Marisawright

Yes of course they do. However, there have been cases where one parent has refused to allow the children to leave Australia, but then shows no interest in seeing the kids. Basically, the only reason they opposed the move is to spite the other partner.

What do you mean by "adapting to the Aussie lifestyle"?

No, they want to avoid employing illegals, and are too lazy to do the work of checking people’s right to work

I think that's true, which is the opposite of Australia, I think.

Computer glitch, double posted.

Yes, you are at a disadvantage, I'm afraid. Too many companies have rigid rules which say that employees must be permanent residents or citizens, and their managers aren't allowed the latitude to break the rule.

A lot of tax agents would have no idea about visas, they are often trained to do ordinary tax for Australian permanent residents and that's all. It is impossible to be classed as a permanent resident "due to your lifestyle". If you don't have a permanent visa, you are not a "permanent resident". You could be "resident for tax purposes", and I assume that's what you're talking about. It's important to use the right wording when talking to Immigration or the Tax Office, otherwise you're going to get confusing replies. Someone on a 417 would normally be regarded as non-resident - but note, that doesn't mean you'd pay less tax! It sounds as though they have treated you as an ordinary 417 holder, whereas you could make a case to be classed as resident from the first day you arrived: https://www.ato.gov.au/Individuals/Ind/Resident-for-tax-if-WHM-/?=redirected To be honest, I'm not sure how you take that forward with the tax office, perhaps get a better tax agent! As for work rights - once your 417 expires, I believe your bridging visa will have full work rights, but see what others say. You will be a resident for tax purposes.

You've given it a good try and I can understand why you want to leave. I'd just say, don't judge the whole of Australia by where you're living now. I couldn't live in many parts of country or outback Australia because of the redneck/bogan mentality, but I love living in Melbourne. I can't stand the heat now either, in fact I struggled even in Sydney - but I find the Melbourne climate very comfortable, and Tasmania would be even more so. However, aging parents are an important consideration, and there's no doubt that access to Europe for holidays is a huge attraction of living in the UK. Tips? First, double-check the waiting times for citizenship where you are - it's one thing to stay long enough to qualify, but then you may have to stay up to another year to take your citizenship ceremony (you're not a citizen till you attend the ceremony). The big hurdle to be aware of, is you may have no credit rating now, so be prepared to pay six months' rent upfront to get a place to rent. Don't close your Australian bank accounts or cancel your Aussie credit cards as you'll need them for a while. You'll be able to "open" an account on day 1 by fronting up at a bank with your passport - they will even let you put money in it. However, you won't be able to withdraw a cent until you've had a bank interview and provided proof of residence in the UK (e.g. rates notice, electricity bill). You won't get an overdraft or a credit card at first, either. I like Moneycorp for transferring money. If you join through these forums, they don't charge fees. There are others and you can compare rates, but you're not likely to save more than a few cents and I found Moneycorp easy to deal with. I particularly liked being able to ring up and talk to a real person who knew their job, not just a call centre twerp.

If they accept it anyway, and they don't think it's fair, then they are stupid aren't they?

The temporary worker pays his tax while he is in the country, to pay for services like roads, public transport etc that he used while he was in the country.

I wouldn't expect it to vary much. The larger the town or city, the more choices there are likely to be. I'd say your first priority is where the jobs are. https://www.playgroupnsw.org.au/Explore/FindaPlaygroup/

If workers come to Australia on a temporary visa, it is up to the worker to consider how it will affect him when he moves back to his own country, and take appropriate steps. If someone comes to Australia on a short-term visa knowing it will impact his medical cover, then he's CHOOSING to take that risk. Therefore it's not my problem or the Australian taxpayers'.

Computer hiccup double posted.

I arrived in the 1980's and I agree, parts of Sydney society were like that even then. But then it was confined to the very affluent North Shore and Eastern Suburbanites. Now it seems to be widespread, to people who really can't (or shouldn't) afford to live that way.

Of course it's fair. If you come to Australia on a temporary visa, you are supposed to go home at the end of the contract, and therefore you should have considered how your absence from your home country would affect things like pension and health care on your return. If it would create problems, then you should not have accepted the visa. Too many people arrive on temporary visas and assume it gives them the right to stay permanently. It doesn't. It is possible for some people to apply for PR at the end of the contract, but it is a privilege, not a right, and many many people are unsuccessful. So no one should rely on it.

