billynomates

I forgot to mention that taking the wine in luggage is not viable either as I plan a halfway holiday somewhere hot!

For what it's worth, I've filled in a few applications myself, and succeeded in getting my visas. However, even though they have been quite simple ones (partner and RRVs), the levels of stress involved make me think that paying someone else to do it is probably a good idea if you can spare the money. Note that I don't yet have any experience of using an agent so I can't actually comment on whether this is a good idea or if it even removes any stress!

Apologies for resurrecting this old thread, but has anyone successfully transported "nice" wine to Aus from the UK? We are in a similar position to the original poster in that we have a few bottles (6 in our case) of a decent (we hope!) wine from the year of birth of our son, so we don't want to glug it yet, but don't want to sell it either. I don't want it going by the tropics at a leisurely pace in a giant metal box, so presumably we will have to find some air-freight option. Has anyone got any experience doing this?

However it's not "evidence of having substantial ties to Australia" that is required, it's "compelling reasons for the absence" which would seem to preclude a holiday?

I've possibly misunderstood what you said here: If I'm applying whilst in Australia (which is when this question comes up), then I can't have been absent continuously since I'll be in Australia and therefore not absent! Which is why I don't understand the question :-(

This was my understanding on first reading the question, but on re-reading, the first "or" makes it less clear (to me at least!). My suspicion is that the first "or" should not be there, in which case the question would be "Have you been absent from Australia for a continuous period of 5 years since the date you were granted your most recent permanent visa or since the date you ceased to be a citizen?" and I would say your interpretation is then definitely the correct one. It's nothing to do with liking me! It's the rules - "Due to the change to the immigration regulations in February 2012, to be granted a Resident Return visa with a five year travel facility, you must have lived in Australia as a permanent resident for at least two of the last five years from the date of your application." My last two renewals have been online from the UK. The first one was granted very quickly with no details required. The second renewal they asked for evidence of substantial ties of benefit to Australia and proof of family unit status, both of which I gave easily. There's been no requirement to detail the reason for my absence.

It's not the "continuous five years" part that's a problem (I've been back and forth a few times, so it's not a continuous 5 year absence) - it's the following "or" part I don't get. If I was applying from outside Australia the question is simpler: Question 28: Have you been absent from Australia for a continuous period of 5 years or more immediately before lodging this application? to which I can easily answer "No". I'm trying to understand question 31 though :-( since I'll be inside Australia.

Hi all, Before my question, here's my situation: Got a permanent resident visa in 2010 I left Australia to return to the UK to live in 2011 I got an RRV in 2014 (granted whilst outside Australia) I got another in 2015 (granted whilst outside Australia) I plan to return to live in Australia before this expires, but will want to be in and out of the country for a few months to arrange matters and for holidays in the UK, so once I arrive I will need to get another RRV to be able to travel I'm having real difficulty understanding question 31 on the RRV (Resident Return Visa) application form (http://www.border.gov.au/Forms/Documents/1085.pdf). The question is: Have you been absent from Australia for a continuous period of 5 years or since the date you were granted your most recent permanent visa or since the date you ceased to be a citizen? The available answers are: No Yes - Do you have compelling reasons for the absence? No Yes - Please attach a separate sheet describing these reasons, together with evidence to support your claims I have got to Q31 by answering Yes to the question "Are you applying while inside Australia?", which will be true when I apply later in the year. The way I am interpreting this question is like this: Have you been absent from Australia for a continuous period of 5 years, or Have you been absent from Australia since the date you were granted your most recent permanent visa Have you been absent from Australia since the date you ceased to be a citizen? Firstly, do you think my interpretation is correct? Secondly, if I am correct, then: No, I've not been absent for a continuous 5 year period since I've been back every year, so this is fine Yes, I have been absent since I was granted my most recent permanent visa (ASSUMING this refers to the most recent RRV). However, in someone else's case it could be that they'd just been away on holiday since they got the RRV, so why the need to provide evidence for "compelling reasons"? This is why I am having trouble with the question - surely I'm misinterpreting it? Any ideas? Thanks.

XE update: The rate seems to be back to normal now, so maybe it's some default weekend enormous margin, or some "feature" of the money markets, or solar flares. jen85 - I understand what you mean about being wary, and for me the definition of a largish amount of money would be in the thousands to tens of thousands. When I opened my XE account, I did a test transfer of $10 before entrusting them with anything larger. Note that with XE I don't think there's much difference (if any) in the rate for $10 or $10'000, so you could move more smaller chunks if it made you feel more comfortable.

That's good to hear as I'm thinking of opening an account with them if xe doesn't improve its rate by Monday. I've only skimmed their website and I've not found a huge amount of information - do you know if they have any account fees (i.e. any charges for just having an account)?

I've used xe.com for nearly two years now and until this very morning I've been happy with them. Today I looked at booking a transfer of AUD to GBP. Normally their spread means about 2.5 cents on the quoted rate. Today it appears to be over 6.5 cents (quote for transfer is 1.7918 when the exchange rate is 1.7245). I don't know if this is a "feature" of attempting to do this at the weekend, but if it's not I'll be moving my business elsewhere.