MikeMavis

Hi all, My Co is assigned and asked for medical and pcc. My medical is done but when I went for pcc, passport office discovered that my passport is slightly damaged (small mark), hence, they asked me to get it reissued and then get the pcc. It will take some time to go through the entire procedure. Can anyone please advice as should I ask for extension of time from my CO? Will CO give me an extension? If CO gives extension, how much more time they usually give? I am quite tensed about this matter as this was not expected. Any help will be appreciated.

Hi, Blueray we went

t through the whole process in 2010-2011 and had all the usual problems,meds,passports,etc,etc' we kept our CO informed of everything no matter how trivial and our 173 went through in about one year,the Australian Government do. Wants and need your Money. Good luck. Mike.

G'day

 

It may be the luck of the draw as to whom you see at Medicare. When we went in with our 173s we got (what we think are) full Medicare cards – at least they are a different colour from our former "reciprocal" cards. We were, however, told to see them again when we got our full 143s. (At that point we had already applied for 143s – perhaps that makes a difference.)

 

Mike

Cheers mike.s

Yes, that is true, Ann & Roy,

Having a permanent visa is necessary before you can get a Medicare card. They checked the paper visa in our passports. I'm surprised they don't consider a 173 to be (almost) permanent, but c'est la vie!

Hope all is sorted soon and that you get your 143 quickly.

John & Eirian

We are here on a 173 visa and have had a medicare card since we arrived in October,also we have used it on several occasions.

Can any one help? I need regular meds for BP and realise I now have to pay for them again - and the amount varies too. My doctor, who bulk bills (and doesn't charge pensioners for a consultation), suggested I contacted Centrelink to register as a pensioner and get reduced rate for prescriptions. As my only regular income is a UK state pension would this affect the AoS bond?

Do not realy understand the question why should the aos be affected this is not theoetically your money and you would not be claiming from centerlink by getting a seniors card which would entitle you to reduced scrip costs

Cheers.

Mike

I think that everybody in the DIAC must be already on holiday. We had our 173 visa app accepted Oct 2010 and still haven't got a CO, and we were told it would be 12mths!!!!

Regards Ann & Roy

We had our application acknowledged same date and have been living in OZ for the last three months I think you should be rattling someones tree.

Cheers Mike.

You seem to have miss-read my post, I said 2nd hand cars are expencive to buy compared to the UK, I did not say how much they cost to run.

 

You may have a good phone connection in Sydney but i would still think $69 per month for calls and broadband is expencive compared to the UK.

 

In the context of some people thinking of moving to Australia on a tight budget I still believe it is expencive compared to the UK.

 

When I have been here 2 years maybe I will stop comparing things to the UK. :wubclub:

We could not agree with you more Les this is not a cheap country,when we started this process the exchange rate was 2.4 dollars to the pound we were not looking at a tight bujet then but now we are here at 1.5 things are a little tight ,second hand cars are way over price, insurance is over double what we paid in the UK, car servicing is a ridiculous price etc etc everything to do with car ownership even down to $150 for a driving licence is expensive,it may seem better when we have been here a while but it will still be bloody dear to me.

good luck for the future at least we have the weather in Queensland.

cheers.

Mike.

G'Day Val

 

To be honest, I know nothing about QROPS, but I would have thought that the last thing you should do is transfer your whole pension pot to Oz at a time when the GBP is an rock-bottom (or, at least, one hopes…) against the AUD. Yes, your pension income will fluctuate, but if it fluctuates upwards you'll be the winner! Do you have the option of transferring your pension fund at a later date (ie, when permanent Oz residents) if and when the rate is more favourable?

 

Others may have more solid advice.

 

On the question of Wills, we were advised to have a separate Oz Will for our Oz assets when we bought a unit there (after downsizing in Blighty), as all our (close) family are there. When we decamp permanently – next year, we hope – we'll simply tear up the UK Wills.

 

All the best, Mike

Hi, as your ack date is June 2011 as you say you have a long way to go and the economic situation could be a good deal better and the rate at the time of transfer could be much better,I think this way of transferring the pension is a good idea and will aviod lots of costs in the future,glad your son is on the mend.

Cheers and good luck Mike.

Had an email this morning from the case officer..................they are waiting for our police check certificates. I sent them via our very own royal mail "international signed for" on 12th October. Is it too soon to panic or should I just get another set and send them again? Any advice or similar experiences would be most welcome right now. I have started to eat the chocolate which was bought for Trick or Treaters..................I might not be able to fit into the aircraft seat....arrgghh!!!

We posted some stuff to Perth with royal mail on the 18th of August (international signed for) it still has not got there they are a load of rubbish and Australia Post are just as bad,if I were you I would start to look at plan B.

Cheers Mike.

Hi

Thanks for your help but could you advise me further.

