PhoebeW

All the best for 2013 everyone.:jiggy:

It seems as though things are moving in the right direction for a lot of people ATM :biggrin:

After the health nightmare I've been having the past 18 months (and more recently hubby too which was clear thankfully) I have another MRI tomorrow and back to see the Neuro Surgeon on Monday, hopefully the MRI and CT Scans will show him what is causing these problems in my throat preventing me from eating (Pureed Xmas dinner was fab :swoon:) and what can be done.....then I can finally think about getting over to see my daughter and Grand children...............missed them sooooooooooo much :cry:

We are still planning to hire a Motor home to have a good look around, hubbby seems to be getting more keen and we will deffinatly have to meet up with some PIO's.

Once I get Monday out of the way I can see where I am re health and hopefully start making plans :yes:

Phoebe x

Hi Fran

I believe you can my daughter had 4 bags last time she was here with little ones and there was no problems :biggrin:

If this is a one way ticket you might be able to upgrade your allowance to 40kg give Emirates a ring.....as we say up up North "shy bairns get nowt" :cute:

All the very best to you what a great start to the New year....live your dream :cool:

Phoebe x

Hi

 

I am looking for some advice about my mum, I apologise for the long post, tia.

 

My mum is 81 and currently living with us and now has fairly advanced dementia. I am her only child and her only living relatives are myself and children (23, 21, 11 and 5months) and an elderly sister who has mobility issues in the UK. In 2009 I brought mum over to Aus after she had a hysterectomy to recover, she extended her visa whilst here, and passed her medical. She went back to the UK, but it didn't not work out so she came back in March 2010 before her tourist visa expired.

 

She applied onshore for the 804 Aged Parent Visa in April 2010. Since then she has developed advanced dementia and recently had a short spell in hospital. We got a letter from DIAC requesting a medical, which she had today. The Dr has requested a report from a Geriatrician requesting a MMSE. Mum's dementia is rated 6 on the FAST scale.

 

I am aware that she will fail the medical and am wondering what options there might be. A lot of people have mentioned that as she is not fit to travel and that she has nowhere to go back to in the UK, that she will be allowed to stay on compassionate grounds.

 

I do not want to return to the UK, apart from the awful climate, not just the weather, it would mean leaving my eldest two here and disrupt my daughter's education, and downgrading it. My husband is an Aus, he does not have a UK visa, and really does not want to live in the UK.

 

Has anyone had similar experiences or any advice they can share? Thanks.

Hi

I'm sorry to hear your situation & cannot advise you but I hope it all works out for you and your mam in the New Year.

Phoebe

Wishing everyone a good christmas.

Yesterday I received the request for my final payment. Ouch - that amount of money. But money is there to buy what I want and I feel grateful that I have been able to get it together.

I received my case officer on 5 October, medicals on the 10th October, the Panel Dr told me that Immigration would ask for further tests - so I worried, but no - no tests just asked for the money.

I wont quite believe it until I have the email telling me I have the visa. But its a great christmas present.

Ann - how did you get on with your case officer and the delay with your sons accounts?

 

Will try to update the tracker now

Best wishes to everyone

Moira

Great News Moira :cute: your on your way

:xmas17:MERRY XMAS:xmas17:

Phoebe x

Hi Phoebe - we rent out our property in uk, are classed as non-resident landlords so no tax is deducted at source, but we have to declare the income on our uk self assessment tax returns.

Hope this helps - if not, your accountant would be able to give up to date advice

Why do you have to complete a UK self assessment if you are classed as non residents?

Phoebe

Question about UK property and Tax.

Hi advise on this would be appreciated

If you rent your property in the UK do you have to pay the Tax on income in the UK or Australia?

Phoebe

Hi Everyone

Just a quick update.

