brummiebabies

Hi Phoebe. So sorry to hear that your op was cancelled at the 11th hour! I know you just want it over and done with - I would be the same. Let's hope you don't have to wait too long for another date. Good luck! Angie

Hi everyone

Just thought I would give an update - which has left me quite stunned !!!. After only 3 weeks on the market I have accepted an offer on my house. Yesterday I was allocated a Case Officer who has requested medicals and they wish to finalise my application before 30 June. I just cannot believe how this is all working so well. I thought I would not get a Case Officer for several more months. My daughter was saying that June is the end of the financial year and they will be pushing through as many as possible to get the figures up and also get more money in.

Cath

Fantastic news Cath. If it goes like it did for us, everything will progress very quickly now. All the best! Angie

Today we talk with CO with form 80 everything is OK, just we have any problem with Medical, but we are healthy and we talk with doctor when we finish Medical everything was ok, and now there is same problem. That Form our CO send to as when we have to fill. Now we worry about this problem with Medical. Do you know something about it.

I'm afraid I can't help you with this one as our medicals went through okay. Maybe someone in a similar situation to your own will be able to assist. There must be loads of other parents out there that had problems with their medical but still had a visa granted. I know it's difficult not to worry but I'm sure everything will be fine. Angie

What is that Form 80 with 18 pages.... My Form 80 had just 8 pages

Hi there. Form 80 does have 18 pages to complete. If your form was printed on both sides of the paper there should have been 9 sheets in total. Are you certain you only had 8? Anyway I'm sure your CO would query it with you if the form was incomplete. Angie

Hello all

My parents' application was acknowledged just over 10 months ago, so hopefully there will be about a 4 month wait left for a case officer, given current allocations of COs. They have just done their medicals.

 

I wonder if someone who has been through the process could please let me know how it works from here. This is my understanding:

1) they get a case officer in about August

2) My husband (who is the assurer of support) has to then make an appointment to see Centrelink

3) Wait of about 3 weeks for appointment with Centrelink

4) Payment of AOS after appointment

5) Request of 2nd visa payment once AOS is acknowleged

6) Hopefully, granting of visa

Is this correct? We want the process to be as quick as possible once they have a case officer, as they (and we) have found the wait very difficult (as everyone does) and we all want to settle down.

 

Thank you

Michelle

Hi Michelle. That sounds pretty much how it went for us but we also had to pay for police checks and send the reports to Perth. We were also asked to complete and submit a Form 80. The form is straightforward enough but frustrating to complete as it's mainly duplicating information already provided on the initial application. Your parents may not even be asked to submit this form because, for some reason, it's not always requested. The waiting is painful but the time will soon pass. Angie

Hi everyone

Just wanted to share my excitement........house went on the market yesterday and I have a viewing tomorrow night. It is pretty daunting as I have been in this house for 30 years - can't even remember selling my previous home. I see from the tracker that there has been a couple of case officer allocations - not much movement recently.

Regards, Cath

Good luck with the viewing Cath. We had lived in our house for 30 years too so know how you feel. Angie

Thank you for the replies to my post. I feel reassured. I can't quite believe its happening, feel as if I am going on holiday. B it I will be glad when I get on that plane and the goodbyes are done. People ask if I am excited and I am sure I am but at the moment the goodbyes are uppermost.

everyone okraeveryone okra

Oh Moira the goodbyes are so sad. I got upset and cried just thinking about it so you can imagine how I was when we actually had to say goodbye! You will be okay though and yes it does feel like you are going on holiday - still feels like that for us now even after nearly five months! Angie

Hi

Well I am finally off next Thursday. I have not had the visa put in my passport and just wondered if anyone knows whether Singapore or Hong Kong (the plane will be stopping at either one of these on the way out) require you to have something visible in your passport. I am taking the grant letter with me.

