ian360

I agree that this sounds fair, but this is not about being fair, it is about Mally Turnbull protecting his own arse - selfishness and a complete disregard for people's lives does not even begin to explain it... But yeah, don't worry about us, as long as Turnbull is doing okay, that is all that matters, right?

Ah super! I lived in Costa Rica back in 2006-2008. I loved it there! Used pura vida for just about any situation!

Pura Vida - Are you from Costa Rica?

So now everybody has to jump through all of these hoops so Mally and his team can keep their jobs? Typical! Well at least we can all sleep better at night knowing they are okay - that's the main thing!

In other words... They haven't got a bloody clue what they are doing!

What is the political motivation here?

I have to agree with this part. It feels like they have just made the decision without thinking it through properly or the implications and additional workload on the immigration team. I bet the immigration staff are not happy with the fallout from this. I have worked for companies before where the bosses would make major decisions off the cuff like this without any real understanding of what was involved and we were all left to pick up the pieces. It never had good results. It still surprises me that the people who run countries also make these kind of rash decisions. I know they are just human and have the same human instincts and impulses as anybody else, but you expect the best from your top team - which in reality, is rarely delivered.

Ah that sucks. I am not eligible to apply until October anyway, but still... the queue will be massive by then. What a mess!

No more applications until 2018? How do you know this?

My last one was for 5 years.

This sounds fair enough to me!

I have also wondered about this. I worked as an ESL teacher for a few years and the whole IELTS thing was often a big money machine.

Yes, you are safe.

Well Turnbull said here: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-04-20/turnbull-grilled-by-leigh-sales-over-australian-citizenship-test/8459326?sf71977880=1 "Freedom, equality of men and women, mutual respect, the rule of law, democracy, a fair go — that's our Australian values," Mutual respect? A fair go? I don't think changing the rules for the many people already on PR is mutual respect. You wouldn't buy a new fridge with a 4 year warranty, after 2 years it breaks so you decide to return it, only to be told that in fact they have now changed it to a 1 year warranty so you are out of luck. So maybe if you do feel that "mutual respect" and "a fair go" is important, give the current PR holders the deal they signed up for. It works both ways!

Correct. And now they are saying that the 12 months on PR must now be a full 4 years on PR.

You are correct. If your 5 year RRV runs out when you are overseas, it would be difficult to get back in. I had an RRV in the past and came rushing back about a week before it expired. So yes, getting your citizenship would give you peace of mind if your parents needed your help.

I am wondering something along the same lines. I have another 6 months to go and then I will have done my 4 years straight on PR. But I am also confused about the work part. Since I arrived in 2013, I worked the first 1.5 years as a teacher, and since then I have been doing a new startup business for the last two years. The business is running at a profit and is improving all of the time but I have not paid any tax since starting it two years ago as I have made less than the $18k tax free threshold, so did not have to pay any tax. My wife earns a lot more than me so financially we do okay and she is happy to support me if required while I build the business. My concern is will this be seem as not a good citizenship candidate as I have not paid tax for 2 years? On a side note: I have never applied for or received any Centrelink payments - everything I have done has been self-funded.

Thank you for the supportive words guys, I really appreciate it. Life is much better now five years after bankruptcy. I'm currently working two jobs, have my own successful language school in Europe which also gives a stable job to 8 other employee teachers. That is something that I am proud of as I've been able to help other people here. I'm also in the process of finishing some additional postgraduate teaching studies which will be completed by 26th July, and I'm finally getting married to my long-term girlfriend this summer. I think that she is quite impressed with herself, as she likes to tell people that she has finally managed to tie me down. Following that, we will be returning to Australia at the end of the year in order to take on some new challenges and opportunities that we have been lining up. It's been a tough road, but certainly a worthwhile one, and it's allowed me to grow and look at the world from a new perspective which makes me even surprise myself sometimes. When I look back at how my life was in 2006, and how desperate and disheartening things were getting during all of those surgeries, it really is quite amazing how things can change so dramatically in a positive way, if you really want it to. In the words of Louis Armstrong "And I think to myself, what a wonderful world!" I hope that you guys are enjoying every moment of your Australian adventures! And my good wishes go to you to Kirk, because I know that you didn't really mean to be rude, so please have a beer on me! I'll be joining all you guys back in the Australian sunshine again soon!

Wow! That was very uncalled for and quite rude considering that you know nothing about me (other than the fact that I went bankrupt in the past). Going bankrupt in 2008 was certainly a very unpleasant time in my life. I was living in Central America in 2006 when I got a very serious bone infection, which if left, could eventually lead to septicaemia and more than likely become fatal. I needed urgent surgery (in reality it took many surgeries over a period of two years) in order to get completely free of infection and healthy again. Whilst medical care is not exactly expensive in Central America, having many surgeries eventually took its toll and led to an increase in debt. During this time I was in the hospitals and clinics more than I was at work, and regrettably my then boss, had to let me go, leaving me with debt and no income. After getting financial advice from the CCCS in England (as my debt was with an English bank), I was advised to file for bankruptcy, which I did. Following my bankruptcy, my official receiver (this is the guy who deals with what will happen with your finances and assets following bankruptcy) said that I had made the correct decision, and that bankruptcy exists for people like me who regrettably get themselves into bad situations that are beyond their control. So now you know the reason for my bankruptcy. It wasn't a good thing to do, it certainly didn't make me proud, and now when I think about it, it feels kinda surreal that it actually happened to me. However, I am proud that I made it through the surgeries and I'm still here to live another day.

Thank you lebourvellec!

​Hello guys, I have recently received a new British passport. However my Resident Return Visa label is in my old passport. How do I get the visa label added to my new passport? I'm currently in Poland and I believe my closest embassy is in Berlin, Germany. Do I need to send my passport there? Thank you in advance. Ian

I did it in 2008.