Marisawright

This is a great site to explain all the ins and outs of credit ratings, how to get a credit card if you've got no score, etc. https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/ We had no credit rating when we moved back. We didn't try the Halifax but we did try several banks/building societies to get a credit card with no luck. We were thinking of getting one of the cards for people with bad credit (as suggested on the above site) but by that time, we'd decided not to stay so we didn't bother.

I don't think they make allowances, the rule is the rule

As others have said, if you let the British passport expire, it will be ten times the hassle to renew it, compared to doing it now. So really the choice is, do I save the money and cop all the extra headaches, or do I go the easy route and pay the money?

It may sound like a great idea to take the lump sum at 60 but the temptation then is to spend too much of it! I see a lot of people talking about having a splurge with their super lump sum and then relying on their government pensions in their old age. However, nowadays you could live 20 or 30 years after you reach 60, and with the way governments are these days, I think it's naive to assume the government pensions will continue to be as good as they are today.

Yes, it's tax free in the UK but not tax free in Australia. The same thing applies in reverse - if you've moved to the UK and take a lump sum from your super fund, it's tax-free in Australia but the Inland Revenue will take a huge bite.

I had no idea, Red Rose. Good luck with the move. No idea what age you are, but are you across all the practical stuff like pensions, banks etc (most of which have been discussed in this thread, actually).

How long a period of time, where are you going and how are you going to travel? Flying in a crate in the hold of an aircraft is a frightening, stressful experience for any pet. Obviously if you're moving to another country for years (or forever), then most people decide it's worth doing - but personally, I wouldn't put an animal through that for the sake of a holiday, even a long one. If you can drive or go by ship, that's a different story.

No it’s pounds, and is a rough guide to the amount of money you’re likely to burn through while you get set up in Australia (including the cost of living while you look for work) , based on the experiences of members.

I agree with Paul, if you do not already have an agent, you should consult one.

For the 491, yes, that's the idea. It's true that the rules can change, but since the whole aim of the 491 is to build the permanent population of regional areas, you'd think it would be unlikely that they'd change the rules. The 491 exists because they got fed up of people getting a permanent visa on the promise of settling in a regional area, and then buggering off to the city as soon as they'd done their two years. By making you stay in a regional location for four years, they're hoping you'll feel part of the community by then, and won't want to move to the city. Most other temp visas (e.g. employer-sponsored) are designed in the expectation that you'll fill a short-term skill shortage and then go back to your home country - they do begrudgingly offer the possibility of moving on to a permanent visa but it has become harder and harder to do over time, and is likely to get worse in the future. It's true that living on a 491 is not easy because you're not a legal resident and that can have consequences depending which state you're in (FIRB and high stamp duty for instance).

I'm sorry, this doesn't make sense. So she hasn't applied for a visa yet? How does she expect to start studying in January?

What visa does your daughter hold?

What visa did you come on last time?

What were your compelling reasons? Compelling reasons are not usually enough. You must show that you have strong ties to Australia. What are your ties? What visa does your daughter hold?

What visa are you referring to? There isn't a temporary or provisional five year visa.

I found this when looking for background info on your other question. To be successful in your RRV application, you must show substantial ties to Australia which are of benefit to the country. What evidence did you provide? Is your daughter a citizen?

Do you mean "school commencing date"? The school will not mind if she has to start late.

That fits in with what others have said. It seems that if an application needs any kind of extra work, it gets put to one side while they get on with the huge pile of straightforward ones.

Those aren't statistics, they're an educated guess by one migration agent, so don't lose hope. It's true the points for pro rata occupations are sky-rocketing but that's hardly surprising - they're pro rata because there's such a good supply of qualified people already in Australia in those disciplines. The only reason they're still on the list is that Australia still needs candidates at the most senior levels. The bottom line is that if you really want to move to Australia, apply now. If that website is right, your chances may be borderline - but it's the best chance you're ever going to get, because in six months or a year's time, you can guarantee the points threshold will be even higher. For most of its history, Australia has been short of people and has had a booming economy, so it has been eager to attract new migrants. Now, there's a strong feeling in Liberal (equivalent to UK Conservative) politics that Australia's cities are "full" and migration is making things worse, not better. That's driven by an unemployment rate that's about the same as the UK and an economy that's flagging. It's not a view that all Australians agree with, but the Liberals are in government. and it's unlikely that will change for some time.

I thought you applied for a 190? Different beast

He should list his marital status as divorced because he is divorced. He will need to obtain the divorce paperwork from Japan and it would be a good idea to get it officially translated.

That's odd if so, because London used to be faster than all the rest. I wonder what's happened?

I'm afraid the fire emergency would be making no difference to the Immigration department.

Although it's called a "partner visa", it's your personal visa and the breakup doesn't affect it AT ALL. No need to tell anyone. However, note that a permanent visa is only permanent if you stay in Australia. That's what the "RRV" bit is all about. You can stay in Australia forever, but if you want to travel in and out of the country, you need to apply for a "Resident Return Visa" - otherwise if you leave, they won't let you back in! The other (and better) alternative is to apply for citizenship. If you're British, you can keep your British citizenship too. That gives you a lot more freedom - for instance, you might be tempted to return to the UK now, and having Australian citizenship will mean you can always move back to Australia in the future if you want to.

It is not permissible in Australia though