Phoenix16

It seems to me that having choices is causing you immense stress! I know there are many people who would love to be in your shoes, but when you're wearing those shoes it's difficult to see the light and decide what's the best thing to do. I don't think you will get your answer on a forum, I don't think there is an answer, it's something you both have to decide between yourselves, you have to just make a decision and stick to it one way or the other, but I think whatever decision you make, there is always going to be the peripherals in the background that make you think 'what if....', I soppose we all go through it as migrants, I thinks it's there for multi-cultural couples, I soppose you just have to work it out between you and make a firm commitment to your final decision!! Sorry I'm not much help but I really do feel for you, We are migrants and very happy with our decision to emigrate but you constantly live with the tug on your heart of family and friends left behind, I sometimes wish Skype and the rest had never been invented and emigration had the finality it did many years ago, such a selfish thought I know !!! All the best, I'm sure you will figure it out xxxxxx

I'm no expert, But, I believe you have to show evidence of an insurance policy as part of your 457 visa application, I also believe many UK citizens then cancel it after 457 approval and rely on reciprocal arrangements. A few questions.. 1) is your prospective sponsor not willing to provide insurance? (I only ask as we were 457 visa holders and insurance was provided by employer for the duration of the 457 visa), 2) Your quote sounds very, very excessive, is it a specialist 'impatriate' insurance policy? Many people chose to rely on the reciprocal arrangements, however, you need to be clear that the reciprocal arrangements are in place to cover 'essential' and basically life threatening situations, they are not there to cover basic, ongoing, everyday healthcare needs. I would absolutely urge you and recommend that you get private health cover as a 457 visa holder, but also i think the quote you have received is ridiculous, there are cheaper options. Also, high blood pressure can actually lead to quite a few serious health complications, and especially high BP that requires medication, do not underestimate your requirement for healthcare in the future and do not wait until its an emergency situation which it will have to do under medicare. I hope someone can point you in the direction of cheaper policies, health insurance, particularly when you are on a 457 and/or have pre-existing conditions (raised BP requiring medication for example) is essential.

VS, I have such immense respect, for your words and for sharing, us complicated women are very lucky to have such wonderful and amazing men who love us and support us, no matter what xxx I love my hubby to bits, he's my best friend, i know Ive put him through the 'wringer' at times, but his unconditional love for me has kept me going in the darkest times, xxxxxxx

you enjoy your goon lovely man, love ya to bits xxxxx

I have hidden away from this thread feeling ashamed and embarrassed, i really believed 'the usual suspects' would have waded in with their insensitive comments and I simply did not feel strong enough to read them, but tonight curiosity overcame me and I have been so happily, pleasantly surprised because all comments were so positive and also sharing own experiences, thank you so much xxx I want to share with you that I am feeling so much better and I hope this helps others. I basically hit rock bottom I feel, we went to see my GP the next day (hubby and me together), I was urgently referred to a Psychiatrist, I saw him the next morning, basically he was superb, I have felt as happy as larry all week since, just knowing I am finally going to deal with this, and being assured I can be helped, it feels empowering, I do realise this may be a 'manic' over reaction to finally getting help and I have a long road ahead, but I really do feel happy and positive about the future. I also do feel extremely embarrassed that I had a melt down on a public form, albeit one that feels like a family, but you know what, its been a massive help so thank you to everyone who shared their stories, we are a family even though we've never met and I thank you all so much xxx And...I just scored 3 HD's in my first 3 exams so i not a complete nutter ha ha!!!

I inspiring words, and very levelling, thank you for sharing, it means a lot, more than you can imagine xxxx

I do feel very very low, and yet I cannot explain it, I do have moments when I feel everyone would be better off without me, I did finally tell hubby I had these feelings, he went straight into overdrive "I did a course about this just last week" (his company have FIFO workers, thank gawd they are being educated" ) he's now booked us into the GP, insists we go together, says he's gonna say his bit, just feel happy. Someone loves and care about mr enough to to want to help xxxxx

thank you for sharing your thoughts, it means so much to me xxx

thank you, lovely words and very honest, and very true xxxx

I know that this is a deep question, but when it's got so low has anyone ever contemplated this? Can you be finanancially secure yet still get them moments when you think about it? Does having children make you think twice about thinking about it? Or can you get so low that nothing can change how you think about it? Is it a mental illness? is it deliberate? Is it momentary loss of thought? Is there really help out there?

And you didn't let me down!!

Im waiting with baited breath for when the mist evaporates and you get clarity!!!

You are correct although LAFHA is long long gone for 457 holders, we had the option to stay as 457 and reap the LAFHA rewards or apply for PR, we didn't have to think twice but the overnight loss of $3000 per month as we lodged the PR application was a lump in the throat ha ha, but as I say, those days are long gone, maybe though there should be a tax rebate for those on 457's who have to fund their children's educations here in OZ.

It would be extremely unfair to apply them retrospectively, when you come here on a 457 the assumption is your skills are in demand, so with full knowledge of the education fees you would negotiate these into your package, if you are already here and didn't have that option to negotitiate with your prospective employer then that seems unfair.

Thank you for your reply!! I do agree with you! I have a friend who for unfortunate reasons has to return to the UK, she contacted a uni there to find out how much it would cost her in fees to continue her degree, they initially did not understand what she was talking about, eventually it was established that when /if she goes back to UK she joins a degree course that pays around 800 stering per month, as a student nurse!!!!!! After both of us collapsing in amazement as we pay fees here and no no no guarantees of a job when we qualify, we was amazed, and then to think, 200 at least in my cohort and still importing foreign nurses?????