Hubby saw his consultant on Tuesday and I very happy to tell you all his results were clear :biggrin: such a relief :swoon:

I've got my CT scan on 17th and MRI on 21st December with follow up appointment with Neuro Consultant on 14th January........everything is moving in the right direction now :yes:

Thank you all for your support :notworthy: it is much appreciated

Phoebe

Hi all, just got a phone call from my agent my visa has been granted - 173. I got my Case Officer on 21st November. Some smashing way to start the week. Flight booked for Brisbane on 13th January. Thanks to you all for the support along the way and wish all of you still waiting the best of luck. Will keep in touch and let ye know how things are going for me after the big move.

Fran.

CONGRATULATIONS Fran so happy for you :biggrin:

Enjoy living the dream :cool:

Phoebe

I love your post Phoebe

ebe - it says everything about why I went looking for a site like this and why I log on so often - it's so nice to be able to chew the fat a bit with people in the same position who really understand the various forces at work in our lives AND have a laugh about it. I felt really lonely sometimes before because not even my oldest friends can't really understand. Thanks everyone for the communal pressure valve!

 

Kath

Pop in and have a moan anytime :biggrin:

I do :laugh:

.....oh and it is a great source on information of course :biglaugh:

Phoebe

OH convincing tactics used on recent trip:

 

Found a golf driving range (he's just taken up golf) within easy reach and encouraged him to visit and practice.

Swapped houses so we stayed in a comfortable family home and had our daughter visiting and staying over (just as though we were living there....)

Found a suburb of Sydney he really liked. Sadly it was Avalon so unless we win the lottery that won't be a plausible destination. Not after meeting the 'sell your own grannie' visa costs!

 

Kath:wacko:

I did something similar found him a 'diving buddy' in Oz and he went diving with him a couple of times and in his words 'it's nothing like diving in UK water is crystal clear' I even went out fishing with him a couple of times in a tinnie and I actually enjoyed it :rolleyes:

One thing I did find is a couple of years ago I was going on about it continually and all I got back was 'the money' 'happy where I am' etc so I backed off, stopped talking about it altogether but mentioned now and again how dirty this country looked compared to Oz, how UK feels like it's going down the pan etcand he started to agree. He's not there yet but I suggested we hire a Motor Home next time to tour around see if there is anywhere we might like to live if we ever decided to go and he's up for it so it's a start :biggrin:

I think the secret is girls to make them think it's 'their' idea usually works for me :wink:

Phoebe

A quick update on the earlier parent tourist visa announcement

 

The Longer tourist Visas for parents of Australians came into effect on the 24th November.

http://www.immi.gov.au/visitors/tourist/whats-new.htm

 

It comes under the Tourist Visa subclass 676

http://www.immi.gov.au/visitors/tourist/676/

 

Parents of Australian permanent residents or Australian citizens (must apply from outside Australia):

 

 

 

• Parents in the subclass 103 visa queue - up to 5 years validity, allowing stays of up to 12 months on each entry

• Not in Parent Visa queue - Tourist visa of up to 3 years validity, allowing stays of up to 12 months on each entry..

 

 

There are requirements including:

 

 

 

• health insurance to cover healthcare costs during the stay

• Parents granted Tourist visas are expected to maintain extended periods of absence between visits to Australia. They are not expected to stay in Australia for more than 12 months in any 18 month period.

 

 

 

Tee

 

So does this mean it dosent apply to people who have applied for CPV173/143?!!

Phoebe

Just want to say hi to Phoebe. I notice you are unfailingly happy for everyone else, while still 'in limbo' yourself. I'm sure everyone is hoping the very best for you and that YOU will get there in the end.

 

Kath

Aww thanks Kath that's really nice of you :wubclub:

The 'limbo' part is still the health scares but on a more positive note hubby is coming round bit by bit, even more so with this lousy weather we are having :wink:

I am so happy for anyone who had/is going through the process....it's not easy :no: and I'm sure the lovely people on here will be the first to wish us luck when/if we can finally apply again :yes:

The truth is I really do it because I love using the smilies :biglaugh:

Phoebe

Hi all, We're packed and ready for our early flight tomorrow.........see you in Brissie! xx

Fantastic.....enjoy :-)

