The Brand New PIO Parents Visa thread

Hi Junemel,

 

I have sent them an email last Friday. It has been 5 working days and still no luck. I am getting tired of dealing with public services. USELESS!

 

Gill mentioned that you can access to their mannual guide through a state library system. I am quite interested to find out the info but tied to work at the moment, busy with coming year end reporting etc. will find time in the next few weeks to have a look.

 

When did you lodge application to switch to 143 and how long does it take you to be allocated a CO pls? We have been waiting for almost one month. 1st instalment has been taken out but nothing happened yet, no confirmation letter as yet..

 

would appreciate if you share your info too.. thanks

 

Wennie

Hi Wennie,

We lodged 103 on AUg 2006, we only have CO and queue number allocated on 11/08 ( don't know why it took so long).

The CO I mentioned in my post is the CO allocated for our 103 application. We have only lodged our 143 a couple of days ago, so far nothing has happened.

How long did it take for the 1st installment taken after you lodged?

Junemel

I think I'm right in believing you have 5 years to validate a 143 but does anyone know if I need to validate a 173 and if so how long do I have? (assuming it would be granted)

Phoebe

Hi June,

It took them 2 weeks to take the 1st VAC, we are still waiting for further notice, it has been a month now.

Did you have any reply from the manager that Gill referred to? Pls keep us update.. thanks

Wennie.

I've just spent an enjoyable few minutes trawling through this post which has a quite different flavour to the BE thread. After several hiccups along the way we now have our 143 visa which we validated in April as we are not in a position to make the permanent move yet. We have just received a second offer on our house (the first buyers pulled out) and I am more hopeful for this couple. I think when you overhear them chatting about installing their furniture it's a good thing! Like others here we are very, very nervous about the future. We are 69 & 61 respectively and both still working here in the UK and have a rather comfortable lifestyle. This is bound to change since unless I can find work we will be living on our combined pensions. After paying the huge amount to get our visa and allowing for removal costs we will be woefully short of sufficient capital to buy a house outright. It was always going to be skin of the teeth stuff but with the combination of the economic downturn, awful exchange rate and sky high house prices in Perth we are ready to bow to the inevitable. We have already investigated getting a mortgage but this was when the exchange rate was 2.2:1, however, it would still be cheaper than renting. Somedays, like today, when I look at the detritus of 23 years living in the same house I think we must be mad but then I look at the photos of the family and our 4 grandchildren (soon to be 5) enjoying their down under lifestyle I say bring it on. Incidentally, has anyone had any experience of obtaining a mortgage in their more senior years.

I've just spent an enjoyable few minutes trawling through this post which has a quite different flavour to the BE thread. After several hiccups along the way we now have our 143 visa which we validated in April as we are not in a position to make the permanent move yet. We have just received a second offer on our house (the first buyers pulled out) and I am more hopeful for this couple. I think when you overhear them chatting about installing their furniture it's a good thing! Like others here we are very, very nervous about the future. We are 69 & 61 respectively and both still working here in the UK and have a rather comfortable lifestyle. This is bound to change since unless I can find work we will be living on our combined pensions. After paying the huge amount to get our visa and allowing for removal costs we will be woefully short of sufficient capital to buy a house outright. It was always going to be skin of the teeth stuff but with the combination of the economic downturn, awful exchange rate and sky high house prices in Perth we are ready to bow to the inevitable. We have already investigated getting a mortgage but this was when the exchange rate was 2.2:1, however, it would still be cheaper than renting. Somedays, like today, when I look at the detritus of 23 years living in the same house I think we must be mad but then I look at the photos of the family and our 4 grandchildren (soon to be 5) enjoying their down under lifestyle I say bring it on. Incidentally, has anyone had any experience of obtaining a mortgage in their more senior years.

Hi CathnTone

We are also headed to Perth to join our daughter and are also a bit scared about Perth house prices. When we first decided to apply for a CPV it seemed a great idea and now we have been having a few wobbles, especially when the weather has been so good here. But as you say, you can't put a price on being with family.

