Marisawright

If course it is, if you get the same beans AND make it the same way on a properly cleaned and maintained machine, and you store the beans properly and use the right grind and use enough coffee grounds and don’t scald the milk... Like I said, we’re talking about having coffee in a cafe or restaurant where you don’t have control over any of those things

H&R Block is fine for simple stuff but if you have a property, better off with a proper tax agent, not somebody who did an evening course

You must declare all income to the Australian tax man wherever it is earned. You also declare any British tax already paid on that income, and that’s taken into account.

Yes, unfortunately RRV's are taking months in some cases. Due to cuts in staffing at Immigration, they're absolutely swamped and the government doesn't care - in fact, for things like new visas and citizenship, it suits their political agenda to go slow. If a RRV is straightforward, they seem to rubber-stamp them immediately. If an application has even the slightest thing that has to be double-checked, it goes in the pile to be checked.

I hope that's not how you make coffee - looks like Starbucks muck!

Yes, there is nothing stopping you going on a holiday for a few weeks while you wait. immigration may question you because they'll want to be sure you're just coming for a recce, and are not expecting to stay permanently.

WRussell is a highly experienced migration agent. If he says they consider your intent to move, then they do! In the past there were many people getting partner visas as a backstop - they had no real desire to move to Australia, they just wanted it as a backup plan in case things went awry in their own country. Australia disapproves of that kind of thing.

Nothing wrong with the coffee you can buy to make yourself, it's the coffee in cafés that's largely undrinkable. It's similar to how Poms feel when they move to some parts of Australia and find there's no local pub. It's not just the drink, it's the whole lifestyle that goes with it. If you've got used to a Sydney or Melbourne social life that revolves around cafés, you feel lost without it. It takes time to adapt to the idea that you've got to go to the pub instead.

The huge risk is that you’ll be relying on one immigration officer’s assessment of your intentions. You might be unlucky and he/she will decide that you’ve had ample time to move to Australia so clearly you’re not genuine about moving. Then you’ll be up the creek

It all comes down to what you’re used to. I was looking forward to fish and chips in my favourite chippie in Aberdeen but when I bought them, I didn’t like them. And my sisters still think they’re fabulous.

I thought they've introduced a residency requirement now? It's not relevant anyway as even if they weren't citizens, they'd get it under the reciprocal agreement.

https://www.gov.uk/apply-citizenship-british-parent https://www.gov.uk/check-british-citizen

To get back to your original question. You have a highly experienced agents advising you NOT to ship your goods on a tourist visa, and I agree. I am not an agent, but this is my understanding: It is not illegal to arrive in Australia on a tourist visa with the intent to apply for a longer-term visa. However, it is illegal to arrive in Australia on a tourist visa with the intent to remain permanently come hell or high water. It's up to the immigration officer on arrival to decide your intent. The question he will ask himself is - "If, for some reason, they don't get the Bridging Visa, will they do the right thing and go home? Or have they already gone too far down the road, and will refuse to leave regardless of visa?" If he decides the latter, you will be sent back on the plane and may get a three-year ban. If I were an immigration officer, faced with a couple who had already shipped all their worldly goods to Australia, I would be concerned you had already made up your mind, and might be tempted to remain in Australia even if the bridging visa is denied. You may be very upright, honest citizens, but the immigration officer can't judge your character. He can only judge you on your actions - and your actions are those of someone jumping the gun.

You are not getting answers because you are using the wrong terminology. It's extremely important to get used to using the right terminology now, so that if you are questioned by Immigration, you don't say or do things which might seriously affect our ability to enter and stay in Australia. From your previous posts, this is what I think you are planning to do: You have applied for a tourist visa. On arrival in Australia, you will immediately apply for the Aged 804 Visa. That should give you enough time to receive a Bridging Visa before your tourist visa expires. You will then very likely live out your days on the Bridging Visa. Terminology is important. For instance, if you said to an Immigration Officer, "we will apply for a 804 when our tourist visa expires", that would be saying you will wait until you are illegally in Australia before applying - not the impression you want to convey! You don't want to risk being refused entry due to a few careless words.

All your husband needs to do is renew his passport. Your daughters should be eligible for British citizenship "by descent" because their father is British, so they should just apply for British passports. As for you, the rules changed in 1983, so if you were born before then, I'm not sure what your status is. I'm sure someone else will know! You will be able to access the NHS immediately under the reciprocal agreement with Australia.

You have already answered your own question, then. You cannot get any kind of visa to visit your partner while you wait for your Prospective Marriage Visa.