Phoebe

I think he will have to go in person phoebe as trying to phone them is useless, only have a week left to my CO's deadline on 1st Dec so i think i will be asking for another extension at this rate, been a right nightmare these last few months waiting on my sons tax to be done for this AOS honest you get to the last leg and one thing goes wrong which holds everything up by weeks, so very frustrating. Early this year i had a lumpectomy which was benign thank goodness so in the grand scheme of things this is a small set back and i should remember to think myself very lucky. Hope all goes well with you phoebe with your next application. This is also my second attempt at this visa.Ann. :eek:

So glad all is well with you now (hubby and I are still in limbo for now :err:

I agree a visit is the only way to go with Centrelink.......I'll have to remember that for when my turn comes :wink:

Stay positive you WILL get there :cute:

Phoebe

Helo Moira, I have had to have one extension from my CO so far, my sons taxes took weeks with his accountant and went to the tax office which fortunately only took just over 2 weeks, but i ran out of time for my AOS to be completed so have until 1st Dec for this to be done, the problem my son had last week was trying to get through to centrelink they kept putting him in a queue for 40 mins or more then the call gets cut off......... they should have enough staff to cope with the volume of calls. Chin up moira i know how you feel with the frustration of being held up, even worse when it's out of your conrol. Thinking of you. Ann

Now that my daughter had PR they get a little help from Centrelink she says ringing is always a nightmare :swoon:

Phoebe

Hi All, great news got my CO today and request for Final VAC all in one go, delighted. Flight booked for 13th January, bit on the expensive side cos of the time of year, but worth it!!! End of this long long journey in sight. Am opening the wine as I type. :biggrin: This smiley is especially for Gilly- a great friend for the last few months.

So thrilled for you.....live the dream :smile:

Phoebe

Does anyone know how much the visas will be for 173 when they go up again in January :swoon:

Phoebe

Rethinking everything!:skeptical:

I have recently applied for a temp parent visa 173. Now concerned about the financial commitement as some of my circumstances have changed.I am considering now changing to a 103 parent visa and was wondering if anyone else has done this and how it worked out for them? Any advice would be appreciated as starting to panick a bit !

Hi

I can't help with changing from 173 to 103 but we applied for 143 2 years ago and got as far as getting a CO but financial circumstances forced us to cancel the CO. When I asked the question "When we re-apply will the initial payment we made for the CO be taken into account" I was told no we would have to start from the beginning so my gut instinct is you will have to cancel the 173 and make a fresh application for the 103 but hopefully someone can give you a definate answer.

I really feel for you :confused: but stay strong, here we are 2 years down the line looking again at applying for the 173 :wink:

Phoebe

Hi

If I understand correctly, you yourself are in the UK, you have one sister in Perth and another sister who lives with your mum and dad. If this is the case, unless I have misunderstood, as I see it your parents do not currently meet the balance of family test as they currently have more children in the UK than in Australia. This would not be met until you yourself were a permanent resident in Australia.

 

Have a look at page 24 of Booklet 3 which explains the BOF test:

 

http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/booklets/books3.htm

I must offer my apologies I was assuming as her parents were taking their other daughter as a dependent the BOF test would be met.

Phoebe

Hi

Thanks for the reply, do you know the costs then for the way you are planning?

 

also my older sister lives in Perth, I would be staying in the uk till my degree is finished but my younger sister is going with my mum and dad as she classed as dependant due to a disability.

 

how would that work with the family balance test?

 

thanks

nicola

If your younger sister is a dependant and going with your parents then it looks like the balance of family test will be fine as there would then be 2 children in Oz and 1 in UK.

The visa costs go up twice a year January and July fo to the immi site

www.immi.gov.au

this will give you all the information you need. There is a lot of reading but try and stick to your specific visa interests i.e. CPV173/143. All current costs are also on there. You also need to read Booklet 3 but it's all there you just need some patience :cute:

This is the right place if your stuck for anything we are a friendly bunch :wink:

Phoebe

Hi

 

My mum and dad currently live in the UK but would love to move to perth to be with my sister, brother in law and nephew, it appears to me they are limited.