Hi Cathntone

I've heard that the clever way to organise a house for one's Parents to live in is for the children (your children) to buy a second house. They need to cover the mortgage on the second house so they let the second house to their Parents.

I don't know the details about how and why this scheme is said to work because it isn't a sensible option with my elderly, widowed Mum so we haven't looked into it. However, I gather that ownership of the second property is said to give the children an attractive tax break. It shows that they are making prudent provisions for their old age or something similar.

I don't know anything more about it than I have said but I know at least 6 families who have arranged things in this way, so I think there must be something in it with the idea of the tax break for the adult children.

Cheers

Gill

Hi June,

 

It took them 2 weeks to take the 1st VAC, we are still waiting for further notice, it has been a month now.

 

Did you have any reply from the manager that Gill referred to? Pls keep us update.. thanks

 

Wennie.

Hi Wennie,

I sent an email to parent@immi.gov.au about 2 weeks ago with no reply yet. I sent an email to the manager that Gill refered to this morning and got a reply this afternoon, very impressed!!

Also the good news is that he confirmed what Gill said is correct that you only have to pay the rate for the 2nd installment as when you lodge your 103 not 143, so this is great news!.

If you hear otherwise from your CO, let me know, I can probably forward the email to you as reference ( xhj@hotmail.com).

June

I've just caught up on this thread and I'm pleased to see that, for now at least, it's a sticky. I can at last check here regularly. I hope the adhesive is stronger than that which was applied to the last one!

There are some really useful posts here, thanks to everyone. A recurring theme is the great challenge facing us would-be older migrants in ramping up our costs in the face of uncertain income prospects. This will mean leaving the comfortable home and finding rented accommodation in many cases, at the mercy of property agents, home inspections etc.; sometimes leaving safe jobs and putting oneself in front of employment agencies staffed with people who don't realise they are looking at their futures (by the way - best not to bother putting yourself through this imho).

The emotional pull seems to be stronger than all those negative factors.

Although there's no point in having a 103 tracker, it's good to have a thread that is wider than the CPV, because we're all aiming for the same thing. If time permits I think I'll try to do the same for the tracker site.

Short of time now, but I'll have another read when it's quieter.

Best wishes

Steve

And another thing in this thread's favour; Gill's here!

Well said,sandch, there must be so many of us facing this problem,we havent even started our journey yet.looks like a long hard road...

Hi caththone,

There are so many of us in the same position and age. When we started with this, it all looked so possible but then wallop everything changed and now, especially at 4 in the morning, it is so scary. then at dawn and looking at the family photos, hey, do we really need to eat anyway, perhaps family kisses with do the job.

Hi

Yesterday I posted the message below on the CPV thread.

As I newbie, I have no right to criticise, but can I make a positive suggestion: Might it not be a good idea to merge these two threads, which currently have 17 pages (CPV) and 9 pages (Parents)? I appreciate that the latter is broader in scope, but there is also a lot of overlap and it might be easier to pool everyone's wisdom and experience in one thread.

Anyhow...

---------

We're new here, but not new to Australia.

We're Sydney-bound, and today (28.06.10) our bank account is $1705 lighter, as the PVC has taken its first bite in its efforts to bankrupt us (just joking) on our route to a type 173 and eventually 143 visa. This was exactly a week after our paperwork was delivered to Perth. Hopefully it's a good omen, as today is also our 41st wedding anniversary.

We feel a bit as if we're cheats on this thread, in fact, as we are many-times visitors to Australia (going back 45 years in Mike's case, to the time when Poms didn't need a visa or even a work permit to walk into Oz and start work the next day!). Then we spent 18 months in Sydney in the '80s as a family, while I did some work for Reader's Digest (the illustrated books side). (I'm an editor/writer, now more or less retired.)

Now our only close family – daughter, son-in-law and 2 g/children – live there, and we ourselves even own a 'unit' (having downsized our London home about five years ago to make this possible), and head down under on tourist visas each southern summer. But it's time to make it a bit more permanent while still healthy (we hope – meds are our only serious worry, so we may be seeking your advice at some point, Gollywobbler/Gill).

