Penny Bassett Posted May 2, 2021 Share Posted May 2, 2021 I arrived in Australia from UK , with a UK passport, on 5/12/2019 on a 6 month Tourist Visa 600. Due to COVID I applied for a 6 month extension which was granted. I then applied for a further extension till Aug 2021 which was also granted. I grew up in Australia but foolishly didn’t get citizenship. I married an Aussie and have 2 Australian children. We divorced in 1984. I am very nervous about returning to the UK; I am anxious about the vaccine; my UK home is occupied by some friends of my sons who couldn’t find accommodation because of COVID. Im thinking of applying for yet another extension OR can anyone suggest an alternative strategy please? Any suggestions greatly appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toots Posted May 2, 2021 Share Posted May 2, 2021 How have you managed to survive for over a year in Australia on a tourist visa? I should think that the UK is a fairly safe place to be now. Due to lockdown and Covid jabs, life there has improved no end. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveshe Posted May 2, 2021 Share Posted May 2, 2021 4 hours ago, Toots said: How have you managed to survive for over a year in Australia on a tourist visa? I should think that the UK is a fairly safe place to be now. Due to lockdown and Covid jabs, life there has improved no end. I was wondering the same thing . You cannot work and im amazed that what is supposed to be a short holiday visa can keep being renewed into an almost living here situation . I would of thought they would of said no reason not to go back to UK and refused any more extensions due to the UK being a lot more stable . 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted May 2, 2021 Share Posted May 2, 2021 I know I've heard agents like @paulhand say that if you once held a PR visa, it's always worth going for a RRV. Australian children sounds like a nice strong tie, but I assume having left in 1984 might be a bridge too far? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tulip1 Posted May 2, 2021 Share Posted May 2, 2021 (edited) 16 hours ago, Penny Bassett said: I arrived in Australia from UK , with a UK passport, on 5/12/2019 on a 6 month Tourist Visa 600. Due to COVID I applied for a 6 month extension which was granted. I then applied for a further extension till Aug 2021 which was also granted. I grew up in Australia but foolishly didn’t get citizenship. I married an Aussie and have 2 Australian children. We divorced in 1984. I am very nervous about returning to the UK; I am anxious about the vaccine; my UK home is occupied by some friends of my sons who couldn’t find accommodation because of COVID. Im thinking of applying for yet another extension OR can anyone suggest an alternative strategy please? Any suggestions greatly appreciated. The U.K. is doing very well regarding Covid so the worries you had last year won’t be applicable now. It’s not doing as good as Australia but it’s going well and numbers are low. Many hospitals have no Covid cases in them at all and the average dying from Covid is around 15 a day (almost all old/with health problems) Five months ago it was about 1500 a day so you can see how well the numbers are dropping. You can return feeling quite safe and get a vaccine shortly after arriving. If you don’t want a vaccine that’s up to you, it’s not compulsory. I’m not sure why your sons friends couldn’t find accommodation. Please be assured people have moved continuously throughout Covid and continue to do so whether by buying property or renting. The streets aren’t full of people that haven’t been able to find accommodation for the last 14 months. You just need to tell them it’s time to move on, they’ll have no problem doing so. Best of luck. Edited May 2, 2021 by Tulip1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tulip1 Posted May 2, 2021 Share Posted May 2, 2021 31 minutes ago, Marisawright said: I know I've heard agents like @paulhand say that if you once held a PR visa, it's always worth going for a RRV. Australian children sounds like a nice strong tie, but I assume having left in 1984 might be a bridge too far? She doesn’t say the children live in Australia though. It certainly sounds like at least one lives in the U.K. with the mention of their friends living in her house. I assume if they don’t live in Australia the tie isn’t there but could be wrong. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted May 3, 2021 Share Posted May 3, 2021 18 hours ago, Penny Bassett said: I grew up in Australia but foolishly didn’t get citizenship. I married an Aussie and have 2 Australian children. We divorced in 1984. I am very nervous about returning to the UK... @Penny Bassett, reading between the lines, would I be right in thinking you always felt British growing up and that's why you didn't take citizenship? If the only thing keeping you in Australia is Covid, and you wouldn't want to live here otherwise, then I'd stop fretting and just go home to the UK. Your son's friends claiming they can't get accommodation due to Covid sounds like an excuse to me. Now things are settling down, there is no reason they can't sort something out and they are just taking advantage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tulip1 Posted May 3, 2021 Share Posted May 3, 2021 5 hours ago, Marisawright said: @Penny Bassett, reading between the lines, would I be right in thinking you always felt British growing up and that's why you didn't take citizenship? If the only thing keeping you in Australia is Covid, and you wouldn't want to live here otherwise, then I'd stop fretting and just go home to the UK. Your son's friends claiming they can't get accommodation due to Covid sounds like an excuse to me. Now things are settling down, there is no reason they can't sort something out and they are just taking advantage. This is spot on. Either the OP wants to stay in Australia and is trying to find excuses as to why she can’t return (understandable, people will always try and find a way to have what they want) or they are worrying unnecessarily. By next month we will be out of lockdown bar a few safety measures. Even now you can go to any shops, sit outside pubs/cafes and go to gyms, sporting events etc. On 17th of this month pubs open indoors and the roadmap out of lockdown ends next month. I work in a busy market town and things are pretty much normal. People everywhere, shops busy (still being asked to socially distance and wear a mask) lots of people sitting outside the cafes/bars with a coffee/glass of wine. I went to a garden centre yesterday and it was very busy. Road traffic seems back to normal. The friends who haven’t been able to get accommodation seem to have found a great excuse to stay there and may well be taking advantage. There is no way Covid has stopped people securing rentals and certainly now things are near normal that excuse is very thin. Suggest the OP check out rightmove, they will see loads of rentals available, just as there would have been had she checked rightmove throughout lockdown. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penny Bassett Posted May 3, 2021 Author Share Posted May 3, 2021 Actually I ‘feel’ Australian because this is where I grew up. I was 6 when our family arrived from the UK in 1956. When I returned to live in the UK I had an Australian husband and 2 Aussie children with me - we didn’t think about it back then, 1978. We had right of entry to the UK and Australia. Hindsight is a wonderful thing. One of my children lives in the UK and the other in Perth, WA. Each visa extension I have applied for has cost money. The original one was $50, the first extension $120 and the second one $1300. I’m not asking for anything for nothing . I haven’t cost the Australian taxpayer one cent and I’ve spent thousands and thousands of dollars. I had hoped I might get some helpful advice rather than what feels to be criticism Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toots Posted May 3, 2021 Share Posted May 3, 2021 I am no visa expert but could you not apply for one of the parent visas. @paulhand may be able to advise you. It's not easy to stay permanently in Australia without PR or citizenship as I'm sure you're aware. Best of luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penny Bassett Posted May 3, 2021 Author Share Posted May 3, 2021 Thanks TOOTS I looked at the parent visa a few years ago - I think they have a yearly quota, a long waiting list, and it’s very expensive. I’ll contact the person you suggested Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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