Right now it's probably too early, as you're talking about such a huge area. The distance from the Gold Coast to Coffs is further than the distance from London to Birmingham, and there's a big difference in lifestyle, job opportunities etc along the way. I think you'll need to narrow things down a bit before you start going into detail.

Right now it's probably too early, as you're talking about such a huge area. The distance from the Gold Coast to Coffs is further than the distance from London to Birmingham, and there's a big difference in lifestyle, job opportunities etc along the way. I think you'll need to narrow things down a bit before you start going into detail.

When you say you could be located anywhere in Australia, is that because you think you could work from home? If not, then I'd recommend doing some more research into work possibilities. The Australian head offices of most companies are overwhelmingly in Sydney. If companies still have an IT centre in Australia, it's usually in Sydney. So I suspect that to get a job at a senior level, you'd need to be in Sydney anyway. Though in my experience, senior roles in Asia-Pac are more commonly based in Singapore now, not in Australia at all. However I'm not an IT person, I'm just thinking of the IT departments of some of the multi-nationals I've worked for, so do your own research.

That's Sydney in a nutshell! It's one of the things I like about living in Melbourne - to my surprise, that attitude is much less pervasive here. However I do fear that it's a malaise that is sweeping through the whole of society, so maybe it's only a matter of time before everywhere else catches up with Sydney...

I can sympathise with your feelings. I'm so glad we had a few years in Africa first, before migrating. It meant I had that experience of living overseas and thinking of "home" with rose tints, then going home and being reminded of the reality. So when I moved to Australia I had a clear-eyed memory of what I'd left and why! Question - who wanted to migrate? Was it you or your wife? Are you an itchy-footed kind of person? Who drove the idea of moving back to the UK? Was it your wife? If your wife is loving being home, then I wonder if she was more unhappy in Australia than she let on. Some people are not really suited for migration and will never settle happily in a foreign country, no matter how great the life is. I wonder if your wife is one of those people and you simply weren't aware of how unsettled she felt in Australia. They end up getting situational depression which is a horribly destructive thing to have. If that was how your wife felt, then taking her back to Australia will only end in tears, no matter how good a lifestyle it offers.

Shouldn't you have checked all that out before you decided on this path?

I'm so sorry to hear your story. I'm convinced there are two types of people in this world - the nomads and the homebodies. The nomads are the ones that make successful migrants: they can make a home anywhere, any time. They may think fondly of their old country but they don't care whether they ever go back. The homebodies have a deep, enduring attachment to their home country and can never be 100% happy when they're not on home soil. They will always feel as though something is missing. It's hard to explain to others because there's no logic to it, it's just a fundamental part of their being. Often, they have no idea how they feel until the way back to their homeland is closed. I think that's you. I'd advise you to stop bad-mouthing Perth, because it won't do you any favour with Australians - and in reality, the city's faults have nothing to do with why you're unhappy. It wouldn't matter if you were living in a gilded palace with 24-hour entertainment, you'd still feel adrift. It's an awful decision when you have to leave your children behind, but unfortunately the homesickness is never likely to go away, so you may have no alternative in the end. One thing I'd say - make sure you get your citizenship before you leave. I know of Brits in your situation who are horrified at the idea of getting citizenship, because they never want to live in Australia again and want no connection with it - but the fact is, you have Australian children and therefore it's vitally important to ensure you can travel back and forth freely whenever and for however long you need to (for instance, if a child took seriously ill).

If it's anything like Australia, it's not. The thing is, if you apply, get your citizenship, then book a flight six months later, you could still have had the intention - you just changed your mind. They can't prove it.

If you've been married for some time and have a child, then I don't think an agent or solicitor is necessary. As Rammygirl says, you still need to gather all the evidence, but it's going to be easier for you than for the average young couple just starting out. These articles are useful: https://www.theaussieflashpacker.com/2016/01/how-our-australian-partner-visa-was-granted-in-six-months.html https://halftheclothes.com/travel-tips/australian-partner-visa-application-tips/

Oh dear, I hope this isn't another delaying tactic (the RRV would be approved faster than the partner visa, then you'd only have a few months to move - whereas with the partner visa, he can delay moving for another five years).