In fact it's got to the point where we have more Sydney friends than London ones (partly because many have moved from London to the country – you know, the place where they have cows and other four-legged beasts!). So we know Sydney well – and other parts of Oz somewhat less well – and would be more than happy to share info that others might find useful.

What's completely new is the visa business – particularly the CPV type. Apart from in the '80s, we've only been involved with online tourist visas up to now. So now it gets expensive (in terms of both money and fingernails!).

All the very best to everyone in a similar position (and those who have jumped the hurdle)

Mike 'n' Sue

London NW3

Hi caththone,

There are so many of us in the same position and age. When we started with this, it all looked so possible but then wallop everything changed and now, especially at 4 in the morning, it is so scary. then at dawn and looking at the family photos, hey, do we really need to eat anyway, perhaps family kisses with do the job.

Hey, Yomvard

I haven't been ignoring your last e-mail just because I couldn't be bothered to answer it.

I've been waiting to see how the roller-coaster of migrating to Australia would develop.

The major developments have only come to my attention fully in the last 3 weeks or so. If you were to scrap your current application for a CPV and to apply for a non-contributory Parent Visa sc 103 instead, firstly it would cost you another $1,735 to apply for it. Since the quota for them has just been halved - to 700 visas a year - the PVC said recently that somebody applying today can expect to wait for 22 years if the quota stays at 700 visas a year. Your little grandbaby would be an adult before you reached Australia permanently, plus you would be knocking on the door of Old Age more than slightly.

If you don't take the risk, effectively you are looking at spending the rest of your life with only occasional and short visits to your sons and their children in Oz.

At the time when you applied in April 2009, the 2nd Instalment was $32,725 per Parent and that is what you will have to pay. If you were preparing your application today, though, the 2nd Instalment would be $37,965 each.

There are jobs - even on the Mornington Peninsula - for new immigrants who would obviously turn up for work with 100% reliability every day. They may not be the jobs that you and Colin would like but trust me, you could do them if they would pay the bills. Mum will be 90 this year, plus she is in a wheelchair, but she has two little "jobs" that she does at home and she takes them both frightfully seriously.

One of the jobs is to do with fishing tackle. Mum ties the flies and then one of her grandsons (now 13 and 16) does something in the shed involving wire. With her grandson doing the wire and Mum doing the flies, the two of them earn about $100 a week from the business.

With the other grandson, the job is junk mail. Apparently Mum folds hundreds of leaflets every week and puts them into plastic envelopes. Rain or shine, her grandson then goes out on his bike and delivers them round the neighbourhood at weekends. Personally I'd like to strangle the brats who bring similar rubbish to me every weekend, but I smile and traipse out to the recycling bin with it because I can see that it is worthwhile for these teenaged boys to learn the value of money and that if you don't work, you don't get the money either. Apparently the junk mail is worth another $100 or so a week, divided between Mum and the other grandson.

My sister and her husband Neil are tough with their two boys. When the boys complain about the jobs, they get told, "Your grandmother isn't whingeing and she is nearly 90! So what the hell is the matter with you? Grow up and get over it, whatever it is, because if you don't do it, there will be no money for you and we'll get the neighbours' children to help your grandmother instead." They don't give their children any pocket money because they believe that their children are now old enough to be capable of earning their own.

In other families, the dynamic is different. Savta is an absolute darling and she lives in Melbourne. She and her husband Chaim are in their 70s. They have a 2 bedroomed Unit 3 streets away from their daughter. Who has a son. This boy was 15 a couple of years ago. Savta sent me a newsy e-mail. Apparently the boy had fallen out with his own parents, was determined to run away etc and he phoned Savta asking if he could borrow some money. Savta is the original Jewish Momma. She demanded,"Have you eaten anything this morning???!!!" He had not. He was in too much of a paddy with his parents to worry about food.

