Marisawright

No you haven’t missed anything. The smaller the shipment, the higher the cost per cubic metre. For both companies, their biggest cost comes from the handling at either end which is similar for both

Ask me. I was in the same position all through school: scarred me for life!

We like to mention the possibility because different people have different levels of tolerance for risk. I'm sure the average young professional on a great salary doesn't worry, because if they have to leave Australia, they'll just pick themselves up and head for the next adventure. Someone with older children, or with children who need extra support and stability, may be less comfortable with the idea of uprooting those children if there is a risk it won't be permanent, and it's important they have a full understanding of what the risks are. Then if they decide to go ahead, they can plan for them. Besides, very often people are happy and confident while they're on the temp visa, and that's why it's so devastating when they get to the point of applying for PR and it all unravels

Yes, in fact the "correct" way to get a parent visa is to apply while you are still in England, and then wait for it to be granted. You can still make visits to Australia on a tourist visa every year, while you wait. However, only a handful of parent visas are granted every year and there are thousands waiting. Therefore it's becoming common for people to "jump the queue" by pretending they're going on holiday, then once they're in Australia, they apply for the parent visa. I think that's what the agent is suggesting for you. It's not illegal but it's important to understand that it's a workaround, and therefore there are important downsides and risks that you need to understand. You'll be given a "bridging visa", which means that you're allowed to stay in Australia until they get around to looking at your parent visa application (which will be several years). But legally, you are still regarded as a foreigner on Australian soil. That means you aren't entitled to any of the benefits an Australian is entitled to. Depending on the conditions of the bridging visa, you may or may not get access to full Medicare. You may not have travel rights - which means you have to apply for special permission to leave Australia every time you want to visit the UK, and you must have a "good reason" (like a wedding or funeral or business to attend to) - so your six months here/six months there may not be possible. And as already stated, if you want to buy property, you'll be treated as a "foreign investor". The other thing to note is that if you don't have travel rights, meaning you're spending most of your year in Australia every year, you may lose the right to access the NHS in the UK. The conditions on bridging visas do vary, depending on the visa you've applied for. A good agent should know exactly what the restrictions will be and should be explaining them all to you. If they're not, I'd find another agent! On balance, since you're planning to split your time between the two countries anyway, I wonder if you'd be better off applying for the parent visa whilst in England, then just using tourist visas to visit Australia every year until it comes through. You could still buy a property in Australia for your use - again, you'd be treated as a "foreign investor" which means extra fees, however if you buy a brand new home, you are allowed to rent it out.

We have a steady stream of people on these forums who have let their PR lapse for one reason or another. When you first migrate, you have a travel facility of 5 years. When that expires, you need to apply for another RRV. To get one, you must have spent 2 years out of the preceding 5 years on Australia soil. It doesn't have to be continuous years. If you have less than 2 years, then you can still apply for a RRV but there's no guarantee you'll get one. You'd be well advised to hire an agent to do the application for you (even though it seems like a simple thing). To give you an RRV, Immigration has to be convinced that you have strong ties to Australia which are of benefit to the country - which is easy if you have close relatives there, or have kept your house, but difficult otherwise. A good agent can sometimes turn a sow's ear into a silk purse. We've seen several cases recently, where I've thought the person had no chance, and yet they were successful. Note that if you haven't completed the 2 years, you won't get a 5-year RRV. They will give you a short one, just enough time for you to get to Australia and get settled. Usually it's a year, but some people have been given only 3 months - so once you apply for your RRV, be ready to move quickly! Of course if you do get a short RRV, then you'll be stuck in Australia for a couple of years until you've established enough residency to get another RRV.

No I can’t. I base my comments on the fact that we’ve had people encounter exactly that problem when the time came to apply. So I suggest you research that.

Of course you did. With a company that's used to sponsoring for temp visas, for management jobs, it's all smooth sailing and I'd expect your path to have been easy so far. The reason we warn people about TSS visas is that you cannot know what the rules will be in 3 years' time. The "pathway" from the TSS to PR is nowhere near as smooth or fast as getting the TSS in the first place. Just take a look at some of the threads here about the 186 visa, and see the stress and anxiety people are going through. And those are people who are in the queue waiting for a decision - not the people who found themselves ineligible to apply because their occupation had been removed from the lists during the 3 year wait. Provided you're the kind of person who can cope with uncertainty and you've factored the risks into your plans, the TSS can be a great solution, but it's important that newbies are aware of the pitfalls. In the OP's case, the ONLY reason he's thinking of sponsorship is because he thinks it will allow his son to avoid a medical - which isn't the case.

Whether you apply for PR now, or apply for PR later via the sponsorship route, your son will have to pass EXACTLY the same medical. The health waiver only applies to the temporary visa (which is now a 482 by the way, not a 457).

Melbourne, humid? Definitely not. If English isn't your first language, maybe you're using "humid" incorrectly? "Humid" doesn't mean "damp". According to the dictionary, synonyms for humid are: muggy, close, sultry, sticky, steamy. Melbourne can get very hot in summer, but it's never any of those things! Melbourne does get cold overnight, even during summer (which is one of the things I love about it), so I can see how moving somewhere with warm nights would be helpful. But when I visit Queensland, the humid nature of the heat is the first thing I notice.