What are your plans after 2019? If you are planning to stay in Australia after you arrive in 2019, then you do not need a RRV. You can stay in Australia forever without one. You need a RRV only if you need to leave Australia, e.g. for a holiday. To qualify for a full RRV, you must live for two years in Australia out of the preceding five years. If you do not meet the residency requirement, then you must demonstrate strong ties with Australia, e.g. you must own a house, have a job etc.

Just checking, is that 75K including superannuation, or is superannuation extra? I'm guessing it's likely to be excluding super, because otherwise it's a very low salary, but you should make extra sure. Consider that you're coming on a temporary contract with a 482. You're not migrating to Australia, you're just coming for an adventure - which isn't a bad idea, while your little one is still young enough not to have to worry about disruptions with schooling etc. However, you need to budget on the assumption that you'll be going home again in a few years. A lot of people read that you can transition to a permanent visa and think it's an easy process but it's certainly not. It's far from guaranteed that you'll be successful and in fact, it's getting more difficult all the time. Most people on temp contracts do end up going home at the end of the contract. So plan accordingly.

You need to get to the bottom of it by the sounds of things. Professional help is the only way to do that IMO

The constant moving around isn't typical of the "homebody" with a strong connection to home/family. Unless he was moving around because you were already some distance from his family in the UK and subconsciously, he wasn't comfortable with that? It does sound as though counselling is essential, because you really need to sit down and raise all these issues with him, and it sounds like you can't make him do that alone.

That's true - but I also think you're thinking of now, not of the future. There are pros and cons to both countries. Right now they'll have a lovely outdoor life in Australia which they might not get in the UK, depending where you end up. But when they get older, they will have far less choice of further education in Australia compared to the UK. Their career prospects will be more limited in Australia, especially if they go into business, because so many companies are moving their head offices out of Australia to Asia. Australia was lucky to escape the GFC that hit everywhere else, but the economy is now on the decline, so things are going to get worse not better, and you can't assume they'll be financially any better off here than there.

Some people are born to be nomads and can live anywhere. You are probably a nomad, like me. But a surprising number of people feel an enormously strong attachment to their homeland. They can't explain it, and there's nothing they can do about it. It's not just their family they miss, it's something elemental about the need to be where they belong. If your husband feels like that, he will never change. In fact, the feeling will just get worse and worse, the longer he is away from home. It's called situational depression and the only cure is to go back to where you belong. It's something I struggled to understand for a long time and I really thought people were exaggerating, but I've seen enough examples now that I understand how real it is. It's understandable that you want to stay, because you can see all the "quality of life" advantages - but for him, those mean nothing compared to the emptiness and sense of dislocation he feels. There's no way to change that, except to put him on anti-depressants and/or send him to therapy. So you've got a tough decision to make, and it's got to involve compromise of some kind. Perhaps you agree to go back, but instead of trying to be mortgage free, buy a house that you could be happy in, or move to a different part of the country which is more affordable? Perhaps you could agree to stay in Australia until the children are ready to start secondary school? Good luck with it.

I doubt it. Besides, it is unnecessary. You can open an Australian bank account with one of the Australian banks. Then transfer your funds using your Moneycorp account. You can do that before you arrive in Australia, if you wish. You should be able to access your money in your Australian bank account fairly quickly. That will be far more secure and safer than carrying a money order around with you.

Where did he hear about this "heredity entitlement" thing? I can't find any reference to it anywhere. He can claim "citizenship by descent" if one of his parents was an Australian citizen at the time of his birth. If they became citizens after he was born, that doesn't count. You say he held a PR visa until 1972. His permanent residency is still valid, it's just his right to enter Australia that has expired. Normally he would apply for a Resident's Return Visa (RRV) to be allowed back into the country, but whether he would be considered after such a long period away, I have no idea. He would have to demonstrate very strong ties to Australia. His only hope, I think, would be to engage a migration agent as I doubt he has a strong case for any kind of visa, and will need all an agent's expertise if he is to be successful.

As Quoll says, because you were resident in the UK immediately before your arrival in Australia, you will be covered by the reciprocal agreement, and you should register for a Medicare card. It's not full cover. It covers: medically necessary care out of hospital medically necessary care as a public patient in a public hospital prescription medicines at a lower price - this is the general rate for drugs in the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme It doesn’t cover: medicines that aren’t in the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme care planned before you got to Australia private hospital care public hospital care as a private patient ambulance travel dental care care from a physiotherapist, occupational therapist, speech therapist, eye therapist, chiropractor, podiatrist or psychologist glasses and contact lenses hearing aids and other devices prostheses care that isn’t clinically essential cosmetic surgery checks for life insurance or superannuation or to join a friendly society home nursing