Savta told him to come straight over to her and to bring his jamas in case he wanted to stay overnight, plus she told him that jamas are a 'must have' item for running away. Chaim had been sent to the shops to get everything that the boy might like for breakfast. The boy was on his way on his bicycle, so Savta had to truncate the e-mail to me in order to take charge of the family situation instead. I chuckled for days and I still smile about it now! She did tell me that once they were living in Melbourne on their CPVs 143, she and Chaim regretted that they had not obtained PR in Oz until 2007. They had had 15 years in which to do it (since their daughter is married to an Aussie) but they had a son on the UK, aged about 33.

He insisted that he didn't want to move to Oz, so Savta & Chaim had done nothing. As soon as their son heard that his parents were moving to Oz, he changed his mind so now they all live in Melbourne.

The dynamic does alter from one family to the next. However, if you are not there then there are no choices to make about the dynamic either.

I am 100% sure that your sons are telling you, "Stop wittering and yapping, Mother. Get out here with PR and we'll sort everything else out once you arrive."

Cheers

Gill

Hi caththone,

There are so many of us in the same position and age. When we started with this, it all looked so possible but then wallop everything changed and now, especially at 4 in the morning, it is so scary. then at dawn and looking at the family photos, hey, do we really need to eat anyway, perhaps family kisses with do the job.

Hello to everyone who is feeling like us, thanks for your replies. It is the middle of the night that this emigration lark is at its scariest (then and when I open our garage door). Also thank you to Gill for the suggestion about the possible tax breaks available if one of our offspring decided to buy a house for us to rent. Of our 3 daughters in Perth, only one would be in a position to do this and I'm just not sure whether she would go for it. I think we will have to look at this possibility in more detail when we get there.

Oh well, onwards and upwards.

Can anyne explain in laymans terms re 413...

Initially we were thinking of 173 to 143 as we have a son still in UK, however after much thought we have decided to go straight for the 143 BUT.....I am now reading/hearing that once you have the 143 you need other 'attachments' to come back to the UK and now I'm SO confused.

The idea was to apply for 143 and if/when granted go for a holiday to validate it come back home then prepare to return for 12 months leaving the house 'intact', get a small (cheap) rental close to the family and do a good 'rekki' of the area where we would like to settle, then come back to the UK to start wrapping things up for a permanant move. This being the case we would want to come back to the UK couple times a year to see our son. If on the other hand we (for whatever reason) we cant settle we would just come back to the UK, kiss goodbye to the money but at least say we gave it a go.

Please can anyone explain the 143 to me. Sorry to be a pest but I'm very new to this

Thankyou in advance

Phoebe

Hello to everyone who is feeling like us, thanks for your replies. It is the middle of the night that this emigration lark is at its scariest (then and when I open our garage door). Also thank you to Gill for the suggestion about the possible tax breaks available if one of our offspring decided to buy a house for us to rent. Of our 3 daughters in Perth, only one would be in a position to do this and I'm just not sure whether she would go for it. I think we will have to look at this possibility in more detail when we get there.

 

Oh well, onwards and upwards.

Hi Cathntone,

We have two daughters in Perth and like you will look at all the angles more closely when we get there but we are getting advice to try and get an understanding of this quite complicated tax and pension situation, if we have to be beach bums it will all be worth it. Persistence Pays but we all need Parental Patience :cute:

Hi

 

Yesterday I posted the message below on the CPV thread.

 

As I newbie, I have no right to criticise, but can I make a positive suggestion: Might it not be a good idea to merge these two threads, which currently have 17 pages (CPV) and 9 pages (Parents)? I appreciate that the latter is broader in scope, but there is also a lot of overlap and it might be easier to pool everyone's wisdom and experience in one thread.

 

Mike 'n' Sue

London NW3

As a newbie you can still have good ideas.:notworthy:

Can anyne explain in laymans terms re 413...

 

Initially we were thinking of 173 to 143 as we have a son still in UK, however after much thought we have decided to go straight for the 143 BUT.....I am now reading/hearing that once you have the 143 you need other 'attachments' to come back to the UK and now I'm SO confused.