All that is true, but if they're on the 804 visa, I'm pretty sure that is a PR visa. If they're planning to arrive on a tourist visa then apply for the 804 onshore, then that's a different kettle of fish and there are a LOT more complications which they need to look into, as you know. For one thing, I'm not sure they would have travel rights to come and go every six months.

When you retire in Australia and take a lump sum, it's tax-free. If you decide to convert it to a pension, the pension is also tax-free. If you go to live overseas, Australia still won't tax your lump sum or pension. However, the country you've moved to, might. In the UK, for instance, you'd lose a big chunk of your lump sum to the tax man - or if you decided to convert it to a pension, your pension has to be declared as income, same as a salary. So it's a question of finding out the tax rules of your proposed destination. My gut feeling is that if you have a mortgage, you'd be better off paying that off than putting it into super at this stage.

I think Queanbeyan has potential because it's possible to live there and work in Canberra. It used to be regarded as a rough place with a population in the lower socio-economic group, but I believe it has improved in recent years. I do think you need to be careful which part of Queanbeyan you buy in, though.

Whether you buy for cash or get a mortgage, the fees for buying a property will be exactly the same. If you will be on a bridging visa while you wait for the 804 visa, there are extra fees because you are classed as a foreign investor. I think your Australian property would be classed as a "holiday letting" and therefore you can't claim the tax breaks that ordinary landlords can - however I'm not aware of any laws that say you can't rent it out. Where did you read about it? The hurdle to your scheme might be insurance for your UK property while it's empty, as it's not usually covered for more than 90 days unoccupied. I think there are similar problems with a car.

Check domain.com.au and realestate.com.au. Don't just check rentals, take a look at house prices as well. I say that because although rents seem high, house prices are even higher. For instance, I could afford to rent a unit in Mosman but I couldn't afford the mortgage to buy it. That's important, because when you are finally ready to buy, you'll already be settled in the neighbourhood and it would be a shame to have to start all over again and move your child to a new school. It's a longish commute but I would suggest looking at the Northern Beaches, rather than the Lower North Shore. If that's out of your price range, consider the Sutherland shire (anywhere along the Illawarra train line).

There's no obligation to hand in your licence.

Sydney prices are incredibly high at the moment , in spite of the recent drop in the market. Personally, I would not buy anywhere in Sydney right now, unless you are buying to live in the property for more than ten years.

If you have a good agent and he has given you advice, why are you asking here? What exactly do you want to know?

What’s your budget? Livung near the beach is an expensive dream for the vast majority of sydneysiders these days

Kids are always going to take a while to settle in - after all, they've been wrenched away from all their friends and that's a scary thing when you're a kid. However usually, they settle in once they manage to make a few new friends and start to feel like they fit in at school. That takes a few months, so they've barely had time for that to happen yet. Unfortunately, it sounds as though the kids have all decided they don't like it, and they're feeding on each other's negativity. The danger is that will harden into a shell of resistance that'll be hard for any new school friends to break through. Are they spending all their time on Facebook or Snapchat or whatever, talking to their friends at their old schools? You say you'd be happy to go back. Are you glad you made the move to Australia or are you beginning to question it too?

When you go to the hospital, let them know your partner is pressuring you and that you are afraid of his intentions. They will put you in touch with people who can help.

The fact that you are pregnant means nothing. If he is no longer your partner, then his visa is no longer valid. His only hope is to stay with you until he qualifies for a permanent spouse visa. Once he has that permanent visa, then he can stay in Australia even if you break up again.

I suggest you book a flight down to Adelaide on one of the weekends so you can take a look. Sydney and Adelaide are chalk and cheese. It would be like spending 3 weeks in London to find out what living in Aberdeen is like. I should say I like both cities, but the vibe and the way of life in each is totally different. Adelaide is a very quiet, conservative little place compared to Sydney. Of course it's also much cheaper!

It sounds like you've got some good evidence but I'd suggest hiring a good migration agent, as the trick will be putting everything together in the right way. Try pinoyau.com or ozimmigration.com

There are two aspects to getting your skills recognised. One is the skills assessment you need to apply for the visa. That is ONLY to satisfy Immigration. It doesn't mean anything once you get to Australia. The other is completing whatever registration or licenses you need to work in Australia. You don't need to complete those before you apply for the visa, and most people wait till they arrive (in fact, for many occupations, they can't do anything about it until they're living in Australia anyway). Nursing is different. For one thing, it's possible to apply for registration while offshore, and you don't need a visa to do so. That's a big advantage, because the process takes several months - so if you wait until you've arrived, you won't be able to work for a long time. You will have to make a flying visit to APHRA at some point to hand over your documents in person - but the fact that you'll be able to earn an income as soon as you arrive, should more than offset the cost of that trip. The other reason not to wait is that you don't know what APHRA might say. I'm not a nurse, but from what I've seen on these forums, APHRA have some strange attitudes to British qualifications. What if they reject your registration and say you need to do some extra training? What if they accept your registration but say you're not qualified to work in your preferred field? If you're not worried about your career progression, that might not worry you - but if you are, then it might be a deal-breaker for your decision to migrate, so you'd want to know before you spend all the money on a visa application. It's a real chicken-and-egg situation.

That's right. That's why I got citizenship as soon as I was eligible. If you don't, you've got to go through the rigmarole of applying for a new RRV every five years.