I see there are lots of new names on the forum now - more people of to the good llife

best wishes moira

Hi Moira

What good news. As the others have said it's all electonic now and the airports can see the visa when you pass through. All we did was take a few copies of our grant letter which came in useful when we validated our bank account and registered for Medicare etc. Good luck with everything! Angie

Hi Fran

I have been thinking about you and wondering how you were getting on - so pleased to hear that you have found a job! It doesn't matter that it's temporary - you never know it may lead to other things. You have done remarkably well considering you've only been here a month. Personally we haven't stopped since getting here - always loads to do. It's great though!!

Angie x

Hi there,

would like to know where are the peeps who have just (last 6 months or so) moved over to Brisbane, id love to hear more stories of how they are getting on, what they have been up to, are they working has that been easy enough to find?...they must be so busy !! Is it all its cracked up to be?

Also has anyone gone self employed and how has that worked out for you?

Hoping i get some replies to this...

thanks Tab x

Hi Tab

Ted and I have been here nearly 4 months now and at first I felt very homesick and really missed family and friends in the UK. BUT this is just an amazing place to be. The wonderful climate makes for a great lifestyle - we are outdoors most of the time, walking, cycling, doing jobs around the garden. There are loads of activities and groups you can join, most of them free which is a great way to make new friends. You will find the Australians very friendly and helpful. We bought a caravan shortly after getting here and this has proved a great way to see this beautiful country and meet people.

Here in the South Moreton Bay area it's clean and well maintained with no rubbish in parks or shopping areas. The majority of folk are very respectful of their environment and either put litter in the bins or take it home with them. Another thing that's really noticeable is you don't see 'gangs' of teenagers around. You do get groups of young people out in the parks etc but they are just out enjoying themselves and very well behaved. Back where we lived in the UK litter, fly-tipping and grafetti were a big problem - it was lovely at first but in the past few years sadly the area went down. We became members of a group of volunteers that planted trees / shrubs and cleared litter to make the local area more pleasant to live but within weeks the litter would be back as bad as ever. It really got us down. I'm not knocking the UK entirely, there are plenty of plus points - it gave us a reasonable standard of living and we had our kids at a time when they could be just kids with the freedom to play outdoors. The majority of our family still remaining in the UK are very happy with their lives and we are thankful for that.

On the subject of finding a job, although we've both applied for a few, we really haven't been trying too hard so I can't confirm how easy it is to find work here.

We've had regular get-togethers with other PIO that have moved, or are due to move to the Brisbane area and this has been real boost for us. It's great to speak personally to others going through the same thing and 'swop notes'!

Our decision to move to Australia was a tough call but, apart from missing family and friends, so far we love it here.

Hope this helps Tab.

Angie x

Aww Phoebe. What a fantastic birthday present! You must be on cloud nine!! Enjoy every moment with your daughter and Harry - you really derserve it! Angie x

Phoebe. It's great that at long last you know what is wrong but I can't begin to imagine how you must feel at the prospect of having to wait 12 months for your operation. I really feel for you. Angie x

All the best for Monday Phoebe.

Lets hope you can get over here real soon. We hired a motorhome the first time we came to Oz in 2002 and loved every minute. Great way to see this beautiful country! :cool:

Angie

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Fran - so pleased to hear that you will soon be arriving in Brisbane and I really hope you will be able to make one of our PIO meet up's. The recent get togethers have really helped me and Ted - it's great to be in such good company and being able to chat to others in the same position as ourselves! Have a safe journey and let us know when you have settled in.

Val and Matt - Hope you are both okay and enjoying working on your new home! Will either text you or send a PM shortly.

Val - Glad to hear you arrived home okay but sorry the weather is so cold and wet in the UK. Looking forward to seeing you and Dave back here very soon in the meantime I'll keep in touch!