If we were granted a 173 we would have to sell the house before we go, in your or any one elses opinion is it worth upgrading now to a 143 or if the house is not selling can i upgrade from England or do we have to be in Aus.

 

Sorry to be so dumb but i am just trying to work out what is the best thing to do.

 

Cham

Once granted you have one year to visit OZ to validate the visa (from date of meds or police checks) this can be for a holiday or permanent stay, with houses not selling and the abismal exchange rate only you can work out the financial side of thing as it affects you, we were very lucky we sold the house within two days for the full asking price and they also bought the furniture,I,m afraid there are many uncomfortable decisions to be made along the way both financial and emotional but if you have started the process I am sure you will find it all worth while eventually.

All the best whatever you decide.

Cheers Mike.

Hi

Sorry to be a bit thick and maybe i should have checked this when i applied but

do you mean from the date it is granted it is only valid for two years or valid for two years once you move to Aus?

 

Thanks

 

Cham

It the 173 is valid for two years from the date it is granted,during this time you must update to a 143,and pay the government some more cash.

good luck.

Mike.

Just spoke to a lady from Moneycorp and she mentioned opening an account with ' National Australia Bank ' as the account will not have to be validated to transfer the visa payment as they have an agreement with them although she didn't sound to sure. Just thought i would ask if anyone has used this bank, and if they did the tranfer without validating the account in oz, also if they are good? have lots of branches etc..... so many ways of doing this as you have all kindly explained, just exploring every option!! Ann:confused:

NAB are a good bank but like all aussie accounts you cannot withdraw money untill they have seen you and your passport this is to prevent money laundering.

cheers mike.

I've just checked the tracker and noticed that duonghm's application was acknowledged on 11 august last year and already have a CO (16 september). Maybe they aren't processed in order of receipt?

definitely not processed in order of reciept we got an acknowledgment on the 4th Oct last year and we got a visa on the 1st September this year ie under 11 months.

cheers.

Mike.

Well buying a car was a lot easier than finding somewhere to live! Thoroughly refreshed after a lovely flight from Dubai, courtesy of frequent flyer miles, I headed straight for a

I dealership I'd found online and had bought a car within an hour. However I hadn't had as much luck with somewhere to live until today....

 

I hadn't appreciated that this is the most scarce time for rental property on the northern beaches. I've looked at over 25 units, from Manly to Avalon and have sadly come to the conclusion that I either have to pay more or settle for less.

 

 

The longshot is that I've paid the deposit on a beautiful but pricy place and just have to hope that I get some work!!!

 

The weather has been glorious since arrived, apart from one day.....long may it last.

 

I found Our Mate in Coles too..heaven!

Hi, Fiz were you able to sort insurance third party and fully comp from the dealer and was this easy, expensive ?? also am interested to know if car dealers accept bids or do you have to pay whats on the screen.

cheers.

mike.

thanks mike. in that case if I mention the amount(after deducting all the 2nd VAC plus medical plus police clearance costs) , im afraid i will have very less to shown in application. will this affect the outcome? or do you think they will understand that I will have only less , after paying all this huge amount!!!!!Im struck with filling up this application. I hope I will fill this correctly. any help/suggestion? thanks in advance

You should be just fine,take your time with the form,tell the truth and there should not be a problem we went from acknowledgement to visa grant in less than 11 months so things are defineitely speeding up now, good luck with your journey.

cheers.

Mike.

hi all, i have one quick question. in cpv143 form 47PA, qn 34 asks about the value of money, goods assets that we will be bringing to Australia. should we include the 2nd VAC amount too or should we mention the amount in hand after paying the second instalement? should we need to include proof for this amount along with the submission of application? sorry for these questions. As Im not going thru any migration agent, any help/suggestion will be appreciated. thanks in advance. im so excited and anxious.:wink:

Hi no need to include second vac payment you wont have this cash when you get there,all of us who filled this form in some time ago all thought we would be taking a lot more (in aussie dollars) with us than we find we actually have now,you will not be asked to prove this however you have to declare if you are carrying more than $10,000 on entry.

Hope this helps.

Cheers.

Mike.

Hi all, im now busy in preparing all my documents so I can apply for 143 before this month end(I hope) Im so thankful to all of you, its so encouraging and Im sure it will help me to go thru this journey with smile...will update you all after filing.

Hi, good luck with everything it is quiet a journey but worth it in the end.

Cheers Mike.

It seems to me that since opening up the tracker last year to "self-service" we're seeing a lot join, then never updating their records. The June 2010 batch must by now have COs. I'm not sure there's a lot I can do about this, and of course it may also be a reflection of the drop-out rate; that wouldn't surprise me. It might also be holidays I suppose.

