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Yes, she is here at the moment but has a flight booked back to UK in March. Her boyfriend is waiting to hear about a sponsored visa and is hoping to come out in January. She is researching all avenues but I think the reality will be that there is not sufficient reason for her to be in the UK as opposed to here so I don't think they will give her a return visa. If she decides to stay here is there a limit on the duration and amount of times she leaves Oz on holidays until she applies for citizenship?

Anyone had any luck securing an extension on their permanent residency visa? 25 year old daughter wanting to extend visa for 6 months but has only been out here for 5 months and not the two years to qualify for a resident return visa. Her PR visa will expire in July but she wants to move over in January next year. Is there a specific department she would need to speak to?

Hi, just wondering if anyone has info on the 12 month visa. My parents would dearly love to stay over here with us but I have too many siblings in UK. They have been told they can come out for 12 months out of 18 each time to visit. Has anyone else done this visa and what is the visa called and how much is it? Also do they qualify for recipricol rights for medical treatment whilst they are here - is everything covered - or would they need private insurance bought in UK or Aus otherwise? Are they able to keep getting this visa after being back in UK for six months or is there a waiting time for them to apply for another 12 months out here? Hope that all makes sense! Thanks for your help everyone :smile:

Hi, we would like to hear from anyone who has completed their builders license in Victoria. Trying to figure out the best way to go about it as there are lots of firms who charge to help you complete it and we are finding it very confusing as prices seem to vary so much. It would be great to hear from anyone who has done theirs or a limited builders license - I am a carpenter. Cheers

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Hi and welcome! We moved to Victoria 18 months ago. Rent you will need a month up front for bond money that you get back when you leave the property plus either a month or two weeks upfront rent depending on the estate agent. We bought a ford falcon for $3000 as our first car but a cheap runaround with roadworthy you can get from about $1500. Our primary school were very easy going and happy for the two girls to start as soon as we applied. Some have catchment areas. We looked online at the areas and also at the school league tables. One thing I would say is that we shipped our stuff over and wish we hadn't spent all that money doing so. I found it hard to find a cheap argos type shop online for Aus but we found 'fantastic furniture' when we got here and realised how cheap we could have got a lot of nice new furniture. Also the charity shops here are amazingly well stocked for furniture and all sorts of household goods in great condition for a really cheap price - got a sofa for $50 and queen bed for $50 too, amazing quality. Keep surfing the net for location ideas

Brought ours over, no problem getting it shipped over but have never needed it. Too much ventilation in most of the houses in Victoria!!

My husband is a carpenter and said it depends how good your tools are in UK. You can charge tools up at home using an adaptor but you can't charge them on site with UK plugs and adaptors. You have to get all electrical goods tagged every 3 months by a qualified electrician for on site use. About 8 dollars an item. He got a few bits on ebay and facebook sales as we were pretty skint when we got out here but he wishes he had brought loads out with him. A lot dearer over here (Melb). It is all about power tools over here. He said he hasn't seen a hand plane or saw yet!!

On the flip side of this, my daughter moved here after A levels and got great results but would have qualified for a scholarship if she had done her year 12 or IB here. As it stands she does not qualify for any help what so ever and not even hex (student finance) until we have got citizenship. Swings and roundabouts.

The ratio of (adult) children in Aus v UK is 1 PR in Aus (me) and 3 other daughters in UK for my parents (hope that makes sense to you). Two of my sisters are from my mum's previous marriage and one is from my dad's previous marriage. I am the only one they had together. Does this have any impact on the ratio or are they all included in the calculation for a possible aged parent visa?

Handy to know: - When digging up garden you can ring 1100 'dial before you dig' for a free service that emails you plans of where pipes etc are so you don't hit the mains

Miss boots No. 7 make up Marmite and PG tips - buy from selected Coles shops White goods expensive in Aus also books Haven't found anything I can't get that we need though it would be easier with Amazon - nothing compares to Amazon

Hi My daughter is doing a Batchelor of Arts degree at Melbourne University this coming year and wondered if she would be eligible for a scholarship? She gets the domestic price for the course but will not get HECS payments as does not have citizenship yet. Anybody had any experience please?