 

The idea was to apply for 143 and if/when granted go for a holiday to validate it come back home then prepare to return for 12 months leaving the house 'intact', get a small (cheap) rental close to the family and do a good 'rekki' of the area where we would like to settle, then come back to the UK to start wrapping things up for a permanant move. This being the case we would want to come back to the UK couple times a year to see our son. If on the other hand we (for whatever reason) we cant settle we would just come back to the UK, kiss goodbye to the money but at least say we gave it a go.

 

Please can anyone explain the 143 to me. Sorry to be a pest but I'm very new to this

 

Thankyou in advance

Phoebe

Hello Phoebe

The 143 visa is more expensive but is a permanent resident visa. The 173 is essentially a temporary visa which allows you within 2 years to "convert" to a 143.

With the 173 you don't need to stump up a bond ($14,000 for a couple) or have an assurer; you only need to do this when you decide to convert.

You would lose much less money of course by going for that one initially if you were concerned that you might not be able to settle.

There are pros and cons of course - as with everything!

Cheers

Steve

Hi Gill and all,

regarding the 2nd VAC when you switched from 103 to 143, this is a reply from the immi manager.

"The policy is that as the new application is essentially a fresh

application it uses that dates in relation to the second visa application

charge.This is not withstanding that the queue date is the one lodged for the 103.

There may be some changes afoot and we will be looking at the policy and

the equity of it shortly but at this point in time it is the second vac at

time of the sc 143 application not the original sc103"

I have gone back and asked about the time frame regarding the changes afoot, and also express my point that there is inconsistency when 173 switched to 143, the 2nd VAC is dependant on the time of 173.

Anyway, good luck to all..

Wennie

Can anyne explain in laymans terms re 413...

 

Initially we were thinking of 173 to 143 as we have a son still in UK, however after much thought we have decided to go straight for the 143 BUT.....I am now reading/hearing that once you have the 143 you need other 'attachments' to come back to the UK and now I'm SO confused.

 

The idea was to apply for 143 and if/when granted go for a holiday to validate it come back home then prepare to return for 12 months leaving the house 'intact', get a small (cheap) rental close to the family and do a good 'rekki' of the area where we would like to settle, then come back to the UK to start wrapping things up for a permanant move. This being the case we would want to come back to the UK couple times a year to see our son. If on the other hand we (for whatever reason) we cant settle we would just come back to the UK, kiss goodbye to the money but at least say we gave it a go.

 

Please can anyone explain the 143 to me. Sorry to be a pest but I'm very new to this

 

Thankyou in advance

Phoebe

Hi again PhoebeW

I am not quite sure what you mean by 'attachments'? However, are you referring to the 'Resident Return Visa'? When you are granted your CPV143, you are given a date by which you have to validate your visa. This is usually a year from the date of the police checks or medicals, whichever is earliest.

Once you have validated you get five years (from the date of the grant letter, I think - I am sure someone will correct me if not) to come and go as you please. You need to settle permanently in Oz before the five years are up to avoid the complications I think you are talking about.

Assuming that you went over to Oz immediately, after 4 years you could then apply to become Australian citizens. and would be able to come and go as you please on your OZ passport.

However, if you came and went frequently before the five years are up it becomes a bit more complicated. As already explained, the CPV gives you freedom to come and go for five years. After the five years, unless you have become a citizen, if you want to leave the country for any reason, in order to be allowed back in again, you would need to apply for a Resident Return Visa - not in itself complicated. BUT, in order to be granted the Resident Return Visa, you need to have spent at least TWO of the five years in Australia, obviously because Oz want to know that you are committed to settling there. This means, that in order to avoid complications, it is really advisable to move to settle permanently in Oz within THREE years of the CPV being granted. I hope this makes sense!

You can find more details here:

Category:Australia : British Expat Wiki

With regard to the two years, I am not sure if this would need to be a continuous period, probably not, so it may not be affected by holidays and such. I do know that when you apply for citizenship, which my daughter has done, they simply deduct any periods of time spent outside Oz, for holidays etc.

