you'll get in Australian dollars - make sure it includes their exchange rate and all their fees. Then on the same day, ring Moneycorp and ask them for a price. That will tell you what the difference is between your bank and Moneycorp, which is the only thing that really matters

They're off to Brisbane, so presumably they love hot sticky weather (unlike me)

It varies from bank to bank but their fees can be large. If using a service like Moneycorp is a bit daunting, don't let it worry you. Moneycorp do have an online service but I just rang them up and they were very helpful (and I got to talk to a real person who does the work, not some call centre dufus in India). I've heard good things about a company called Transferwise too, but I always stick with Moneycorp because they looked after me so well.

I think feeling isolated has more to do with which city you choose rather than which country. I felt terribly isolated and lonely in Southampton but I think I would have settled OK in London, where I'd have been able to find more open-minded people with a less parochial outlook.

That's interesting and surprising, as the US doesn't have the reputation of being generous with visas any more. However why pick the US? Have you looked at how parent visas to the UK work? I agree that in theory, it would make a lot of sense to change the parents' visa so it's the same as the one Ramot used to be on - no government benefits, no pension, no aged care, no medical cover, so having the parent in the country costs Australia nothing (and therefore the visa fee can be cheap). However in practice, I can see why the government wouldn't want to risk it. Ramot has mentioned that she was in contact with others on that same visa, and that many had ended up going home because their costs were escalating so much as they aged. That's what happens, unless you're very rich. Most people who survive into old age are on multiple medications, just one hip replacement can cost $30,000 done privately, and these days death is often a long, slow and medically expensive process. So, just imagine it - I'm sure you've seen the tear-jerking articles in the newspapers about some granny who's managed to stay in Australia for years without a permanent visa, and then she fails the medical (which they always knew she would) and is due to be deported. Even though she and her family knew full well that would happen, they still make it sound like it's all a big surprise and the government is the bad guy. We'd see that happening time and time again as the "self-sufficient" parents ran out of money.

Yes, and from the article that I read in The Age, they are all a rip-off compared to using an ordinary debit or credit card from a bank that has low or no fees. Am I right in thinking that one could use funds held in a Moneycorp account to pay someone directly, without having to transfer to an Australian bank account first? I'm thinking of something like having to pay a $3,000 bond to a real estate agent if you haven't got your Aussie bank account set up properly yet. Could you transfer straight from your Moneycorp account to the estate agent's bank account?

Reading the post again, it seems clear the relationship has broken down to the point where the mother wants nothing to do with the father - she won't even put his name on the birth certificate. Maybe her desire to stay in Australia is part of her efforts to keep him out of her life? People can do very irrational and bitter things in the aftermath of a breakup, so one can only hope she changes her mind at some point. I think the OP has a battle ahead of him, but he'd be wise to wait until his ex has returned to the UK and to have that fight in the UK courts. He could consult a British lawyer now to prepare the case, as I don't think it will be long until she returns. It would be a waste of money to launch any kind of Australian proceedings because her chances of staying in Australia until the case is concluded are somewhere between remote and none.

Yes but that was a few years ago, wasn't it? It's unbelievable how complicated some visas are now. I did it all myself, too, but I wouldn't even contemplate applying for any kind of skilled visa these days. The visa fees are very expensive and Immigration have become really unforgiving - one little mistake and they won't come back and say, "did you mean....?", they just reject the application and you've lost the lot. I still think partner visas can be done yourself if you've got a genuine long-standing relationship. There is a high refusal rate but it's mainly because of (a) people who think, "I'm married, my marriage certificate is enough", and don't collect the huge raft of proof of the relationship over time, and (b) people who make fraudulent claims hoping to get into the country. However the partner visa is now so expensive and long-winded, you really can't afford to make a mistake, so an agent is probably worth the extra money. Citizenship - I don't think anyone uses an agent for that.

