Tiamilo

Thanks for replying. That is a great help.

Hi, just needing some advice regarding my Mum. She is living in Australia on a bridging visa waiting for her contributary parent visa to be sorted that could be several years. We were wondering whether she needs to make a new Will in Australia or as we are still waiting for her property to sell in the UK and she is still a UK citizen does the one she have in the UK still count? Would appreciate any advice. Thank you.

That was the advice our agent told us..if it is not correct please give us the correct answer to the original question?

Hi Joanne, fortunately the visa came through on time so we didn't have to do anything. We had checked with our immigration agent though who said some Mum would need to leave but that could be flying to N.Z sitting in the airport and catching the next flight back!

Hi, my Mum is in Australia on a 651 visa but we are applying for a contributary parent visa which we are hoping to hear about this week. If by chance we don't Mum will have to leave the country at the beginning of August but can return. Is there a set amount of time she has to be out of Australia before she can return to Australia or can it just be for a weekend away for example to N.Z?

She is 76 so definitely over 67.

Thanks Marissa, that is all useful information. She wont need to leave Australia once she is here if we can get her house sorted as we are her only family. We were aware about extra costs for medical bills etc just not about whether she could buy a property or not.

Thank you for all your help. That makes it clearer. Waiting for years for a visa to come through doesn't worry us it is more about having her here so she isn't on her own in the UK. If she is on a bridging visa would she be allowed to buy a property in Australia while she waits as I am not sure she would cope living in our crazy mad house for years?

Please help..I am not sure where to look so need some help as I am sure this has been asked before. The problem is the more I look at the more confused I get!! My husband, myself and two children emigrated 10 years ago and now Australian Citizens. My Mum back in the UK and who is now on her own since my Dad died two years wants to emigrate here and apply for the contributory parent visa. She passes all the criteria for moving here. I have read she needs to be in Australia to apply for it which would actually make life easier as she has no one in the UK that can help her and she doesn't use computers. I am so confused where to start! She will need me to fly back to the UK to fly back with her but can she just come on a normal holiday visa before applying for the CPV and if that is the case what do parents do with their houses and belongings back in the UK. We have no one there to sort anything out so can we sell her house and put her things in storage and get them sent across once we have applied for her CPV. Can we apply for CPV as soon as she lands here or have I got it all wrong and is it not that simple? Any help or pointing in the right direction would be greatly appreciated and save a lot if headaches! Thank you.

They have tried all the sites mentioned but it keeps throwing her off and won't let her apply for a bridging visa! If they get through to anyone on a phone they say they can't help.

Hi, My friends MIL came across to Australia for a 3 month holiday to visit them before flights were cancelled. She was due to fly this week but her flight has been put back to the beginning of July. Her visa is about to run out but she is struggling to get any information about what she needs to do. Airline is no help and Australian and British embassy is all online and you can't speak to anyone in person. Surely she is not the only person in this position. Who does she need to contact or what does she need to do please. Any advice would be helpful. Thank you.

Thank you for all your replies. They have helped a lot.

Thank you, that is how I read it too.

Yes this is what I am asking. Thank you.

Does this include adult step- children who are not biologically related and have never lived with their stepmother? (My Mum!)

Hi, I have not posted on here for along time as we have lived in Australia for nearly 8 years. We are just about to do our Citizenship test. I was just wondering if anyone had been in a similar situation. My Mum remarried when I was 15 and my dad adopted me soon after as my biological Dad wasn't on the scene. My Dad has two daughters from a previous marriage but they have not been on the scene since I was 18. (30 Years) Unfortunately my Dad has been diagnosed with terminal cancer and I am due to fly back to the UK in the next week or so to be with my parents at this difficult time. I have a feeling my parents may have talked about my Mum moving out to Australia to be with us as she will have no other family around her. This would be fine with us but due to my Dad's other children we have been told this could not happen. My question is, the fact his children have not been around for 30 years and even when they were it was only for 3 years after my parents married and they can not be contacted, could this be argued against or are the rules so set in stone that there is no leeway? Any advice would be great so that I have a clearer picture before I go. Thank you