This is gonna be a really controversial thread!! Im representing all my student Nurses! you go into this profession knowing you won't get paid mega dollars but you get to care for patients and make a difference! Now as a student nurse, not sure we even get to do that....WA has job freezes and even redundancies?? graduating is going to be so tough and yet it seems experienced nurses are being offered redundancies...these are the nurses we desperately hope to buddy up with, to get our experience from, to learn from, they will teach us to be the future nurses...its so frustrating (and please don't get offended) that nursing is still on the migration list when so many student nurses are coming through the ranks, wouldn't it be easier to invest time in the student nurses mentoring them into confident RN's and in turn them mentoring student nurses into RNs? im all for emigration but as a student nurse, I dont see why we still have nurses on the migration list???? like I said, controversial!!

So lovely and interesting to hear the other side! i can totally identify with your comments, we forget over here that not everyone wants this lifestyle, I've met people like you describe and I can empathise totally! You would be the perfect guests with your balance and perspective, can we refer our prospective visitors for a workshop with you before they get on the plane ha ha!!

Gosh, I think this post is a leveller for parents and really drums home how migration can impact children. good luck to you, you've had some great advice on here, get your education sorted and then the world Is your oyster xx I would say your Dad, having travelled the globe in his time, will be happy for you to go wherever makes you happy xxx

You have the remember that for those you are leaving behind its kind of like a bereavement, for whilst your life changes so does there's, they have to adapt to the void you leave, it's a difficult one, there are no right and wrong answers, you will find those friends who keep in touch and those that just cut you out, it's their coping mechanism. I will give a warning about those that come and visit ha ha, this is your day to day life, but when friends / family arrive, it's their holiday! It can get complicated, I know friends here who save up their holidays to take it off and spend it with visitors, that's great for some, for us, we treasure our 'immediate' family holidays, that's when we get a proper rest. I love visitors but it quickly can get tedious when clearly they are arriving for an all inclusive holiday with full maid and chef service and you're trying to go to work and keep things normal, it's your normal life, particularly when you have lots of visitors at different times and you've only got your 4 weeks holidays! You become an accomplished host, tour guide, recreational planner, bus timetable expert, you're everything ha ha!!

I'm going to bow out, I've made my point!! I do find Australia so snobby and with its very own class system, I'm in WA you get the Western Suburbs old money v new money scenario going all the way down to the migrants snobbery of oh we are PR v's your just on a 457...I do find the 457 baiting that goes on here on PIO rather upsetting at times, we were happily enjoying life in UK 6 years, no aspirations whatsoever to come to OZ, hubby was headhunted to come here and complete a major contract, under the old rules we were granted PR 6 months after landing (application took less than 4 week) based on his exceptional talent, we're proud to be here and are now citizens, I don't and won't look down my nose at other 457 visa holders, I've walked in their shoes and we certainly didn't see this as a back door into OZ we'd never thought about coming here once until he got the phone call xxx

I acknowledge your comments, I always give credence to them as they tend to be articulate and on point, you make valid points that I do tend to agree with, however, I tend to take offence at those who just wade in with no sensitivity and stand in total judgement of others, based purely on their own opinions with limited experience to back it up. I fully agree the 457 is an abused visa and as you say now a 'back door' visa, I would urge anyone to think twice about taking one. It had its place once and enabled Australia to bring in short supply talent and skills that were needed but many of these can now be fulfilled with home grown talent.

I believe (although not 100%) that Brisbane do now charge a fee and most other states too, WA brought it in within the last year or so, it's still fairly new in some states and I'm sure people arrive here not realising about it, I would imagine prospective sponsors don't highlight it or you would most definitely negotiate it into your package! Child benefit absolutely stops from the day you leave the UK, I'm not sure if leaving the Uk (albeit temporarily) affects other benefits and rights (such as NHS care etc) as the test is habitual residence in the UK and that test can be quite stringent, living in Australia for 4 years could definitely fail the habitual residence test in the UK, particularly if you're no longer maintaining a home there, catch 22....?

So let's pick on the easy targets instead of addressing fundamental issues xx

VS what about people who come here on PR and only stay a few years? They certainly don't pay enough tax towards all they receive during their stay. i have met people who arrived here on 457's who paid huge amounts of tax, sufficient enough to provide for their child's education in the top private schools for their whole educational years...yes paying 5k would have meant nothing to them, it's the moral aspect of this I find difficult particularly the judgemental attitudes of people on here, "I'm alright Jack....but stuff you" is how I read it. Someone who arrives here on a 457 does have hopes and aspirations of it leading to a permanent move, we should be supportive and encouraging but it seems we regard 457's as a lower class and it seems some take delight in highlighting the little rights they have and the fact that their tenure is precarious here, maybe walk in those shoes before chucking stones I personally think xxx

The self righteous comments never cease to amaze me! Strong opinions from people who measure it all by a PR or a temporary visa alone... No thoughts to the fact that people residing here on 457's are paying tax just like them, possibly paying a lot more tax than them in some cases...and are here providing a service that the government decides is sufficiently important enough to be granted a work visa. I personally tend to look at things from a fair/equitable perspective, they are equally contributing to the countries economy why should they be treated differently? What would you say to the family that simply cannot afford the fees after paying their share of taxes and sustaining a modest lifestyle in this expensive country, would you say it's tough and your kids don't deserve an expducation because you're visas different to mine, but hey my kids deserve on cos I'm a PR, even though I pay less tax than you and utilise the full benefits of Medicare and Centrelink?? A facetious comment that doesn't apply to most just trying to highlight a moral point xx