shirleyt

My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family, sorry for your tragic loss.

Sorry just being blonde, I'll go 19 then!

It's our last winter so we are praying for snow. A white Christmas is my prediction and 18 days above 12 but if it was freezing everyday this winter I don't mind because I keep thinking I'm out of here soon.

You did the right thing, I think until they are 18 you are responsible for them so you get to make the decisions. I'm sure if you'd left her behind she would never have forgiven you. Being a parent is tough but sometimes tough love is needed.

Bit of a long shot but why don't you contact immigration to see if you could get a couple of weeks extension to allow him to validate. Then bribe him with driving lessons/ car next year if he validates, expensive but probably cheaper in the long run. The teacher sounds really helpful, I'm sure she's probably spent a lot of time with teenagers to know how awkward but changeable they are, she should have been more supportive. Tell him all he needs to do is set foot in Oz then fly straight back, then he can do what he likes. He probably thinks that by validating he would have to move there, as opposed to keeping his options open.

How frustrating for you. Do you have no time left on your visa for him to still validate? Could you not bribe him to validate if you do? Otherwise the only visa I can think of is the last remaining relative visa but I seem to think it has a 10 year waiting list, you would have to look into it though because I only know about it from reading on here. To be eligible I believe you have to have all your parents and siblings in Australia and no dependants , so you have to keep your fingers crossed he doesn't meet anyone whilst your gone.

As he is on your visa but hasn't validated it, I personally would put him on a plane ASAP just to validate it because once it expires you're going to have to jump through hoops to get him a visa eventually. My own son at 16 didn't want to go to Australia due to girlfriend and big group of friends, fortunately we made the decision to put him on and now at 20 can't wait to live there. A lot changes in a couple of years at that age but you must keep his options open or you will regret it in the future. The thought of leaving behind a teenager with elderly parents, I believe would be a bad move. Kids need their parents more as teenagers than they care to realise. The responsibility would be too much for elderly parents to cope with. I don't know your son but there have been a lot of people in your position so it may be worth you going through all the old threads. I think you'll find most boys at 16 don't want to go but by 18 most have changed their minds.

Funnily enough, the same thing happened on our journey. On the way there, I stocked up with plenty of snack which weren't touched because there were plenty of snacks provided on the plane. Didn't take any on the way home presuming the same, but when one of the kids slept through dinner and woke up starving they didn't have anything for him. Fortunately one of the hostess brought him some fruit from first class but ill never go without my own snacks in future. It was a Qantas/ BA flight.

You would need a separate child visa if you already had your visa as you cannot add people on after it has been granted. If I was you I'd wait to apply for your visa till you ready to go as Nurse is unlikely to be taken off the list an time soon.

Yes agree with the above. We sent this and our sons was granted! If you don't have a paper trail start one now!

This is probably the most telling reply from you so far. These people are here to help you but are not your friends. Get out into the real world and make genuine friendships and you may find yourself enjoying the U.K!

Have you ever thought about a career in comedy? They must give entertainers a visa, how else would Mel B get in ?

How does that sound? What do you think? Let me guess, you've had a stab at cutting your dogs hair and you think you'd be good at it?

Sorry for your loss, it's an awful situation and I hope the young man responsible is remorseful !

Oh I think your defiantly strange, why else would you hang around on a forum and keep banging on about your hatred of Perth! Move on and get out there and enjoy what the beautiful U.k has to offer. In short yes, and get a life!

Did I say they would grow up to be a bad person? Just annoying to listen to!

Fortunately I rescued him from there over 20 years ago. I'm sure most people would choose an Ozzie accent over a Yam-Yam accent. Have I touched a raw nerve , you don't have a broad brummie accent by any chance do ya bab!

My husbands from Dudley and far from being offended at these comments, couldn't agree more. Good to hear a positive post from someone who sounds happy with his new life and good on him for getting out Oh here.Ask yourself which accent would you want your children to grow up with Australian or Black Country?

It would be worth looking at old threads on the issue as I seem to remember a case where the visa was granted to family even though the eldest was in employment. From what I remember she supplied wage slips to prove low income and evidence that he wouldnt be able to afford to live independently if they left him behind. If I was you I would try and include your eldest even if he is reluctant to go because if he changes his mind down the line, he would have to qualify for his own visa, which is not that easy and more expense.

Good luck, the comment about the 3 boys made me laugh. Whilst at heathrow waiting to board the flight to Oz, a rather rude Australian couple walked passed my 4 children as said out loud " God, I hope theyre not on my flight ". Never have I wanted to sit behind someone on a long haul flight more than them. Unfortunately they weren't on our flight and I had plenty of compliments about their behaviour. I think you just have to do your best to keep them entertained and except there are some miserable bxxxxxxx out there.

I'm sure I'm not the only one that's relieved he didn't reply to my Jim ' ll fix it letter!

The rest of you can still validate but if your son didn't within the timeframe,he would lose his visa. I remember last year a family who's son refused to validate on a planned family holiday because he didn't want to leave his girlfriend. He later had a change of heart so they had to take him to validate, an expensive little episode but cheaper than him losing his visa and never having the option to join his family at a later date. My own 20 year old son wasn't as keen when we first started the process 3 years ago, fortunately once boys of that age realise they'll make new friends/ girlfriends, moving to Australia becomes much more appealing.

Book as early as possible , there seems to be a shortage of 7 seaters. We eventually got one through Hertz but at least 5 different companies took the booking then all cancelled the booking once they realised they couldn't fulfill the booking. We were pleased with the service Hertz gave, we picked up at the airport but dropped it back to the city centre as we went off on a cruise from Freemantle.

Have you considered a cruise. We went to Perth for our validation trip then cruised bottom half of Oz and New ZEaland and finished in Sydney. It was cheaper than flying to all those places and when all your meals are included it doesn't work out too expensive. We went this year feb/ march and cruised on radience of the seas. It's a good time of the year as most cruises are in Oz doing their round the world at that time.

If you look at Cruise Critic there is always good information and feedback. You can even join the meet and mingle group which gives you the oppertunity to chat to people on your cruise before you go. It a good way to organise your own tours because it's the drinks and tours where the cruise company's make their money.