Les Avalook
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Everything posted by Les Avalook
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Yes it does seem unbelievable, did you book that rate in October 2008? Looking back at my transfers for all of 2009 the best rate I ever got was $2.23 in January and February 2009 before the long slide below $2 (which it has never hit again) ending the year at $1.76. You must of been very very lucky to have got $2.415. :yes:
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Don't even go there. :nah:
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http://www.immi.gov.au/migrants/family/parent/143/ About this Visa This visa allows parents to migrate to Australia permanently, to join their children who are living in Australia. This visa requires that you be sponsored by your child, or another eligible sponsor, in Australia. Who is this visa for? This visa is for you if you are a parent of a child or stepchild who, at the time the visa application is lodged, is 'settled' and either an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen. This means your child must have been lawfully resident in Australia for a reasonable period, normally two years, although a shorter period can be considered for Australian citizen children if there are compelling and compassionate circumstances. :wubclub:
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The CO is the one that will tell you if your sponsor is settled, that is why Alan Collett is warning against putting in the application to early as you will have made your first payment. Unless you use an agent each of us decides when we apply so Perth is not really 'ripping' us off if the application is put in to early. :wubclub:
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Good point Mike, maybe if we all posted how many months was used below 24 that led to a successful visa application we could have a clearer idea what is getting through. :idea: If anyone has been turned down because of early application maybe they could post some details.
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The picture was taken on Frazer Island in 'winter' August 2008, about 10 years after we had taken our 2 sons on their first trip to Oz. Our eldest son (then 14) at the time said that driving the trucks on Frazer Island would be his dream job. Well he did the working/living in Oz bit and he could fix the trucks if he needed to. :biggrin: We applied in early September 2009 when there was a lot of talk on here (this forum) of what the settled time meant. We applied ourselves and while out in Oz in August 2009 collected receipt copies of everything our son and d-i-l had bought in Oz since they had moved there in end of May 2008. We got letters from their Australian friends saying how they had adopted the Oz life style, wedding invitations, letters from employers etc, they both wrote how they would feel even more settle if they had the support of family members (us). All of this evidence was sent with our application which after the long 15 month wait was accepted by our CO. Personally I would apply as soon as possible if you feel you can manage with the current exchange rate. Good Luck. Les.
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Hi Nickky, for your son to sponsor you he will need to show earnings of approx $40,000 in one complete tax year and proof that he will do the same in the current tax year, this may or may not have a bearing on how soon he can sponsor you. We waited 15 months before we applied with our son sponsoring us, he had by then bought a house, cars, dog, furniture and what clinched it a BBQ. :laugh:
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Hi Angie, we did the drip feed into our son's off set mortgage account so we had no overseas income to declare to HMRC, when the time came to pay 2nd vac they withdrew money and sent an Oz bank cheque to Perth, worked for us. To us it seemed better to have our son able to control the money that was sent to Oz rather than have to visit the bank in Oz, not a lot of use having $75,000 in Oz if you can't access it. :wink:
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To be fair they don't say that, they suggest 2 years, there is not a actual time rule. Usual government fudge. :wubclub:
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This 'stronger line' seems odd given that people are paying for the visa and it has been suggested they are having problems filling the allocated 143 places this year. With talk of the non-CPV allocation being doubled I would of thought anyone willing to pay to get in would be welcome. Some time frame is needed IMHO but maybe 1 year could be used plus the CPV application time would give approx 2 years to CPV finial payment from child's arrival in Oz. We applied after 15 months in 2009, 2 months after our son and d-i-y bought their 'house', no problem then. Not suggesting that would work now.
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:idea: Many moons ago at a much better exchange rate we used a Nationwide Visa Debit card for regular transfers into Aud $. When the rate dropped below $1.70 we stopped using it. Then Nationwide last year introduced a 2% fee plus a £1 per cash withdrawal when outside the EU. Last week, when on our flyer, I thought I would see what that meant in cost terms. On 31st May I withdrew $200. Nationwide exchanged at a rate of $1.534, plus 2% of the charge for the exchange which was £130.32 (£2.60), plus the £1 charge giving a total cost to me of £133.92. The total cost of £133.92 means an effective rate of $1.4934 on the day, looking back at the exchange rate movements for that day that's not too bad for a small amount. I could of exchanged $400 and still only had the £1 charge giving an exchange rate of $1.499. The downside to this method is you do not know what the rate will be at the time. In the old days we often used to do $500 at a time, now the ATMs will not let me withdraw $500 as it exceeds Nationwides £300 limit. Oh for the good old days. :wubclub:
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Well we made it back, 2 weekend flights straight through to Brisbane and back via Singapore, only 24 hours of screaming kids in cattle class each way, why don't they offer a adult only section on the plane? Our heads are still muzzy, we have agreed that that this time the straight through flight seemed to take more of a toll than when we did it two years ago, old age creeping up I guess. Sorry to read some of you are having issues but lots of support from the replies. One down side is that this whole procedure takes so long that even the most positive people seem to lose some enthusiasm because of the length of time it takes to get through the process. It is good to find you are not alone with your feelings and unlike another site you can air them and get a mental boost when you need it most. The best part is reading the posts from those that have made it and how quickly the trials and tribulations of the process slide to the back of their minds. We only have one crack at this life, no rehearsals, so we do hope it comes good in the end for those that are going to try 'plan B'. :wubclub:
