silencio

True, PR within Australia is indefinite. The need for a RRV concerns the 'travel facility' of getting into Australia after 5 years of being a PR holder (it is mentioned in the Grant Letter from DIPB).

Sorry, I was so wrong! Thanks for clarification. Samir I have to apologize.

Not getting pay slips is against Australian law! Google the Fairwork Act, every employee has the right to get pay slips. I mean people can sign any stuff, if true or not... I doubt immigov will accept cash against receipt, that's not an appropriate tool to prove your income. Bank statements with a regular credit are more appropriate like mentioned before.

Australia is very strict regarding visa rules but doesn't has any kind of kin liability.

Sydney is not that bad in winter. Remember Queensland is a tropic part of Australia where locals in summer mainly stay in aircon shopping malls. Winter is always bad, ask a Queenslander they'll tell ya how 20 degrees can feel very cool

Besides what Australian government did to Tamil asylum seekers I was wondering that nobody blames India what they do to refugees from Sri Lanka! Why doesn't India tries to integrate Tamil refugees in its society? Tamil Nadu has the same language and culture. I

I love Perth and found it awesome whereas in Melbourne it was raining cats and dogs all the time last November when EVERY city in Australia had summer. Melbourne is also very nice but unpredictable with weather and also can't deny a job downturn, too.

If I were you I would never rate Australia over a healthy relationship. For me it's more important to be with my partner, no matter in which country we live. If I put myself in your shoes, I could never live without my partner and soul mate but would live outside of Australia with a heavy heart. But only you know when you ask yourself if this is worth the risk of losing your spouse. I would recommend don't put yourself under this kind of enormous pressure, otherwise it ends in a break up with 2 unhappy people sitting alone separated from each other who might never be separate when the Australia issue haven't arise. That's not worth the 'dream'. It's still time till 2020 for the ultimate decision for or against Australia, 2 years towards a prosperous citizenship application are served and hopefully you're young enough in 2019-2020 to make a 2nd move.

Yes, new migrants have only 12 months to decide to take out hospital cover. After 12 months you'll have to pay 2% 'loading' for every year of age. You're over the time frame of 12 months. You still can take out extras/ancillary cover only whenever it's suit your needs or not. We did it for dental and ambulance, because ambo is not covered in many states and we wanted to avoid the 'expensive ride'.

Sorry dusty, I've never met an Aussie who wanted to be an American. Sounds weird for me. The funniest story I've ever came across with American knowledge with European culture happened in Paris. I'll never forget this and I'll tell you because it's so typical for Americans (I'm mean and stereotyping now). On a boat trip on the river Seine a group of excited American tourists and hubby and me on our last trip before we've flown out to Adelaide in 2011. One chap of this in their mid30/40 group pointed towards a very old railway station during that beautiful night trip and mentioned with utter conviction: "Here comes the Louvre!"

Do you really think 'a Head of State" will do anything for the country? Just another politician to pay. I can assure you the Queen is not only cheaper she's also better for Australia because we as taxpayers only pay for her a little bit through the Commonwealth Funding which is only a few pennies in comparison to a 'Head of State' with a full salary. People who always claim a republic is better actually don't know anything about it!!! I come from a European republic and I can only share my negative view about this crap 'Head of State'. They are lazy like figureheads, don't do their job for the country like a King or Queen would do and the last we had in my home country before his dishonourable discharge has gone through political corruption and accepting advantages from 'friends'. As if this wasn't enough the taxpayer overseas have still to pay this pension at the age of 50! Of course a republic pays also for all the retired 'Head of State' as well and not forget the widows who claim the pension after the former 'Head of States' are deceased.

On the one hand, I like the USA, have been there and have some distant relatives there. They are generally speaking very friendly,helpful and open minded towards me as a tourist. The people are cool and nice but crunch time for me is the American social system and gun laws or better absence of it. What I don't like about the US is the absence of a public health care system like here which leads to a unbearable social exclusions from basic support and care needs. The 'land of the free' is a myth for the sick and unemployed. I know that one of my relatives had 2 jobs which seems to be normal to afford a medium living standard. The average wages were never that good. What I really hate are the gun laws. All these guys with mental health issues running around like wild shoot innocent people dead. I would never feel safe in the States like I do here in the 'Lucky country'.

I've read this thread and I'm more and more suppose that this story is fake or the TO a troll.

Congratulations and thanks for sharing your timeline with us! This is such a positive post and gives hope for us still half way to go nearly.

You and your wife are both adults and I doubt she forced you to come here! I also doubt that your wife cheated on you. She'd PR from the 1st minute you both came here and like mentioned before there were cases where couples separated days after moving here. Your spouse stayed 2 years with you and not left you immediately. Didn't she tell you a reason for leaving you? It's not worth to construct a fraudulent story just because you feel offended in your honour! Go out and meet other people, the pain will go away.

