Ashmandu Posted July 20, 2021 Share Posted July 20, 2021 Hi all, My family (wife and 2 children) are in the process of arranging a permanent move back to the UK. She is Japanese so we are applying for a UK visa. The current stipulations about leaving Australia for more than 30 days appear a little ambiguous. My family are all citizens or permanent residents of Australia. The government website advises exemptions are provided if: https://covid19.homeaffairs.gov.au/leaving-australia#toc-7 you are travelling outside Australia for a compelling reason for three months or longer Does anyone have any experience of what a 'compelling reason' is? The UK visa is very expensive and I don't want to fail at the last hurdle by not being allowed out of the country by the Australian government. To be clear, we will all have a one way ticket, relevant passports or visa for UK. I will have also quit my job and terminated my rental contract. Any advice would be greatly appreciated, are there an keys words to include on the exemption request? Warm regards, Ash Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted July 20, 2021 Share Posted July 20, 2021 The first thing is to complete the Statutory Declaration on the official form and have it witnessed by a JP as required. Your compelling reason is that you are leaving to live permanently in the UK. The important thing is to provide evidence. You attach evidence that you have genuinely wound up your life in Australia - a copy of your notice to your employer and to your landlord, a copy of the confirmed quote for shipping all your belongings, and anything else you can think of. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoEire Posted July 20, 2021 Share Posted July 20, 2021 There's a really good facebook group called 'Australian Travel & Exemption Support' which is very active. People give information as they are approved - including the documents they provided, the text they included in their stat decs and any tips and tricks they've picked up. I'd highly recommend a look! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted July 20, 2021 Share Posted July 20, 2021 7 minutes ago, RoEire said: There's a really good facebook group called 'Australian Travel & Exemption Support' which is very active. People give information as they are approved - including the documents they provided, the text they included in their stat decs and any tips and tricks they've picked up. I'd highly recommend a look! If you're moving permanently and provide convincing evidence to that effect, you're not likely to need any tips and tricks. It's people who need to leave temporarily who are facing huge hurdles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoEire Posted July 20, 2021 Share Posted July 20, 2021 Just now, Marisawright said: If you're moving permanently and provide convincing evidence to that effect, you're not likely to need any tips and tricks. It's people who need to leave temporarily who are facing huge hurdles. I've seen people on there who have applied for permanent moves and been rejected, where others were able to give them advice, so I still think it's worth it for tips about what documents to provide. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashmandu Posted July 21, 2021 Author Share Posted July 21, 2021 Thank you all for the feedback. I've looked at the FB group 'Australian Travel & Exemption Support' and it is a great source of information. There doesn't seem to be any certainty of approval even if it is a 1 way move. I'll update in a few week after I've received an approval or rejection! Ash 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon the Hat Posted July 21, 2021 Share Posted July 21, 2021 14 hours ago, Ashmandu said: Thank you all for the feedback. I've looked at the FB group 'Australian Travel & Exemption Support' and it is a great source of information. There doesn't seem to be any certainty of approval even if it is a 1 way move. I'll update in a few week after I've received an approval or rejection! Ash I think if you have the evidence of ending your lease, quitting your job, chucking many £££s at the UK govt for a visa etc. you should be fine. Seems to me lots of people are applying before they have done any of those things, and that is much harder. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted July 22, 2021 Share Posted July 22, 2021 (edited) 10 hours ago, Jon the Hat said: I think if you have the evidence of ending your lease, quitting your job, chucking many £££s at the UK govt for a visa etc. you should be fine. Seems to me lots of people are applying before they have done any of those things, and that is much harder. I think that's true. I know one person who got refused because they didn't complete the statutory declaration, and another refused because he just submitted the statutory declaration and no evidence. I keep being told about all these people who get refused when moving permanently, but when I ask for concrete examples, no one can give me one. It always turns out that they failed to provide some or all of the evidence. Not denying there are many being denied for temporary moves, of course. The good thing is that applying costs nothing and if you're denied, you can apply again immediately. Edited July 22, 2021 by Marisawright Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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