Hi, We have been living in Australia for four years and have permanent residency. My parents are wanting to join us if possible. My mother remarried when I was 15 (1986) and by step dad adopted me. The problem is my dad has two adult children from his previous marriage who he is no longer in contact with and hasn't been for many years. We have just contacted an agent who says that even though he is not in contact this may prevent them from coming over due to the balance of family test. I was just wondering if anyone has had recent experience of this and could let us know how it went. Thanks

Hi, Unless your bed will last you a few years and the bedding is ok for a while I wouldn't bother bringing it across as the sizes of beds and bedding over here are different so maybe leave them behind. If your sofas are in good condition definitely bring them and as for the microwave you will use it as much as you do in the UK but will have to change it's plug so it depends on how attached you are to it. You can buy dishcloths over here unless they are crocheted by your mum like mine were!!!! Don't bring TV's as easier to buy those here and you will probably need a dvd that plays regional free dvd's. Your photos will be fine as long as you have decent packers. Buy enough adaptors from ebay for all your gadgets and bring toiletries as the smell of these remind you of the home in the UK until you settle in. If yu have a dryer in decent condition bring it over and don't forget coat hangers and pegs!!! Good Luck with your move.

I personally wouldn't bring white goods over with you for a number of reasons. They will all need adaptors or there plugs changing when you get here. The space for fridge/freezers in each house varies. (We bought a fridge freezer when we got here to fit the space in our rented property and now the house we bought we have a larger space so could have fit a larger one in!!! :mad: ) If you go somewhere like Harvey Normans you can get a good deal if you buy all the things there. We saved enough to buy a tv! It will save on shipping and they will all be under warranty. Just my personal opinion. :wink:

Hi, if you are working in North Lakes you could choose to live there as well, many people do and it has a lot of things to do there. The houses are quite close together and all look very similar. If you want to be nearer to the coast you could think about Redcliffe/Scarborough. It is a 15/20 minute drive away on a busy day and you can still get to the city in 40 minutes or up to the Sunshine coast in an hour. Bribie is lovely also, about a 30 minutes drive down the Bruce Highway which is ok as long as there are no accidents on the road. Our daughters go to school in NL so we travel from Scarborough but love being 3 minutes from the beach. The best thing to do is to arrive and settle in a bit then have a look around different areas so you can see what you like. Good Luck with the move. :biggrin:

As someone said to us before we moved to Australia "would you regret not giving it a go?". I personally wouldn't move back for some of the reasons you want to leave Australia as I think:- 1. People are generally miserable. 2. They don't like foreigners, although they pretend they do. 3. Service is some of the poorest in the world. 4. Roads are so busy all the time near around cities. 5. The weather is generally rubbish. (this year has been an exception!) 6. The younger generation very rarely get involved in sports as they would rather stay inside and play on computers etc. 7. The government is even worse than over here!!! On the plus side. 1. It does have beautiful countryside when you get time or the weather to be able to enjoy it. 2. It does have history. 3. It does have big towns. and it does sell dryers so you can get your washing dry!!

We brought 3 tvs across a year ago and don't use any of them now as you need a box an even then the quality wasn't great so ended up buying new ones. I wouldn't bring white goods unless they are going to arrive before you get here or you are going to be living somewhere with them already until they arrive as you will need washing machine/fridge etc when you arrive so will end up buying them or doubling up! We brought two beds but in that case bring bedding too and make sure mattress is ok. We brought our daughters and she could do with a new mattress which we hadn't thought about before and the sizes are different over here!! If you don't bring things you have to make sure you bring enough money to set up home including the little things like everyday food items/pegs/cleaning things around the house which all add up. We used Crown who were great but I am sure there are other companies that people would recommend too. Good Luck with your move.

Happy Birthday, we moved here just over a year ago (Brisbane) and it is my 4 year old daughters birthday today too! Hope you are having a great day.

Didn't do them all in a year as been here on holiday before too so plan on doing the rest now we do live here!

Four but planning on seeing the others at some point. Only been here just over a year!