It says on the immi website that you need to have spent at least 2 years within the past 5 years living in Aus to obtain the returning resident visa?

My 19 year old daughter has a PR visa. She has lived in Vic with us for a year and also spent four weeks with us in Aus when we validated the visas. She is returning to the UK to study law at Cambridge University but her PR visa expires July 2016. Her course does not finish until July the following year. Even if she returns for every holiday to Aus she will not have accrued the full 2 years living in Aus to gain the return permit - she will be about 3 months short. She is adamant she wishes to return to live in Australia after finishing her law degree. Also there is no way in the world she should give up her place at Cambridge. Is there any other way of extending the PR visa without having lived here for the full 2 years?

Saga gave them to 31 day limit too

Hi, my parents are travelling out to stay with us for 3 months but can't find any reasonably priced insurance to cover them for their 3 month trip to Victoria as they are over 75 years old. They offer up to 31 days and that seems to be it - apart from one company that wanted a grand each! Any experiences or ideas please? Thanks

We had debts before we left UK. Had loads of bad luck with bad debtors to hubby's company and some bad mortgage advice etc. Short story is we set up a DMP with 'stepchange' and moved over here with about £1000 in our pockets (family of five). We send money back to our UK bank account each month to cover it, (despite being advised by citizens advice to wander off into the sunset and forget about it - shocking). We found jobs immediately - carpentry and admin - Melbourne area, and got a rental sorted. Been very lucky so far. Been able to afford two cars too. Been here for nine months and so glad we didn't listen to all the negativity when I was asking for advice on here and people saying about excessive amounts of money needed to move with. Determination, versatility and a positive attitude helped us immensely. Best of luck

Just a few old clothes that I threw out before we left. Stocked up on make up from Boots for the case. Borrowed pretty much everything else from friends and family who were only too pleased to help - we borrowed furniture, plates, pans etc. It was great, no tidying up to do! Like living in a caravan! Books are expensive here.....stock up for the kids books for the container. It was the only thing I wasn't prepared for. I miss my amazon! Best of luck.

Our daughter was 18 when we came out and she was kicking and screaming until she got here! Now she loves it. She took a couple of weeks to meet anyone but she started an evening job and met people very quickly. Now she is never in! We have only been here for 6 months but she feels at home here and loves it.Everyone has been very friendly which has made it a lot easier. Best of luck

He got it verified in Preston in UK, they didn't do a London based test at that time for carpentry. We went through Go Matilda for our visas so the assessment was booked through them. Can't remember what company was called but it gave him a Victoria Certificate III in carpentry which is recognised in Aus. We shipped over a handful of tools but hubby wishes he had brought over a lot more (especially power tools and batteries) as we had a container. He has done well buying secondhand from ebay and local facebook sales sites though so has all he needs now.

I get more paid public holiday leave and also paid personal/sick leave which I didn't get in the UK. We get out more at the weekends in Aus than we did in the UK with the kids, mainly down to the weather. We live by the beach so free days out are easier. We have very little money and moved here with pocket change! I enjoy the leisure pursuits in Aus and the relaxed atmosphere that allows you to walk up the main street bare foot and wearing your towel and nobody thinks it's strange, lol!!

That's about the amount my husband paid to get his qualifications for the visa. Carpenter. Everyone says there is a lot of work about but it is getting into the right circles to get it. He found a job with a contractors and subs off them in Melbourne. Has been fluctuating amounts of work and had to drive quite a bit too. Not a breeze but he is getting there. Definitely who you know

I have been reading about keystart which is available in WA and wondered if there is a similar scheme operating in Victoria? We are looking at buying a house but do not have the 5% deposit saved as yet. We came over with small change! We are very cautious about any request for finance for fear of it damaging our credit rating by being turned down so wanted to research our options first. We have PR visas and have accounts with NAB and Commonwealth.

With a healthcare card you are eligible for EMA (if it stays)