There is no such thing as an unskilled work visa. If she's under 30 there is a Working Holiday Visa, but she won't be eligible for that once she has a child. Employers can't sponsor just anyone. They can only sponsor IF the person's occupation is on a government list of eligible occupations AND the person has the qualifications and experience specified on that list. It's an expensive and complex process for the employer and many employers won't do it any more, unless they are really desperate for staff. She would have to be very lucky to find an employer in such a short time, especially when she's heavily pregnant (which would be a disincentive for many employers). Of course, she could simply overstay her visa and there are employers who would employ her cash-in-hand (in a restaurant for instance). Her difficulty would be childcare, as it's very expensive and would likely cost more than she's earning. On the face of it, it seems very unlikely that she will be able to stay in Australia and as noted, her child doesn't become Australian just because it's born there.

I think your agent is out of touch, but time will tell.

That's exactly right.

The first thing to check is whether your lender will allow you to take the car overseas

That was on an old visa that's no longer available. I don't know of any visas for someone over 60 with no children in Australia. There are investor visas but I believe you need a mind-blowing amount of money.

I see what you mean and I'm sorry Alan didn't feel able to clarify the general rule for us. I am NOT asking for clarification to help this particular poster with their specific case. I'm asking because I'm sure there are many parents sitting patiently waiting for their child to get PR and fulfil the residence requirements: this seems to say that if the child is married to an Australian citizen, they don't have to wait. That would be really important information if it's true

Yes but it's not likely our cases are comparable. I had never felt homesick for the UK ever, in all my 30+ years in Oz. We were almost at retirement age, with no family left in Australia, and my husband is a history buff - he dreamed of spending his retirement visiting the historical sites of Europe. it just seemed to make sense to base ourselves in the UK rather than fly from Australia for holidays. I think it's very, very, VERY important, if you're contemplating a move back, for both of you to sit down and document the reasons why you left Australia. As the years go by, the bad memories fade and the good ones get more rosy - and that leads to thoughts like, "It wasn't that bad", or "maybe I didn't try hard enough". That's certainly true in my case. Four years down the track, my husband still talks wistfully of travelling in Europe and I feel guilty for dragging him back to Oz. I start remembering the good times we had, and I start thinking "maybe I could have stuck it out for another year", "maybe if we'd moved to another city it would've been better". It's actually hard for me to remember any bad things about our time there! But there is one memory that I will never forget. I remember waking up one night and thinking it would be easier if I just jumped off the balcony. It was only for a split second, but up till that point, I had never been depressed or suicidal in my life, so it was a terrifying moment and made me realise I needed to get out of there. Like I said, that memory tells me how miserable I was in England but all the other bad memories have faded - so in an odd way, I'm glad I had that awful moment, because it stops me being silly enough to suggest trying again.

Yes, that's why I queried it. I do hope the poster in question gets a second opinion on it because it doesn't sound right to me.

There are temporary parent visas which you can get in the meantime (more fees of course!). There's also the option of moving to Australian on a tourist visa and then applying for the permanent visa onshore. You then get a bridging visa which allows you to stay in Australia while you wait for the parent visa to be granted. It's an option that people are using increasingly because of the long wait times, but it's vital to look into it carefully as there are snags. The problem is that while you're on a bridging visa, you're in limbo - not legally a resident of any country (you've lost residency in the UK but you're classed as a temporary visitor in Australia). That means you'll lose access to the NHS (you can't pop back to the UK on holiday and expect to get treatment or prescriptions). As a British citizen, you can access Medicare (the NHS equivalent) in Australia - however extras like the stoma appliance scheme wouldn't be available to you. Also, because you're only a visitor, you're classed as a foreign investor if you want to buy a home, and will be charged extra fees. On a $500,000 home, your fees would amount to about $45,000. You are not allowed to leave Australia while on the basic bridging visa (BVA) and will need to apply for another visa (BVB - more fees!) if you wish to travel outside Australia for holidays. You may or may not be allowed to work on the bridging visa. Finally, there's the fact that when the visa finally gets processed, there will be a medical. That's something you'll always have to face: however if you've spent the 6 to 8 years waiting in the comfort of your own home in the UK and you fail the medical, you just stay there. If you move yourself lock,stock and barrel to Australia and then fail the medical, you're faced with the prospect of having to move back to England and re-establish your whole life again. So you also have to consider your health outlook.

So she was born after you became a citizen? All good then - you might as well get her citizenship sorted out now so you know it's done. Good luck with the move

He's a paramedic.