Cez

I don't know much about this visa apart from you have to be offshore (ie not in Australia) when you apply and at the to of grant.

I'm more than happy to stand corrected! but the use of the words "receiving company", "import" and "vat" sound like a number of these charges are imposed by the UK government, not the Australian. Sorry I can't help on this one, Peccavi. Does sound a bit painful though :-S

You may be asked to provide evidence when you physically enter the country, not at the time of your visa application.

I think it does. Bridging visa time definitely counts at least.

If he applies for an 820 visa (defacto) towards the end of his working holiday visa then he will not need to leave australia - he will go onto a bridging visa a which will allow him to remain in australia until the 820 visa is granted,

If the boyfriend could move in with her at least one month before she leaves for australia then this would ensure they meet the relationship requirements - I don't know if you can register relationships in Queensland like you can in NSW and it would be preferable for them to be able to prove 12 months of living together. If I were him I would move in with her and get some evidence of this for at least one month before she emigrates.

Quickest and easiest would be for him to come with you on a working holiday visa - usually granted in a matter of hours - then when in australia to collect lots of evidence of their life together. Do they live together now? At the end of the working holiday visa they can apply for a defacto visa, and he will go onto a bridging visa a with full work rights until it is processed. Two years after lodging he would be a permanent resident once the final lot of paperwork is done. He could then apply for citizenship once he has met the requirements. Phew!

Agree with Peach - I was in Oz on a partner visa and if after three years and moving across the world to be with my partner he had turned around and suggested I pick fruit somewhere in deepest Queensland to give him another year to decide whether he wanted to sponsor me for a visa, I may have told him where to stick it! Reckon it would be better to get the ball rolling during the first WHV - bear in mind the visa is only provisional for the first two years, so following your original plan of action the poor lass wouldn't even have permanent residency until 2018 at the earliest :-S

Oh and the re entry element of the permanent visa would then be valid for a further five years, so until 2020 or so. If still not in australia by then, she could try applying for a resident return visa in the future.

Her temporary visa will become permanent regardless of whether she is in aus or not - just make sure you let australian immigration know your new address in the uk so they can send you the relevant paperwork once the two years is nearly up - and this is two years from the date of applying for the 309, not the grant date.

I believe you have to declare this income on your australian tax return and pay tax in aus, not the uk. There is a tax agreement between the two countries.

yeah, they can actually.

How about flying to Christchurch with jetstar, renting a cheap campervan and travelling /camping in the South Island - the government own a bunch of campsites which are really cheap - just a few dollars a night for some stunning campsites.

Agree with both above answers. Rough dates of travel are fine - immi just want to check that you haven't cumulatively spent more than 12 months in any one country, otherwise you'd need to provide a police check from that country.

If you work from home, you can claim some tax deductions, right? For Internet, electricity etc...l obviously not the whole bills, but a proportion of them?

The barefoot investor had this to say about investing in defence housing the other day: Question of the Week: Investing in Defence Force Housing Hello Scott, My wife and I are in our 50s and are looking for an investment that will fund our retirement. We’ve been researching buying an investment property with Defence Force Housing Australia (DHA), because they sound very safe, and offer guaranteed returns on our investment. Do you have a view on them? Thanks, Tammy G’day Tammy, Yes, I certainly do have a view. Buying an investment property through Defence Housing Australia (DHA) is like going to bed with Hanna Montana … and waking up with Miley Cyrus. Okay, so there’s no wrecking ball. This is a very safe investment. But as I’ll explain, that’s actually its biggest downfall. Here’s how it works: You buy a house through DHA and automatically lease it back to the Defence Force for up to 12 years. Throughout the term of the lease you have a rock solid income stream. You don’t have to worry about vacancies (your rent is backed by the government), and you don’t have to worry about the hassles of being a landlord – DHA takes care of maintaining the place. “Sound good, soldier?” “Yes sir!” Hang on a minute. This safety comes at a significant cost. DHA slugs investors an annual management fee of 16.5 per cent of the rent. They say it’s justified because they cover the cost of day-to-day maintenance (but not major repairs). I say it’s bloody expensive. Yet the real problem happens when you sell. The key to making long-term profits in property is to choose the right location. Which is generally a high growth suburb with a large proportion of owner-occupiers. That’s not what you’re signing up to with DHA. They often build their houses in clusters that are close to army bases, where the major owners are investors. So Tammy, my advice would be to stay away from DHA. If you genuinely want safety – you need to create it yourself. Buy a good quality family home, in a good quality suburb, and rent it out a little below market rates to a good quality family.

They need to google "FIRB"'and will need permission from this department before buying property in Aus. I assume they are in Aus already? There are fewer restrictions (if any) around buying brand new properties from developers. If one of the couple is an Aus citizen and they are buying as joint tenants, no FIRB approval is needed. sorry, most of this is dredged from memory, if your friends start with the FIRB website they won't go far wrong.

Maybe she could start by having a chat with this lady and try her hand at some budgeting? http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2408475/Tania-Sullivan-mother-12-announces-child-number-13-way.html

You can apply for Australian passports for your kids assuming they're yours and not step kids etc..., and apply for a 309/100 partner visa for your wife. These are taking a long time to process. Once your kids have Aus passports you could consider your wife going to Aus on a tourist visa while waiting for her partner visa to be approved. There's heaps of info on this site regarding this, use the search box.

No worries and good luck! Remember that the time you've already spent in Aus may count towards the four years needed for citizenship.... Also if you move to Aus before your visa expires in 2015 then you can remain here permanently - only the ability to leave and re-enter the country expires....

Four years to become a citizen. You may get another resident return visa if you meet the criteria (living two years out of five in Aus). This is something they've tightened up on recently so you may need to think carefully.

We never had an issue with on street parking in stanmore, though granted our flat came with a secure parking space. We lived near the station so commuters would park outside but there's more parking than in newtown. theres a direct bus from newtown to coogee, though it takes a while! i used to work in parramatta and about 60%ish of my colleagues would live in the inner west and commute. Personally I really like the feel of the inner west, lots going on and lots of families too. I liked Glebe a lot too but the public transport there was not great for parramatta.

What I'm going to say will sound heartless, but I've always been a pragmatic type :-) what happens if a few years go by, your parents sadly pass away and your visas for Aus have expired. Will the uk be the place you want to be? And the place your children are happy? I honestly can't answer this for you, but it sounds to me like you and your family want to be back in Qld and it would be a good idea to start working on a plan now to make sure that happens before your visas expire. Good luck, you've already faced the dilemma which many of us dread.

If you're looking to buy I'd recommend St. Peter's as being good value for money.

Summer hill is v popular at the moment and is on a train line.