Angie xxx :xmas22:

It's all done electronically Moira so there's no need to send your passpost to the Australian Immigration in London. Just print out a few copies of the letter which confirms that you have been granted the visa. It's useful when you are arranging things over here like opening a bank account and registering with Medicare etc. That's all we did and we haven't had any problems at all. Many congratulations to you! Angie

What wonderful news Moira. So pleased for you! Angie :xmas16:

Phoebe, What great news for your hubby. So happy for you both. I'm sure everything will be okay for you too. Angie x

Hi all, just got a phone call from my agent my visa has been granted - 173. I got my Case Officer on 21st November. Some smashing way to start the week. Flight booked for Brisbane on 13th January. Thanks to you all for the support along the way and wish all of you still waiting the best of luck. Will keep in touch and let ye know how things are going for me after the big move.

Fran.

Congratulations Fran! Won't be long before you are joining us other PIO in the 'Sunshine State' We have been here six weeks and although there's lots to sort out initially it doesn't take long to settle into the Oz way of life! Good luck with everything! Angie

I did something similar found him a 'diving buddy' in Oz and he went diving with him a couple of times and in his words 'it's nothing like diving in UK water is crystal clear' I even went out fishing with him a couple of times in a tinnie and I actually enjoyed it :rolleyes:

 

 

One thing I did find is a couple of years ago I was going on about it continually and all I got back was 'the money' 'happy where I am' etc so I backed off, stopped talking about it altogether but mentioned now and again how dirty this country looked compared to Oz, how UK feels like it's going down the pan etcand he started to agree. He's not there yet but I suggested we hire a Motor Home next time to tour around see if there is anywhere we might like to live if we ever decided to go and he's up for it so it's a start :biggrin:

 

 

I think the secret is girls to make them think it's 'their' idea usually works for me :wink:

 

Phoebe

Ha Ha! I like your style Phoebe! :yes:Angie

Have a good flight Val - looking forward to our meet-up soon with Angie and Ted!

 

See you soon!

 

Val x

I'll second that! Angie x

Hi All, great news got my CO today and request for Final VAC all in one go, delighted. Flight booked for 13th January, bit on the expensive side cos of the time of year, but worth it!!! End of this long long journey in sight. Am opening the wine as I type. :biggrin: This smiley is especially for Gilly- a great friend for the last few months.

Congratulations! That's great news - so pleased for you.

Angie x

hey Angie,

 

How are things going for you? i love reading posts about new lives in Oz...is it the best thing you have ever done? Do you have jobs? whats next for you?

Still trying to convince hubby....need as much info as possible lol.

Hope things are going great look forward to hearing more...

Tab x

Hi Tab

We have been here 4 weeks now and have settled into things pretty well. It seemed so different at first but now we are getting used to the Aussie way of life. I'm not sure where you might be heading for - we are in Queensland and the weather and lifestyle is just perfect for us. We have got to know some of the neighbours who are about the same age as ourselves and one couple are going to take us to some of the local community groups. I think they can give us lots of tips on seniors cards etc. We are currently looking for a caravan so we can go exploring. No jobs yet but we have only just started looking and ideally we would like to do some touring around first before we are tied to time off from work. To sum up we are really enjoying the new experience! Take care. Angie x

Hi out there

I am just wondering how long people waited after sending in medicals, forms and AOS being collected, before they heard about their visa?

Many thanks

Moira

Hi Moira. We had our medicals done on 28/06/12 and the AoS was paid on 09/08/12. Our visa was granted on 31/08/12. Vava is right; just keep emailing - you have nothing to lose! Things seemed to get moving for us when we emailed a copy of our police reports. We got a reply asking us to send them by post for the attention of our Case Officer and gave us his details. Good luck! Angie

Yes that's the site I used to send my comments. I got a big standard reply then an Official letter from the House of Commons maybe if enough of us bombard them they will have to do something about it. It's in all our interests

 

Phoebe

You are quite right Phoebe. We will also make our concerns known via the site! Angie

Dear Phoebe

Just to let you know we are thinking of you and hope that everything works out okay. Angie x