 

The 103 has a long waiting list is this right?

The CPV is really expensive, I noticed above people saying if you get the 103 your life would be on hold until the CPV was granted why?

 

My sister is willing to sponsor for which I have two questions, can you sponsor more than one time? and do you still need one of the above visas if sponsored by your daughter?

 

 

Sorry questions again.

 

 

Nicola

Hi Nicola

Yes the 103 has a very very very long wait most of us won't still be around when it was granted :no:

Unfortunatly the only way to go for us is the CPV173 temporary or CPV 143 permanant the 173 is for 2 years but you can apply at any time it is in force to upgrade to 143 that is the way we are looking so it splits the costs.

They would also have to pass the 'balance of family test' this means they either have to have more children 'settled' in Oz than they have in the UK or at least half of their children have to be 'settled' in Oz :yes:

I can't answer your question regarding can your sister sponsor more than one application (I'm sure someone else will know) but unfortunatly YES you still have to have one of the above visas. There's no way round it if you want to go you have to pay as well as all the other criteria medicals, police checks, sponsor, AoS etc.

Good Luck to them :biggrin:

Phoebe

Re: Frozen pensions

 

Hi all

 

I've just looked up the site I originally found dealing with frozen pensions:

 

http://pensionjustice.org/information-centre/

 

The group is the consortium of international pensioners and the site gives all the information about this issue to date.

 

Kath

Yes that's the site I used to send my comments. I got a big standard reply then an Official letter from the House of Commons maybe if enough of us bombard them they will have to do something about it. It's in all our interests

Phoebe

Phoebe

 

Good luck both of you for Monday.

 

The frozen pension issue is huge. I discovered a whole web site devoted to it a while ago and, providing the information there was accurate it seems that if you emmigrate to some countries (e.g. the Phillipines) your pension is raised in line with inflation, but if you go to others (e.g. Australia) it isnt.

 

I also gathered that if you are temporarily in a country where your pension would be regularly raised in line with inflation, you have the right to be paid the full current amount for the period of your temporary stay - even if it is just a few weeks - then when you return to (say Australia) your pension drops to the lower rate again.

 

The iniquities of this system are obvious, particularly when you consider that by leaving the UK we are saving them all the money they would have spent on our medical care etc etc as we got older. This has been brought before the European court of human rights but the case was lost - I don't know why

 

Kath

I totally agree that's why I feel so strongly about it.

Maybe we should all write to our MP's if we kick enough butt we might just get somewhere.

What do you say PIO'ers?

Phoebe

Hi Jane

 

This came out on the 4th Sept - I have not seen any further announcement yet

 

04 September 2012 Longer Tourist visas for parents of Australians - expected towards the end of 2012.

Towards the end of 2012, parents of Australian citizens and permanent residents will be able to apply for Tourist visas to visit Australia for longer. Under this arrangement recently announced by the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Chris Bowen MP, the department will consider granting on a case-by-case basis:

 

• Tourist visas of up to five years' validity which provide a stay of up to 12 months on each entry to those parents who are outside Australia and are in the Parent (subclass 103) visa queue

• Tourist visas of up to three years' validity with 12 months' stay on each entry will be considered for parents who are outside Australia and are not in the Parent visa queue.

 

 

 

 

 

Im assuming you wouldn't be able to work on this visa same as normal holiday visas?

Just on another note I wrote to my MP not like me but really annoyed about the fact if you emigrate to a foreign country your pension goes up with inflation. I eventually got a reply yesterday to say she has brought it to the attention of the MP for work and pensions and will get in touch when she has a reply. I'll keep you all posted when I hear but don't hold your breaths :swoon:

In the meantime Neuro Surgeon appointment for me Monday 9.15 and biopsy for hubby Monday 3.45

Phoebe

Given our 'age brackets' why are we paying mega bucks for visas when the 804 is a pittance. I've read some info on it and it looks cosher but I have to be missing something :swoon:

Phoebe