Hi,

Also when you have finally become citizens don't leave the country on your British passport. Citizenship cancels your residents visa, so you must have a Aussie passport before you travel. I just nearly got caught by that one.

Of course, it does tell you this in the small print, but after the euphoria of getting citizenship we kind of forgot about it. Thanks to a Scots lady in the queue at Coles I didn't make this mistake.

Hi Cathntone,

 

We have two daughters in Perth and like you will look at all the angles more closely when we get there but we are getting advice to try and get an understanding of this quite complicated tax and pension situation, if we have to be beach bums it will all be worth it. Persistence Pays but we all need Parental Patience :cute:

I aree, this pensions lark is a nightmare. I have seen lots of threads for younger people re pensions and transferring to Oz and it seems fairly straightforward in that your employer can get involved in the transfer, but maybe we could start a new thread for us oldies, some of whom will probably not be working. We could share any information, recommendations etc. I know everyone's case is different but there must be some general tips and info we could share. Incidentally we ae also headed to Perth.

Hi MikenSueNW3

Read your post with interest - we are similar in visits/anniversaries/lived NW4.

We planned to emigrate once I retired Dec 06, we applied for a 143 through Go Matilda

(Alan/Lorraine) in May07, visa grant Feb09 and finally arrived Jul09. Both children in Lilyfield

and we bought in Liechhard Sep09. Happy to pass on experiences

Graham and Anne

Hi MikenSueNW3

 

Read your post with interest - we are similar in visits/anniversaries/lived NW4.

We planned to emigrate once I retired Dec 06, we applied for a 143 through Go Matilda

(Alan/Lorraine) in May07, visa grant Feb09 and finally arrived Jul09. Both children in Lilyfield

and we bought in Liechhard Sep09. Happy to pass on experiences

 

Graham and Anne

Hello Graham and Anne

Welcome to PIO! You'll find a lot of similarities to others on this thread, not least, the children on Oz.

Our daughter is in Russell Lea and we have visited four times already, last time in January this year.

I am coming on my own in September to see a new aussie, due July 12th!

We use the pool at Leichard and run the Bay Run (in my case walk!).

It is a lovely area and I am quite envious of you living there. We still have one daughter here in Wiltshire with her husband and our first granddaughter, so we can't make a move yet. I am still holding on to the hope that we will all be together there at some point.

One question for you, how long before you get used to the high heat/humidity that descends occasionally? The temperature was 39 when we arrived in January and didn't get much cooler even at night. Sadly it put off our SIL and he is quite adamant now that he doesn't want to live where it is so hot.

Anyway, I am sure your knowledge will be much appreciated on the forum, so again welcome!

Pam

One question for you, how long before you get used to the high heat/humidity that descends occasionally? The temperature was 39 when we arrived in January and didn't get much cooler even at night. Sadly it put off our SIL and he is quite adamant now that he doesn't want to live where it is so hot.

 

Pam

I think the honest answer, Pam, is "never"!. We too were in Sydney during January and February this year (apart from a lucky escape during the hottest spell to South Island NZ – a "visa renewal" run, as we were on 3-month eVisitor visas), and all our Sydney friends complained that it was the hottest and stickiest summer they could remember. We were certainly thankful for the aircon in our unit.

Sydney is generally humid in summer, especially in February, but not always as bad as 2010. Many Sydneysiders in fact say that their best season is winter, when it is "cold" – ie, in the teens C, merely cool to us Poms! – but the sky is often clear and blue. If you want to visit in summer but avoid the worst humidity, the best bet is usually – though not guaranteed – over Christmas and New Year. Or leave it till Easter.

In our experience, Perth has the "best" climate in Oz – often hot, but much drier. Although we've not been there, Darwin is said to be the worst. And, of course there's the old joke about Melbourne having all four seasons in one day! In the Sydney area, the Blue Mountains are generally much cooler and more temperate than the Sydney basin itself.

Mike