 

The visa granted list however is still a fair indication of the timescales, though this will lose relevancy as time goes by if the numbers diminish.

 

Cheers

 

Steve

Hi Steve it does seem a little bit strange stuck in the middle of no mans land,if it had not been for a hiccup with the medicals we were on course for one of the quickest visas on the tracker, as it is the visa will be granted next week which still makes it a pretty quick turnaround,

cheers.

Keep up the good work you really are appreciated.

Mike.

Am so grateful for your responses, guys! Now i have to start the long slog...but you have given me great hope.:biggrin:

Hi, and welcome I too have type 2 which was reffered to a specialist,but all ok just took another five weeks and cost anoyher £180 but thats peanuts in the scheme of things,they need records of blood control going back as far as you can so if you go to the medical prepared you should be ok.

Good luck.

Cheers Mike.

Is anyone else watching the exchange rate, I have not sold my house yet but have a small amount of savings to send over to Oz and don't know whether to send some now or wait to see if the rate keeps climbing. What is it going to do and why is it rising :confused:

David

Hi dave Im sitting along from you on the same fence if you find out whats up let me know.

cheers Mike.

We would ideally like to go full time before Christmas but it depends on selling the house, we have a few interested people but they all have their own places to sell first so that's why we are thinking it will probably mean a holiday first to validate.

We have two sons living in Cairns, both with their wives and two children each, but one is preparing to move to the Brisbane area before Christmas so we have had to decide is it Cairns or Brisbane.

We have opted for Brisbane as the two Grandchildren moving their are both under 5 plus the climate is supposed to be a bit better, not so hot. The Grandchildren who will be in Cairns are both in their late teens and we were always around to support them when they were growing up so it will be nice to be able to do the same for the other two as they grow.

 

David

Hi thanks for the reply we have a son in Brisbane which is where we are heading,the other son lives in Melbourne,(much too cold for us) the house sold to a cash buyer (the first person to look at it)

and they are taking all the furniture etc which is fantastic,one of the reasons I have not given passport details to the airline is that for the last twenty odd years I have worked for Emirates and like a fool forgot that everything is on file.

good luck with the move hope you get there before christmas.

Cheers Mike.

good luck mate you are probably doing the right thing,whats good for one does not mean it is good for another good luck whichever way it works out,when will you be able to go full time,and where?? cheers mike.

never had to provide a passport to book a flight,the actual visa does not come into play untill you arrive in australia at customs and immigration,if you are still worried check it out they will probably tell you to send both passports to the embassy and have them transposed,if you have time our passports took 10 days to renew.

cheers.

Mike.

Oh come on, there's no need for this is there. Of course we are aware as anyone of the difficulties others are having and have enormous sympathy for anyone struggling. Anyone who has or is making this journey has experienced hard times. We made it here only to find that we can't fund buying a house of our own which comes hard at our time of life so it's not all roses. That wasn't what we were talking about, we were discussing the merits of the various airlines flying the UK/Australia route and lets face it, if you have just coughed up several thousand pounds to fly business class you do have the right to expect good service. And no, that is absolutely not being a whinging POM. Please do not let us go down the route of that other forum where straying off the subject is severely punished.

Cath

No its more like spending hundreds of thousands on a car and telling people it still needs petrol,you pays your money and takes your chance if a drink every 15 mins on a twenty plus hour flight is not enough well.

Hi

We have our passports with the visa label in them and as our house is not sold yet it looks like we will have to have a holiday over in Oz to validate the visa's, before the middle of next February, so we are thinking of having Christmas over there with our family.

The only thing is that our passports expire in May next year and we don't know which is the best thing to do, renew them now or when we arrive back in the UK after Christmas.

 

Could we still use our existing passports or do they have to be valid for 6 months after you leave the Oz.

If we renew them now that would mean we would have to travel on the new passports then our visa's will not match up with these new passports for entering Oz.

Also places like Medicare, Centre Link, Oz bank etc may have our old passport numbers on file.

 

Has anyone been in a similar position and can advise on what the best action is.

 

David

just renewed our passports (got them this morning) intend to travel with both old and new passports visa in old one.and it will be transposed in OZ by customs on arrival,just a thought has anyone thought of renting their homes to a prospective buyer as the aussies do a lot, its called rent to buy a price and time in the future is agreed and everyone works toward this,you also know that if it is being rented by a purchaser its not going to get trashed.

just a thought, cheers

Mike.

Now, now, now

 

No need for this. Someone was just trying to give some feedback on what service was like. We have all been grateful for feedback and advice from othet people. There is no need for petty criticism. Let's be positive and continue to help each other. Thats what it is like in Australia.

 

Charlie

Tell me how can knowing that I have to wait 15mins for a drink be helpful and where have you seen Australian moaning about service in business class ?? this was one flight taken by one person on one day .