Marisawright

Like Australia, it really depends on how scarce rentals are in the area you want to live in. Then once you've found a place, it takes a couple of weeks for them to go through all the formalities and hand over the keys. We moved to Bournemouth and found it very difficult. We had booked into a holiday flat for four weeks. Even then, we eventually gave up and took a place in Southampton out of desperation (which was a bad move, but that's another story). However, I think Bournemouth is a special case because so many landlords rent out their places as holiday homes, plus there's also the university, so there's a lot of pressure on rental places.

I am so sorry to hear your news. My understanding is that if you have a joint application, then if one partner can’t pass the medical, then both fail.

Does this mean your second wife gained PR by accusing you of domestic violence? That makes the situation look even worse.

If the cutoff is currently 80 points then applications under 80 points will be ignored.

IF your husband fully understands how you feel, and he's refusing point-blank to even try Australia, then yes, I think he is being an a*se. As Antipodista says, "when you enter into a relationship where you come from different countries it is naive to assume that you can live in your/chosen country and the other one will have to put up with it . That’s not how life - or marriages - should work." The problem may be that he's not understanding how deeply you feel about this. You seem happy enough in the UK and have been there without complaint for so long, perhaps he has trouble comprehending where it's come from. Or he may be taking the attitude, "you should have known when I married you". Either way, somehow you've got to make sure he gets the message, and I think the only way is to get a counsellor involved. If nothing else, the fact that you've called in a counsellor will be a strong signal that there's a real problem. If he won't go to counselling, go on your own - the counsellor can give you tools to help you, even without his involvement.

In that case, you definitely need to hire a good migration agent. I think you may find it hard to get your new girlfriend into Australia. If you had been married to your previous partners for many years, then I think you could get a waiver. However, in your case, your past relationships will look very suspicious to Immigration - because In both cases, you stayed married just long enough for them to get citizenship. Then you divorced. To Immigration, it looks like one of two things. Either you were operating a scam where you charged a fee to marry women so they could get Australian citizenship, then you would divorce them. Or those women used you - they pretended to love you, to get Australian citizenship, then they dumped you. I am sure that is not the case but I am sure you can see why it looks bad, and for that reason, I think they will scrutinise your current relationship in great depth

I can't see why. Ostriches are farmed, they're not an endangered species, and there's no problem with any kind of leather AFAIK

I am confused. Is this a new girlfriend, or are you wishing to remarry the girl you divorced in December 2018?

No reason, just something about the way you'd written your post gave me that sense. I do think it's your dad's death that's making you feel the need to settle down. 40 is not old. I was over 30 when I first migrated to Australia. My marriage broke up there. At 40 I met someone and we were together 10 years but we probably should've broken up after 5! I met my second husband when I was 51. Trust me, there is more time than you think for adventure at 40, don't don the cardigan and slippers just yet. It may not be everyone's experience, but one of the things I found hard about living in England (we tried to move back there three years ago) is that most women my age were very conscious of their "maturity" and their "need to behave sensibly", whereas here in Melbourne, women over 60 are intent on growing old disgracefully.

Did you not get written permission from your ex before you applied for the visa? That's what you are supposed to do. Did your ex supply written consent after they phoned him?

How long has she been in Australia? She should check if she needs a RRV

If you find an employer to sponsor you, it will be for 2 to 4 years - and that's all. So if you are hoping to stay permanently, it's a total waste of time. Applying for a partner visa is not really ceding any independence. You are applying for a visa in your own right. Your reason for wishing to apply is that you wish to live with your Australian partner. It's not about him applying to get you into the country. If you haven't been together long, then you may get a provisional visa for the first two years. That means, if the relationship breaks up, you lose the visa. However, after two years, you can apply to have the provisional visa transitioned to a permanent visa. Once that happens, the visa is yours forever, in your own right, whether the relationship endures or not.

A PR visa is short for "Permanent Residency Visa" and is what you need if you want to live and work in Australia permanently. Employers (usually) do not get involved in the visa application process at all. Provided you have qualifications and experience in an eligible occupation, you simply apply for the visa in your own right, wait until it's granted, move to Australia and then look for work. However there is several months' wait for such a visa and I'm assuming you needed to get to Australia to support your sister immediately. Assuming you are too old for a working holiday visa, then your only ways to get to Australia quickly were the tourist visa (which means you can't work or look for work) or the eVisitor for business purposes, which I think is what you've got at the moment. Other than the TSS (temporary visa) I'm not sure what your other options would be now.

I haven’t heard of them, but it’s possible that what they suggested is the only thing you could’ve done, assuming you weren’t able to wait the several months to get a PR visa.

Like I said, just check what minimum retirement age applies to you. You have to complete the 35 years before that date, even if you end up having to work longer. at least, that was the rule when I last checked.

Hornsby is generally nice but there are some rough areas which is where the cheaper houses may be. Homely.com.au has a suburb review section which is is useful

My gut feeling is that your future is in the UK but that, having a job to go to, you’d be mad not to return to Australia for a few years to get your citizenship.

Sponsorship is an expensive and complicated process for employers. If they have a choice between an acceptable candidate with a permanent visa, and an exceptional candidate with no visa, they’ll choose the former.

I would be pessimistic of being in a good catchment area for that rent.

What’s your definition of affordable

According to the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia, the average super balances at retirement were $292,500 for men and $138,150 for women. Add those two together and you're over the limit. And that is the average, so although a lot of people will have less, a lot of people will have more, too. Also, of course, it assumes you've got no other savings except the house.

It's certainly not a given. As you say, the first thing is to look at how many years you have already paid - but 35 years is a lot of years, so someone who's spent 20 years in Australia is unlikely to make the total. I'm pretty sure the 35 years has to be before you reach the minimum retirement age, not the actual age you retire. There are people who argue it's not worth paying because the British govt keeps increasing the pension age, and also the amount isn't much. Personally I've already earned back the amount I paid in.

Any professional couple who have spent most of their working life in Australia should easily have that kind of balance by the time they retire (unless they've been in one of those rip-off retail super funds).

For a permanent Australian resident, Medicare can cover everything - it's a question of letting your GP know that you don't want to use private services. You are covered for "essential treatment" on Medicare under the reciprocal agreement with the UK, regardless of what visa you are on, so I imagine you'd be OK. I would be concerned about embarking on pregnancy and motherhood on a 457. I suspect the employer will be annoyed to find that the person they employed to fill a vacancy for three/four years is suddenly going to be unavailable for work for a considerable chunk of the contract period. You may find they make life difficult for you, (and remember, they're not under any obligation to support your application for PR).

They would have to sponsor you on a TSS visa which is for 2-4 years. It’s fairly expensive and complicated for the employer so they don’t do it lightly