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We have 2 Slankets we got off Amazon for the evenings. :wink: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Slanket-SKLI-Limoges/dp/B00284GMW6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=kitchen&qid=1307001735&sr=8-1 Toasty :cool: Not needed yet but maybe when we get old and gray. Should that read just read grayer? :biglaugh:
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To add to above, the UK state pension and local government pension will convert to $ at almost par and then appear in your Oz bank account. Par means a rate of exchange we cannot hope to get for any Forex transfer we make, we can only beat the average rate if we get lucky and let it build up and then pick a 'good day'. The thing to consider is, do you want the best rate once month or do you feel 'lucky'? :idea:If you have a bank that will charge to receive your pension that way I would open an account with a Oz bank that will not charge and then transfer the $s to your favorite bank. Our son's Commonwealth Bank has never charged for any transfer we have made to him, I don't know about other banks. :wubclub:
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:idea: If any Poms are still in the UK make yourself sick to death of BANANAS $12.99 a kilo:swoon: in Oz!!!!!!!! :idea: Any Poms on the way out remember it is 2.25 litres of duty free you can bring into Oz (each person) as spirits cost an average of $45 a litre :shocked::shocked: P.S. The sun is free. :laugh:
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Hi Mike, I have accounts with all 3 and have only used UK/OzForex as each time I have transferred they gave the best rate, I usually transfer at least $15,000 so do not know how they match on smaller amounts. I have not done any transfers since the $1.62 spike in April. :no: Sitting here in sunny Brisbane still swaying from our straight through flight on Saturday, awake at 3.00am this morning still not on one time zone or another. We catch the return flight this Saturday ready???? for work Monday but with our visas validated.:biggrin: Used Sinapore airlines for our 80kgs allowance, heart stopping moment at check-in Heathrow when they said they do not allow 80kgs on return flights :shocked: but we asked them to check and a phone call later on it went. :idea:Word of warning, 80kgs plus 2 walk-on flight bags take up a lot of space and are not too easy to move so plan carefully. It nearly broke Wanda's back. :wink: Example of 'sod's law': We booked this trip as the housing market was slow and we did not want to be under pressure to sell house for a low offer. Friday night just before we left for London we had a buyer come round our house, did the quickest viewing so far, our thought 'that was a waste of time', signed online at Singapore airport to email family and found email from estate agent saying they were offering almost the full asking price. :arghh: Nice catching up on thread with so many moving on. P.S. keep saving all your pennies, it's b*$*$y expencive out here. :wubclub:
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I found my City and Guilds 1970 qualifications listed on the TRA site but really I thought that is only useful if you are going the skilled route other wise at our age I believe experience will count (and age will reduce that count :twitcy:). Diesel machanics are wanted, it is just a matter of getting a foot in the door. :wubclub:
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That is correct, we used Locked bag when we posted by Royal Mail our police checks.
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That is the main one but Household also includes Removals as part of it's sub heading. The problem I have is someone has a rant about 'A' company (not on this CPV thread), often on the day it happens and never posts again so you do not know if they sort it out not. You never seem to get a balanced idea of what goes on and I guess the 1000s of people who ship with no real problem don't bother to post about it. Our son had a problem with Pickfords but they did sort it out (the now common problem of a shared container sitting for months in the UK before shipping to Oz when they say the goods will be there in X weeks)) and offered him a part refund, so we where happy for them to quote for us (we will not use them as they want £1000 more than 2 other quotes). Some recent threads have shown Pickfords giving other people the cheapest quote so maybe location comes into it. Regards Les
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Good news Linday, please tell us how you get on with John Mason as they are in the running for us when we sell our house. It would be nice to hear of a successful move in place of all the disasters on the household and transport thread. :smile:
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Well done, not sure how you are paying but the £ is slowing moving up again, wish you luck for the money and the house. :wubclub:
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Welcome to record breakers. :wink: It shows how much the rise in the $ is effecting CPVs, well done for being so quick even though I guess more of a shock at the moment. On past posts it would appear you should get an extension but the limit may be the annual deadline to complete by 1st July. Best of luck. P.S. It looks like paying in the UK is the way to go if you can complete by 1st July.
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I use UKForex to transfer to my son's Commonwealth account and have never paid a fee to send or has he paid a fee to receive the money, (Min £3000). On the other hand as a Barclays share holder I admire their cheek. :twitcy:
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The bank is telling you what the exchange mid rate is, not what they will exchange at, with most banks they only let you know the true rate after the exchange which can be a bit of a shock. If the mid rate is $1.527 (or any other figure) expect to trade at about 2 cents less unless you are changing a very large sum of money. Banks will normally add another cent or two below that and still often add a charge.
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We applied after our son & d-i-l were resident for 16 months, we enclosed evidence of property (they had just bought a house), past rental agreement, invoice for new car plus 2nd hand one, furniture invoices, new puppy dog, letters from their Australian friends, wedding invites etc, etc. We did not use an agent for our application, but did receive help from Alan Collett and Gollywobbler before applying for which we will always be grateful and help from many others along the way. Applying after 6 months seems like pushing the envelope and even with the shorter waiting time for a CO it could lead to disappointment and wasted time if you get turned down. Perhaps it would be worth adding a column to the time line for those who have visas to list how long their son or daughter were settled before they applied, just to see if there is a trend to lowering the time that still gets approved. I would ask the question, would you feel that your son or daughter are settled in a new country after 6 months before you spend up to the best part of £100,000 to follow them out there?