Hi Engrauyon, you could book a cheap hotel, motel or hostel for 1 or 2 weeks. Google it and you'll find some opportunities in Adelaide. It's not a good idea to rent in advance anyway due to the fact that some rentals are real rat traps! Out dated and/or old and not suitable for kids and the advertisement is not always the truth. You'll best get a feeling by going there when you're already here. SA has still affordable places to stay, search the suburbs and you'll be fine after arriving.

I heard it's harder for 'temporary visa holders' like you to find a lender. Under Australian law you're not seen as a migrant just a temporary worker and the banks adhere to this rule in a strict way in order to reduce the risks for them not the risks for you.

Hi Shelly, it's important for you to do 'national recognised' courses and not courses offered by dubious companies only for the purpose to make money. I always advise people to look for a RTO with a good reputation. I think Perth, like everywhere else, has a desperate need for people in aged care or home and community care. Clubs:I don't think about the gym. Gyms are soulless places everywhere in the world. Social clubs, the Irish Club, Austrian Club, bike or the bush walker club is a good thing. Volunteering is also good to come out of the house meeting new people. Australia is different in making friends anyway. The have their established circle of friends from school, uni etc. and move a lot. It's difficult, I will not contradict on this but it's possible to make new friends because there are so many people 'in the same boat' (migrating to Australia and leaving friends behind).

I was 42, hubby 35, no kids. Besides my age, we both found jobs and acquaintances. So dear wolvesaussie not only age is irrelevant for migrating, so is finding a social life without being in a 'mum's club' or what ever. It's just stereotyping. Being positive, going out of course, joining a club, doing job qualifications or having good working mates worked for us. It took a while to socialise due to the factor that everything was new and being patiently waiting to find the right match is not always working for people coming from a big circle of friends...

It all depends where you guys wanted to settle. Sydney is skyrocketing expensive with rentals whereas Adelaide is the most affordable city. Utility bills are also very different, each state has own charges and fees. To answer your question the forum needs more details.

Sorry to hear that you fell sick and couldn't afford the medical bills. It's hard on a 457 visa with no access to medicare. Also you mentioned the marriage brake up which in my opinion let you not allow to enjoy your life here. Maybe you haven't enough emotional detachment and coming to Australia was more the try to escape? Try to analyse and give yourself more time.

It's 100% true where I come from. Actually, in the USA it wasn't the ambassador charged it was a staff member! The US tried to repeal but were they successful? The misconduct of that Indian staff member of the embassy hasn't got any consequences besides replacing that employee.

Hi Rupert, as I said I'm ambivalent, lets say self-contradictory regarding abolishing the non-contributory parent visa. It's okay for me, but my partner is shocked because he wanted his mother to come later in life. To be honest his mum hasn't got 40,000 bucks or what ever it costs to join us with the contributory parent visa. And from next year we'll have a mortgage to pay off which makes it impossible for us to pay for her. The last remaining relative visa, our favourite visa, is also no longer available for my understanding. I rephrase what I actually wanted to say in a more clearer and precise way: it's unfair to let a person who has her entirely family in Australia being dumped in a foreign country and parents who can afford to pay and still have relatives in their country of origin are allowed to come. My partner tried to persuade both parents to come because we are eligible to sponsor them but his father doesn't want to.

Hi, welcome to the forum. Many migrants from the Netherlands came to Australia in the past, there is a Dutch Club in Melbourne and they socialise a lot and enriched Australia with their skills. This forum has members from all over the world, we came from Germany over 2 years ago and never looked back. Good luck to you on your journey becoming a migrant.

I completely agree with your opinions on not moving elderly parents who might have heavy health issues and might not cope with the climate here in summer anyway to the other part of the world around the globe and the Australian tax payer has to pay (besides the assurance of support from the sponsor family member). And don't forget many migrants from non-English speaking background move their non-English speaking parents to Australia which causes except the language barrier cultural clashes because of generation conflicts and coming from another cultural background. Why should any Australian be forced to pay the bill when we are already have an ageing population? But by saying this I'm also ambivalent to this matter because my partner is affected from this change. When his father may die before his mother than his mother is forced to stay completely alone due to not having other children and because she was a migrant herself to hubby's and his father's country she has no family there. Besides the language barrier she has in our home country because English is her mother tongue (we're from a non-English speaking background, but his mother is). All her relatives live in Australia and migrated a long time ago but she's forced as the only one to stay far away from all her family members. And she's completely healthy currently and would get a good pension, so no financial support would be necessary from our side. The recent changes to the parent visa seems to be a little bit harsh when it comes to the individual case.